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U8's Match Report

Match Reports 2011/12 Season

Sunday 1st April

Well what a great session today !

I was delighted with the way the children took to the physical elements today with little fuss and hardly any tears !

The ground was hard and some of the tackles crunching, added to flailing boots and limbs, but everyone dusted themselves off and got back on with the job in hand.

Luke as a one-man rolling maul was great ! David and Alex linking together with some lovely off-loads and runs makes me think Alex must have some Welsh blood in him !! Lucy turned out to be a natural scrum half too !

Next week is Easter so there will be no training, but the club are having some events with visiting senior teams so I will email out the details later in the week.

The following week is The Tour so we will be in Bath for plenty of fun and games - having discovered the fancy dress will be seen in public I need to revise my outfit !!

Our next home training session will be the 22nd which will be more of the same from today. We then have the Uckfield festival on the 29th - our last Tag festival !

It looks like the annual prize giving will be on May 20th so we will continue to run training sessions up until then before giving you a break ! We may run some sessions during the summer break, depending on boot fairs etc - I'll keep you posted.

We are also planning to take the children to the Evolution climbing centre in Lye green before the end of the season and would love it if you all joined us at the Half Moon, also in Lye Green afterwards where there is a large beer garden and they serve curry ! This will either be on the 6th or 13th of May, I will confirm later in the week.

Have a great Easter, those who are on tour I will see you at 10 am on Friday 13th and everyone else, Sunday 22nd.

Sunday 25th March

Crowborough 'B' Festival - Home

You wait all season for some silverware and then two come along at once!

Well done to all the players today who contrived to win the B festival. Special thanks to Josh and Joseph who came along to support their team mates and ended up playing as we fielded two teams when Hove didn't turn up.

The only game lost was against ourselves, giving us the victory against some good opposition - Cranbrook and Sevenoaks both have strength in depth. Our players showed it's about quality not quantity with their tireless tagging and support running. We may not have the biggest squad in outright numbers, but have the biggest in terms of effort and heart!

Well done to Archie for being player of the fortnight with strong performances two weeks running.

Next week it's home training and we will be doing some contact training as we start looking to next season. Please remember gum shields, shoulder pads, scrum caps - whatever you and your child feel is needed for them to be comfortable. Gum shields are mandatory, the pads and caps optional.

Thanks to Nick for the thankless task of refereeing - especially when stroppy coaches like me go off on one... Also thanks to Ash and Dan for the usual efforts to cajole, encourage and bribe the children into some excellent performances again.

Finally thanks to William, Sara H-O and Sarah L for car parking, bar and general helping out again.

Sunday 11th March
East Sussex Festival - Home

As the sun came out at the East Sussex festival, our players rose to the occasion and shone themselves!

With the importance of concentrating on the next game and the next half drummed into the players from the off it was pleasing to see some magnificent defensive play, coupled with the usual sharp attacking runs and great support play. I asked the team to get me two possession turnovers per half, per game and they gave that, and more, in the pool games.

The opening game was against East Grinstead, a worthy opponent at any time. To come out on top 5 tries to 3 got us off to a perfect start. Tries game from Zach, Joseph, Alex, Isaac - who made a lovely snake-hips run, and Felix. Tagging was superb with the requested 2 turnovers per half being ably provided, with David and Zach tagging everything that moved!

The second game against Shoreham saw us 3 tries to nil up at half time with tries from Josh, Zach and Alex. Two 7-tag turnovers plus a run out to touch gave us ample opportunity to run in our own tries. Changes in the second half saw the subs Luke, Lucy and Dan come on and ably step into their more experienced team-mates shoes with Luke in particular tagging superbly. Another couple of tries saw us win 5 nil - our first festival win to nil.

The final pool game was against Hastings. Again the subs had a run out in the second half. Tries from Isaac, Zach, Josh and Alex plus 4 7-tag turnovers saw us run out 6-1 winners to complete a 100% winning record and top our pool.

The semi-final was against local rivals Heathfield who had beaten us earlier in the season at the Hastings festival.

The game was very tight with our defence again superb forcing turnovers and mistakes. To be fair, Heathfield also had a superb defence and the 2-1 half time lead through tries from Josh and David left us all nervous with the game still anyone's for the taking. We were able to strike just the once in the second half with Alex grabbing another. Defence was to prove the vital element though, as Heathfield were unable to get over the line in the second half giving us a hard-fought 3-1 win to take us into our second East Sussex final in two years.

The final was against our nemesis team - Lewes.

