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U10's Match Report

25^th April 2010 – Uckfield Mini Rugby Festival

Team : Lewis Pooley, Ben Chapman, Alex Mason, Dan Astill, Sam Bing, Henry Hicks, Ben McDaid, Jack Sambrook, Owen Lloyd, Josh Moore, Jamie Beck, Harry Mouat, Archie Faulkner, Ethan Muress.

The team had been looking forward to this Festival, one they had one before. The team started extremely well, they dominated play against Stamford, a touring side that regularly attends the Uckfield Festival. The tackles were hard and most counted, Stamford couldn’t get any real play and before half time Ben McDaid crossed the line for the first try, a second came shortly with Ben Chapman powering himself across the line for his 10^th of the season. The touring side did get a consolation with a late try to leave the final score at 2 -1.

The second game was against Lewes, a side we expected to convincingly beat. The team were not as alert as they were in their first game and Lewes quickly ran in a couple of tries. During the second half the team stepped up and looked as if they might pull it back, Alex Mason bulldozed his way across the line, but Lewes also made a late break leaving the final score 3 – 1.

The third match was against Haywards Heath. The boys started off as they meant to continue with dominance and focus, tackles were excellent and Haywards Heath were given no opportunities. Ben McDaid made a great run, side stepping the opponents before crossing the line for a well deserved lead and his 9^th try of the season. In the second half Alex Mason had a good run and crossed the line to give him his 17^th try of the season. Final score 2 – 0.

Then onto Brighton Bees – they turned out to be unbeaten pool winners. The boys started well and looked dominant, but Brighton were disciplined and focused and to their credit kept our boys out. The game was extremely physical and extremely exciting. Eventually Brighton had an opening and managed to break to pick up the only try of the game. Final score 1 – 0.

18^th April 2010 – Westcombe Park 36^th Mini Rugby Festival

Team : Lewis Pooley, Ben Chapman, Alex Mason, Dan Astill, Sam Bing, Henry Hicks, Ben McDaid, Jack Sambrook, Owen Lloyd, Joey Lambden, Josh Moore, Jamie Beck, Harry Mouat, Archie Faulkner.

What a fantastic day, the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky and perhaps for the first time 50 years or more, not a plane to be seen. We had a tough draw on the day, we were up against various championship sides including Upminster, Blackheath and Sevenoaks, all of which fielded strong sides.

Our first match was against Sevenoaks, where we started extremely strong, dominating the first few minutes of play before Alex Mason made trademark run through and over everything in his path to score his 15^th of the season. At this point we thinking of an upset, Sevenoaks seemed to be the team to beat and here we were one up and looking very dangerous....... Then everything changed and unfortunately changed for the day, the boys started to play as individuals rather than as a team and Sevenoaks started to break them down. Tries came in quick succession and at halftime our lead had been taken away – two quick tries in the second half saw the final score being Sevenoaks 3, Crowborough 1.

The second match was against the Essex Champions Upminster, a very strong team who again saw their way through our line far too frequently. Our tackling was still good, the forwards were still very dominant, but the team work was not working well and by half time we were two down. More of the same came in the second half, not helped by a nasty coming together of heads, Jamie Beck & Joey Lambden clashed and by the close of play it was difficult to see who came off best – nursing significant bruising both players were taken out of the days proceedings by the organisers, leaving us two boys down. Final score Upminster won 4-0.

Our third match was against our old rivals Heathfield. Again we started strong, we had the majority of play and really dominated the game. Our efforts were eventually rewarded as Ben Chapman powered the maul over the line and despite tremendous efforts to stop him grounding, his power and determination were rewarded and he came away with well deserved try. The Reds continued to dominate play and a moments lapse in play allowed the Hurricanes to slip past and equalise. During the second half Crowborough continued to have their way, the tackles were hard, the ball handling had really improved, but their efforts were unrewarded – then in a moments break, the Hurricanes managed to slip through again to pick up a last minute try to win 2 -1....... very unrepresentative of the game!

Our final game of the day was against Blackheath, again the Reds started well, although we were struggling having several players down, we still managed to put up a good account of ourselves. Blackheath were extremely strong on the day and although the score ended 3-0 in their favour, I think it was a very flattering result.

21^st March 2010 – Heathfield Festival

Team : Lewis Pooley, Ben Chapman, Alex Mason, Ethan Murress, Sam Bing, Henry Hicks, Ben McDaid, Jack Sambrook, Owen Lloyd, Joey Lambden, Josh Moore, Jamie Beck, Harry Mouat, Archie Faulkner.

