Under 9s at H&B Minis Tournament

A 100% turnout from the U9s was greatly appreciated on what would prove to be a group of tough, yet rewarding, games for the boys.

This was the first real opportunity to play full contact rugby and with a whole new set of rules and regulations to get to grips with as well as uncontested scrums and line-outs – it really was a case of in at the deep end.

However, this didn’t seem to faze them in the slightest and from the first whistle until the last they kept trying throughout – and they should all be very proud of our first contact festival.

Our opening match was against Eastbourne – and this was an incredibly tight contest. Hard tackling from both sides keep things even – and despite a few opportunities the half-time whistle saw a score of 0-0. This forward lead game continued in the second half – and a single break-out from Eastbourne resulted in the only try of the match. We may have lost 0-1 but it was a highly encouraging start.

Next was Haywards Heath – and we continued to play just as we finished with Eastbourne. Some good solid runs by Joe, driving the ball through, tested the Haywards Heath defences – and possession was taken by both sides at the break-down with some unfortunately turn-overs.

A few stray passes lost us the ball but some ferocious tackling gained possession back again. Just a single opportunity given to Haywards Heath allowed them to score before half-time.

The second-half saw another tight contest – and we were able to break free with Alistair scoring a much deserved try – and with a 1-1 final score a well-earned draw lifted everyone’s spirits.

Our third match was against East Grinstead, which is always a tough match (they were our group winners and eventual U9 runners-up). Unfortunately, we were asleep during the first half and they managed to put four past us. Some half-time substitutions and a team talk from Roger changed things around and the second half was much closer. They only scored one more try – and we managed to work Sam free to score one of our own. Final score 1-5 to East Grinstead.

The last match of the day was against Uckfield. Another close match was played out – but tired H&B legs meant we gave them a few too many opportunities and they were able to put three past us.

Joe was rewarded for all his hard work during the matches stealing the opposition ball with a try of his own. Final score 1-3 to Uckfield.

Considering this was our first competitive matches playing contact, everyone was incredibly impressed with the effort from the whole team. There were periods of intense play, some excellent passing and a quite a few well committed tackles. We were also on the receiving end of some hard tackles and many of the boys picked-up some crunching knocks – but we picked ourselves up and played-on. Fantastic spirit.

We know what we need to work on during training over the new few weeks. Controlling those wild passes.

In the mauls we need to drive forward and then get the ball recycled out to the backs before it gets stolen and making sure we don’t get ourselves offside at the rucks etc. But considering all these new features of the game they have had just a few weeks to grasp it really was a massively successful days rugby.

Well done to Nathan, Alistair, Archie, Curtis, Charlie, Jonny, Sam, Alfie, Daniel, Joe, Jacob & George.
Thanks as always to Roger for all his coaching efforts and also a special thanks to Omar for helping out on Sunday with the team – much appreciated Omar. And of course to the Mums and Dads for getting everyone to the festival and for the vocal support from the side-lines.