Lewes had the early advantage, running up a 3-1 half time lead with Alex's try ensuring he claimed one in every game. Felix claimed an early try in the second half to take us back to within one, but Lewes continued the second half as they'd played the first, running some superb lines and putting their very quick wingers into space. Despite some desperate running and leaping from Zach and David, they were able to rack up a couple of unanswered tries to stretch their lead. David was on the end of a superb passing move involving practically the whole team to grab another try for us but Lewes managed to break out again to leave us on the end of a 7-3 defeat.

A really superb effort from all ten players has left us all hugely proud of the runners up spot - for the second year running. With the small squad we have our players are really punching above their weight!

Sunday 20^th November

Crowborough vs Crawley - Away

4 matches played and 4 won. Tries from David, Josh, Zach, Joseph, Isaac and Alex along with some strong running from Luke, Archie, Lucy and good tagging from Charlie and Felix gave a really strong team performance today.

The first game was a 4-1 win, followed by a much closer second game settled by a last gasp try from David to take a 5-4 win.

Some great solo tries from Zach and Josh in the third game along with great passing from Joseph and David for Alex to take a lovely running catch gave a 6-1 win in the third game.

The final game was tighter than the third with a 3-1 victory secured by Alex who showed great hands in collecting a bouncing ball on the run to score the final try to secure a clean sweep. His team mates voted him player of the week for his great support runs and handling skills.

Sunday 6^th November

Crowborough ‘’A’ Festival - Home

Match 1 - Crowborough 3 – Cranbrook 3

Match 2 - Crowborough 5 – Eastbourne 1

Match 3 - Crowborough 0 – Haywards Heath 3

There was a "golden try" playoff between Crowborough and Cranbrook for the runners up spot which Crowborough won with a try from Josh Radford.

Sunday 9^th October

Hastings & Bexhill Festival – Away

Our first game against Heathfield didn't quite go according to plan with some uncharacteristic gaps in the defensive line letting Heathfield in a couple more times than we would have hoped. A few handling errors in attack meant that we were down 5-3 at the end despite tries from David, Alex and Josh.

Next up were Sevenoaks so our pool was not getting any easier! A scruffy first half saw us chasing the game but a much better second half saw us squeak home 6-5. Josh was the hat-trick star with tries also from Zach, Joseph and Felix. According to the Sevenoaks coach we were the first team to ever take them to 7 tags and a turnover.

The third game was against Hove - who we've never played before. A tight game with some massive efforts in defence from the whole team and some great support running, especially from Alex who bagged a try and set up another. Other try scorers were Zach with 2 and Josh, Joseph and Isaac with one apiece. Another win 6-5.

Finally we were up against our old foes (friends really!) Lewes, who we always have titanic games with. This time was no different, with the sides really evenly matched. Some huge tagging efforts from Josh and David, with Zach and Joseph covering massive yardage as they raced from side to side led to 3 turnovers on 7 tags preventing Lewes crossing the line too often. 4 tries of our own, from Josh, Zach, Joseph and Felix saw the game end in a 4-4 draw.

The defeat to Heathfield meant it was always going to be difficult to qualify for the final and the draw with Lewes put paid to it ! Lewes went on to win the final so at least we drew with the overall winners. We scored more tries than any other team in our pool, and could have had several more but for a few handling errors. So our attacking play looks to be in good shape. A little tightening up of the defence and we will be getting close to the level we aspire to!

Match Reports for 2010/11 Season

Under 7s at the East Sussex Festival 13 March

The opening game was against hosts East Grinstead who we have played several times this season. A strong defensive performance from Crowborough forced the mistakes from East Grinstead which, coupled with some lovely attacking runs from Zach and Josh saw Crowborough win 6 tries to 4.

The next game was against a very physical Eastbourne side who seemed to put shirt pulling and shoulder charging ahead of tagging and passing ! It didn't put our team off with a comfortable 6-3 victory being the outcome.

The final pool game saw us play pre-tournament favourites Brighton – the first time we have encountered them this season. A very even first half gave us a slim 4-3 half time lead. When Brighton equalised with the first move of the second half it looked like these evenly matched teams were going to go down to the wire.

The next 4 minutes were probably the best 4 minutes of rugby Crowborough have played this season with the defence being immense, forcing a very well drilled Brighton side into mistakes that enabled well worked tries to be scored by Josh and David. With Zach and Joseph also getting on the scoresheet we won the game 9-5 in what was a truly immense result !

Taking 3 wins from 3, we topped the pool and progressed into a semi-final against Heathfield who we had previously met at the same stage in the Hastings festival earlier in the season.

The Crowborough team continued where they had left off in the Brighton game by dominating the defensive line – David and Josh showing no mercy with their tagging ! Joseph covered a huge amount of ground running in to get the tags, back into the line and off again for the next tag ! The whole squad played their part in this victory with some great defense and excellent tries from the usual suspects. The result was another 9-5 victory, putting us into the final – a fantastic achievement !