Buoyed by their impressive play at the Sussex Festival, the boys were really up for the Heathfield Festival. Their first test was against East Grinstead who they had beaten the week before in the Plate Final. The game was fairly one sided, more so than the week before and the Reds dominated play Ben Chapman and Archie Faulkner ran in a try each and at half time with confidence running high, we rested three players – as we had back to back games. Grinstead responded in the 2^nd half and despite a valiant effort from Ben McDaid with an impressive run, he confused the dead ball line with the try line and had his try disallowed. Grinstead managed to sneak in with a couple of late tries and stole a 3 – 2 win.

Disappointment at the result, but added confidence from their dominant play saw the boys take on the hosts, Heathfield A. Again the Reds dominated the game and the result was very flattering to the home team. Ben Chapman and Ben McDaid both ran in tries to give a final result of 2 – 2.

The final pool game was against a reduced Hastings side. It had already been decided that because the Hastings team only had 7 boys, all other teams would play 7. Crowborough were in dominant form and huge tackle after huge tackle saw the Hastings team receive a battering, but they played on and all credit to the Hastings team, they were extremely sporting and managed to finish with 6 boys on the pitch. Jack Sambrook, Harry Mouat and Owen Lloyd all adding a try to their tally, whilst Ben Chapman ran in two. Hastings were rewarded for their effort with a token try towards the end, final score 5 – 1.

The final match of the day was for 3^rd place against Chichester. This was a hard fought match against a well drilled opposition. By half time and despite numerous attempts, no scores had been added and this continued deep into the second half before Henry Hicks made an impressive run from deep within their own half to take the only try of the game and giving the boys the 3^rd place. Final score 1 - 0

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14^th March 2010 – East Sussex Festival – Eastbourne.

Team : Lewis Pooley, Ben Chapman, Alex Mason, Ethan Murress, Sam Bing, Henry Hicks, Ben McDaid, Jack Sambrook, Owen Lloyd, Joey Lambden, Josh Moore, Jamie Beck, Harry Mouat, Archie Faulkner.

The team arrived buzzing and ready to do battle, the coaches had been turning up the heat over the past few weeks and there is huge appreciation for all the work they have done. The first match was against Hastings and the boys played unbelievably well, the skills and training really came together to show a level of Rugby that any parent or coach would be proud of. Ben Chapman, Ben McDaid, Sam Bing and Harry Mouat all ran in tries. Everybody stuck to their positions, the Forwards were powerful and well disciplined and they really deserved their 4 -1 victory.

The second match was against Uckfield. This was a tough match and although highlighting refereeing deficiencies is unsporting, the fact was that the boys were playing against 10! After having two excellent tries disallowed, the result remained without score 0 – 0.

Brighton were the opposition for our third match. Unfortunately the team seem to be a little in ore of Brighton, a team that has a reputation. This is unfortunate, because on face value, the boys can easily hold their own against them and if they were to believe a bit more, they will cause a massive upset. Brighton started very quickly and racked a few tries before the Reds regained composure. Final score 4 – 0.

The first match in the Plate competition was against Lewes, another team with a reputation at this age group, but the boys were in awesome form by this stage, they were working well and suddenly things started to go really well. Owen Lloyd ran in 2 whilst Ben Chapman, Ben McDaid and Sam Bing all ran in a try each, final score 5 – 1.

The plate final was contested with East Grinstead. The game was hard and the boys worked really hard. They weren’t getting the run of the green and did an amazing job in stopping Grinstead crossing the line. Eventually in the closing stages Alex Mason ran in his 14^th of the season giving the reds a well deserved win. Final score 1 – 0. Congratulations to the team and the coaches, a job well done.

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7^th February 2010 – Crowborough A Festival.

Team : Lewis Pooley, Ben Chapman, Alex Mason, Ethan Murress, Sam Bing, Henry Hicks, Ben McDaid, Jack Sambrook, Owen Lloyd, Joey Lambden, Josh Moore, Dan Astill, Archie Faulkner, Jacob Turnam, Connor Scholes.

Because the of the weather this was a rearranged fixture and only 3 visiting teams were available. The boys started extremely slow, reflecting the lack of training and I suspect some loss of confidence after the Brighton trip. Tunbridge Wells A ran in 4 tries and despite the play starting to come together towards the end, the boys were unable to get the ball over the line – final score 4 – 0.

The second game was against Tonbridge Judds and despite our previous domination of them at Edenbridge, the boys just didn’t get it going and could only watch as the Judds racked up three tries. Final score 3 – 0.

In the final game against Cranbrook, the team came alive and not only dominated, they ran away with it, they tackled hard, the forwards rucked well and saw the Reds across the line 4 times, Ben Chapman and Lewis Pooley chalked up one each for the forwards, Dan Astill and Sam Bing ran one in each. Cranbrook managed to claw one back, so the final score was 4 -1. I think the comments from the Judds and Tunbridge Wells Coaches best summed up the day, they both said that they were glad they didn’t play the Crowborough team that Cranbrook faced!

