U7 Through to finals in Saracens Cup

Sat 30th saw the U7’s travel to the home of Saracens for the Alan Day Volkswagen Cup.

The first task of the day was to get the boys up and to the ground for 9am… not too much of a problem with the pent up excitement and anticipation for the day.

After meeting at the carpark we set off on the short walk (sorry hike!) to the ground for registration, find our spot in the stand (the boys would have picked row “ZZ” right at the top the West stand, which resembled the North face of Mt Eiger) then preparation for the games.

A quick warm up in front of the main stand to polish up our ball handling skills and defensive practice and we were ready for the games.

1st game was against OA’s 2.

The boys built on the skills practiced in the warm up showing great passing and defensive work as a team. Playing on a pitch marked out with cones meant there were a number of turnovers on both sides for stepping out over the side-lines which saw the lead change hand 4 times. Stortford were behind as the final phase got underway and the boy pushed on to score an equalising try. Final score was 6-6. A fair result to start off.

2nd game was against Maldon 1 who already had a win under their belts.

This team proved stiffer competition in a game that was end to end stuff with both sides keeping within the pitch boundary. Some excellent tagging in defence and passing in the offence for both teams meant we traded scores on each attacking play so it was down to the time on the clock to who would be winning at the end.

This time it was Stortford who were leading with the last play of the game given to Maldon. Maldon held their nerve and although we tagged our socks off they managed to score the try to equalise and draw the game. Bitterly unlucky not to have won this one but again a fair result which showed how close the two teams were in terms of ability. Final score 7-7 – A special mention to the Maldon coach for his Moustache growing ability!

The 3rd Game against Windsor was an unknown as we hadn’t watched them and they had already registered 2 wins

This game was a mixed bag and we had seemed to have forgotten our basics in the first half…was tiredness kicking in? Windsor were 3-0 up before we decided to wake up and remember how to play rugby. A culmination of great team tagging in defence and errors from the opposition leading turnovers in our favour meant were managed turn the score around at the break 5-4. Some great individual running by all and a greater awareness of the space on the pitch meant we never surrendered the lead for the whole of the second half. This game showed how much sprit the boys had and the final score was a well deserved first win of the day 10-8.

With it now 4 hours into the day and post numerous trips up Mt Eiger the boys were starting to get tired and hungry……. roll out the Haribo! An instant sugar rush did the trick and energy levels were back up.

Our 4th and final game was against the spirited Old Grammarians.

Knowing the other results in the group it was in our own hands the win the game and progress through to the next round.
Stortford started the game and went 2 up in quick succession with 2 great individual tries, this however woke up the opposition and they came back 2-2 before it finished 3-3 at half time. Again a quick team huddle for the boys and they came out with a stronger defensive line that put the opposition under pressure. With the ref penalising the errors on both sides the ball turned over numerous times before the next score which thankfully was for us. OG’s got one more back to level again before we went ahead by 2 in the closing minute to win the game 6-4. In all we deserved the win through determination alone.

The Final results were Draw 2, Win 2, tries For 29, tries against 25 (+4), Points 8

As this was the exact the same total and try difference as Maldon it resulted in us sharing the top spot. The combined efforts of the team and the support of the parents, by now shivering on the side-lines means the U7s boys get the chance to compete in the finals games to be played in March….. Well done boys!

From a coaches point of view some things to work on in training but overall all the boys listened and put into practice the things they’ve been learning over the weeks.

So, post-game it was time to get changed into some warmer clothing, grab a bite to eat, play some games in the relatively tropical environment of the bar under the stand and get ready for the next main event….

THE SMALLER GAME OF THE DAY – SARACENS Vs SALE SHARKS

Our boys started off watching the teams warm up…. Sorry to Owen (Farrell) if the boys put you off your practice kicking with their shouting and waving!?!

A little like Stortford’s day Sarries started slow but determined, but it was Sale who took the lead and kept it throughout the game until Sarries came good at the end to a jubilant set of BS U7s who by now had lost their voices. The game ended 24-19.

We thought the day was over and were ready to go when an announcement said, to the delight of the boys that we could go onto the pitch to have a kick about! This we did and by chance some of the player came out for a warm down so the boys got a couple of autographs and photos to end a brilliant day.

Thanks to all those that helped the day happen…. and a special thanks and good luck to the players for reaching the finals I’m sure the rest of the squad are behind you!

Coaches Jimma and James