The final saw us up again against Brighton who had seen off Lewes in the other semi final.

It's fair to say the correct two teams made the final and the first half was another close, tense affair, 4-4 at the break.

The second half this time belonged to Brighton. Despite some heroic tagging from all, a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes in attack gave turnover ball to Brighton that they made the most of, edging ahead into a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Runs from Joseph and Ollie threatened the Brighton try line but they held firm and took the win 8-6.

The coaches are all very proud of the effort put in by the whole squad. Defensively we played better than ever, just running out of energy and concentration in the last couple of minutes of the final. The coaches agreed that Joseph was our player of the day – the distance he covered in defense was huge and he ran some great supporting lines in attack.

With Crowborough winning the fair play award, it was a great day that each player, parent and coach can be proud of.

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Sunday 9th January 2011 - Away @ East Grinstead.

After a joint training session and the obligatory games of bulldog we lined up against our hosts, a team we played in the Hastings festival and twice at our own festival, coming out the winners each time.

The early exchanges today were evenly balanced with the scores at 2 apiece after the first 4 plays. Then the Crowborough players stepped up a gear with Zack and Josh running some great lines to cut through the East Grinstead defence, ably supported by Joseph, Felix and David.

The resulting tries and some firm defence which forced the opposition into touch on several occasions moved the score on to 6-2 before the hosts scored again to take it to 6-3. With the last play of the game it was another good move from Crowborough which ended with Josh tip-toeing alongside the touchline to score in the corner for a final score of 7-3.

Well done everyone !
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It's back into action for the Under 7's on Sunday 9th January with an away fixture at East Grinstead who we have played several times in our first two festivals, with an unbeaten record so far ! The following week we welcome Hastings and Bexhill to train and play at home. The whole squad will be involved in these fixtures.

I hope everyone has enjoyed the first half of the season, we've made great progress with the skills of our players and the whole coaching team is looking ahead with confidence to the upcoming fixtures.

Remember, if you think a classmate, friend or relative may be interested in rugby, bring them along to one of our home training sessions - next is Sunday 23rd Jan - to try it out and see if they like it.

On behalf of all the coaches, may I wish everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.

Jeremy, Ash, Nick, Dan, Andy and James

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Sunday 7th November 2010.

After two festivals in their debut season the under 7s have a runner up spot and a "plate" final victory to their name. Not a bad start !

The recent Crowborough "A" festival saw a mixed bag with 1 win and two defeats in the group matches and two wins in the semi and final of the "plate" competition. Despite it being a designated "A" festival (there will be a "B" festival later in the season) we were able to get every player on the pitch at some point during the festival.

Many clubs have designated "A" and "B" teams from the offset and "B" players tend not to get the chance to play at the "A" festivals until they are of a higher standard of play. We have tried to give everyone a run out in the first two festivals.

It's a difficult balancing act for the coaches - everyone wants to win but we want to include as many players as possible. For the next two weeks we are training at home and will put all players through the same exercises. The following week we have a "triangular" tournament at Heathfield, along with Hove. We then have another week of home training before our trip to Harlequins on December 12th. It is our intention to play our strongest team at this festival as we will be facing our toughest competition of the year.

After Christmas we have some fixtures against teams where there will just be us and the other team - all players will be involved in these fixtures unless designated as "A" or "B" only - we'll keep everyone updated as we go through the season.

Thanks for your support , Jeremy Evans.

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Sunday 10th October 2010.

We have our first festival at Hastings and Bexhill next Sunday.

For this first festival we can take 12 players in our squad. Those players are :-

- Lucy Lamplugh	- Joseph Chapman	- Isaac Roff
- Josh Radford	- Felix Glynn	- David Evans
- Zachary Trengove	- Felix Tinson	- Luke Murphy
- Joe Tolkein	- Archie Roberts	- Flynn Roberts

The remaining players are welcome to come and cheer on their club-mates and experience the atmosphere of a rugby festival in readiness for playing at one of the later events. Alternatively James and the under 6 squad will be training at Crowborough and would welcome any of our players who aren't able to make the trip down to Hastings. If you know you won't be able to make it to Hastings, please let me know.

As we go through the season we will not be able to play everyone at every fixture so we will rotate the players based on ability and experience, as well as availability. Some fixtures are designated as "A" fixtures and some as "B" fixtures - players for these will be selected based on ability and experience, with chances for everyone to play in teams of a similar level.

Rest assured that every child will get to play in matches during the season to develop them and improve their skills at a pace which suits them. This development will continue at the home training sessions on the days we are not playing matches or festivals.

