A great start to the festival season

This was our first festival as Under 10's. All parents and boys were advised by the coaches that squad rotation would be conducted and the players would have equal game time, plus they would be played in different positions. Our day consisted of 3 x Pool matches.

Our first match was against Effingham and we drew nil – nil. It was a solid start for our first festival and game this season, the boys moved the ball along the line in attack bringing plaudits from the Effingham coach.

Our second match was against London Irish and we lost 3 - nil, much like our last match against them at the end of last season at their festival. London Irish are very strong all round and played very well, utilising their two big props effectively to create dents in our defence. Our boys stood up well to all the pressure and tackled for their lives showing great character.

Our third and final pool match was against Warlingham and we won 2 – 1. Probably our best game in execution and overall team play, the boys really corrected the previous loss with a great team performance with tries from Finn and Ethan.

We ended up progressing to the Plate Final against Reeds for our final match which we lost 2 – 0. Our desire and intent was there but our defence was very laboured which allowed the opposition to have too much time with the ball with little pressure. Two soft tries in the end put an end to our day, plus our 3 or 4 injuries.

In summary, all of the boys played with passion and were honest with in their effort. We lost out on physical size, some injuries (with a squad of 11), and a lack of established moves. All 11 boys were disciplined and well behaved, a credit to their parents, the club and themselves. They all showed fantastic character with a number of guys returning to the field of play after some heavy bumps and tears.

We are looking forward to our next festival at Reeds where collectively we can work on some re-start moves, finding gaps out wide to maximise our attack options, quicker ruck ball, and above all, expand upon the boys enjoyment of the game.