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24^th January 2010 – Friendly against Brighton A & Rosslyn Park

With a massive interruption to training due to the weather, the boys had not played for over a month, so the fairly one sided matches didn’t really reflect the teams capabilities. Brighton ran 5 tries and Alex Mason managed to sneak one in for the Reds, final score 5 – 1.

Rosslyn Park were in a completely different league to Brighton, they trampled Brighton 6 – 0 and then faced the boys. With very little expectation the boys put up a good account of themselves and again the score didn’t really reflect the meat of the game.

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13^th December 2009 – Friendly against Hove A & B

Hove A were in extremely good form and their superior discipline saw them to hard victory. Just as the Uckfield match at the Crawley Festival didn’t really reflect the game, so this one flattered the opponents. The final score was 4 – 1 to Hove with Alex Mason getting our lonely try.

The second match against Hove B was also fiercely contested and again in my opinion, the score of 2 – 0 was very flattering to the home side.

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22^nd November 2009 – Friendly against Tunbridge Wells A & B

For some reason the team turned up half asleep and nothing seemed to work, ball handing, passing, tackling was all under par. Tunbridge Wells A were far more disciplined and crossed the line 3 times before Alex Mason claimed one back, final score 3 – 1.

Tunbridge Wells B put up more resistance than they should have and prevented us scoring until the closing moments of the match, Alex Mason scoring to give the Reds a 1 – 0 victory.

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15^th November 2009 – Friendly against Tonbridge Judds and Edenbridge (at Edenbridge)

Still flying high on the back of their Crawley Festival the boys put up an effective, if a bit unlucky, challenge to both the teams. The tackling was solid, but the reduced training had taken its toll on basic ball handling and passing. Despite both teams crossing our line, a total of three tries from Alex Mason ensured draws in both games. Judds 2 – 2 and Edenbridge 1 -1.

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11th October 2009 – Hastings & Bexhill Festival Team : Ben Chapman, Harry Mouat, Ben McDaid, Jack Sambrook, Jamie Beck, Owen Lloyd, Sam Bing, Jacob Turnham, Joe Lambden, Josh Moore, Dan Astill, Alex MasonBoys did quite well, they won 2 lost 2, mind you the loss against East Grinstead was questionable! They struggled against Hove, but all in all put in a very good account of themselves. The only obvious weakness was losing the ball and rucking, the boys were a bit slow on piling in, which is where they lost both games. By far the most ferocious tackles were from the Crowborough team and they were making lots of them - think the results were not representative of the quality of their play. Results were we beat Lewes 1 – 0, We lost to Hove 3 – 0, Beat Cranbrook 3 – 1 and lost to East Grinstead 2 -3.

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4^th October 2009 – Crawley Festival

Team : Ben Chapman, Alex Mason, Sam Bing, Ben McDaid, Jack Sambrook, Owen Lloyd, Joey Lambden, Josh Moore, Jamie Beck, Harry Mouat, Sam Martin, Dan Astill.

The boys started the festival in dominating form, tackling everything that moved – the match against Uckfield was one of the most one sided games I have seen, Crowborough made almost every tackle, they pushed forward and were unlucky to not come away with a win, a quick break away try rewarded a very lucky Uckfield side. The second match was against Heathfield and for some reason the team did not make a tackle or cross the line, eventually losing 6-0. The final pool game was against Midhurst, a better game with comfortable win over Midhurst, even if the score of 3 – 2 didn’t reflect it. Jack Sambrook, Ben Chapamn and Alex Mason getting the first tries of the season.

Moving into the play offs the boys faced Crawley A, but with a sniff of silver ware and a new found confidence the boys dominated play, there was some ferocious tackling from the Reds before Alex Mason and Jack Sambrook both crossed the line to give a 2 – 0 victory. Into the plate finals, they faced Eastbourne and a team that had struggled and made hard work of the pool games, was on fire, tries from Ben Chapman, Jack Sambrook, Ben McDaid, Jamie Beck and a hat trick from Alex Mason saw them win convincingly 7 -1.

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Match Reports

Can you help ?

Coach , Coach's Assistant, Parent, Grandparent or Guardian.

We are looking for someone within this age group to write a match report after each fixture.

It doesn't have to be much, You may like to mention the score, try scorers, try saving tackle etc.

If you are intrested talk to your head coach first - then please forward to Ian Geering CRFC Mini/Junior Fixture Secretary before the Monday evening following the fixture. His email address is itag.geering@btinternet.com.

Thank you.

U10's Match Report

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