The first matches at Hastings are due to start at 10.30 with registration taking place at 10. Therefore, I'd ask that everyone aims to arrive between 9.30 and 9.45. The festival is expected to run until at least 3pm so packed lunches and plenty of drinks are the order of the day !

We are on the look out for more players so if you know someone who might like to give rugby a try, please click the "send to a friend" button above and invite them along to one of our home training sessions.

Regards,

Jeremy, Dan, Nick, James, Andy, Ashley, Simon.

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"Welcome to the under 7's - the first age group where the children play competitive TAG rugby.

"Following their initial work in the under 6's the children who come up to the under 7's will have a basic level of skill and understanding of the TAG rugby game that the coaching team will be developing with them in the coming season.

"The emphasis is on enjoyment - we want the children to develop a love for the game that comes from having the ball in their hands as often as possible. The activities we run are designed to keep the children involved at all times while developing their skills. We have children at various stages of development - some were practically born with a rugby ball in their hands, others will have just picked a ball up for the first time. Whatever the level, the coaching team will involve every child and keep them moving a a pace which suits them.

"The coaches - Dan, Nick, James, Andy and myself - all have children in the under 7 year group who have come through the under 6 age group. Our children give us plenty of feedback (!), and we welcome it from the other parents as well. Feel free to come and talk to one of us before or after a training session, or call / email me if you need to.

"Our fixtures are published in the fixture list. Training sessions this year are from 10am - 12. I would like to draw your attention to the "Bring a friend" day on the 19th September. Please invite a friend and bring them along. We'll have plenty of fun activities on the day to introduce new children to TAG rugby.

"We look forward to seeing you when training starts again on September 5th. If your child has a rugby ball, I would encourage them to bring it with them (with their name on it) as we want to get the children using the ball as much as possible and are planning some activities which will need as many balls in play as possible !

"Jeremy and the under 7's coaching team."

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Sunday 9th October 2010 - Away @ Hastings & Bexhill Festival.

A great first festival for the under 7s.

A thrilling 6-1 opening win against East Grinstead was followed by a nervy 3-3 draw with Sevenoaks and a scrappy 5-2 win over Hastings & Bexhill. The results saw us top the group and put us safely into the semi-final.

We faced Heathfield in the semi and we made life hard for ourselves by missing several tagging opportunities and putting a couple of feet into touch when the try line was beckoning. Coupled with the odd forward pass we really did seem to be on the edge ! The lads (and Lucy !) pulled together well and scrabbled home with a 5-4 win which put us into the final against Lewes who had beaten Sevenoaks in the other semi-final.

Making the final was a fantastic achievement in itself but the team wanted more ! The final was a close fought affair with our players tagging like demons to try and contain Lewes. For their part Lewes were quick out of the blocks and keen to cut down the space our players wanted to use. At the end it was a tense 4-4 draw with the coaches opting for a sudden death "next try wins" rather than an unsatisfactory toss of the coin to decide it.

Crowborough started and came oh so close with the last gasp try scoring effort being spilled forward. The resulting switch in possession to Lewes was to prove costly who managed to move the ball wide quickly and squeeze home in the corner for the winning try.

A fantastic effort by the whole squad at our first festival - everyone should be proud of themselves. We matched the best and came agonisingly close in the final.

Well done everyone.

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Sunday 3rd October 2010 -Away @ Edenbridge.

A great day today and we just beat the worst of the weather !

As a first "competitive" outing - albeit in a friendly environment, rather than a festival - our children gave a great account of themselves, both in terms of their play and their behavior - a real credit to the club.

Results-wise an 11-6 victory gave cause for celebration, especially the second half where we ran in 6 tries to Edenbridge's two. A much better defensive showing. Player of the week David Evans celebrated a hat-trick of tries (although he tells me he scored even more !!) - the support play from our children was excellent with players queueing up to take passes when one of their number was tagged.

With the less experienced players enjoying a fun game against some of Edenbridge's younger players there was an opportunity for all children to play in a game against an opposition club which was great.

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Sunday 14th March 2010 - East Sussex Festival hosted at Eastbourne RFC.

We lost in the final to Brighton.

We had an amazing day - We convincingly beat Hastings and Eastbourne in our first two games and then had a tough game against East Grinstead eventually will 8 - 5. That put us through to the semi's where we beat Lewes in an amazing game - the support and passing skills for an under 7's side were quite frankly amazing with us winning 7 - 4. This put us through to a final with Brighton for a fantastic game. Unfortunately we were very tired and after 2 minutes found ourselves 2 to 0 down but as soon as we woke up we ended up in a cracking high intensity game with the skills from both sides being amazing. We ended up losing 8 - 6 have clawed our way back from 4 - 1 down at half time. I am so proud of the boys - I couldn't have asked for anymore from them they were just fantastic!!

Andrew

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