Richmond Famine Ended

For the last two season we have been travelling to the Richmond Tournament without a win, or even a drawn game. Richmond is one of the toughest tournaments in the country. The boys always enjoyed the trip but we could never quite get the win we deserved. Until this year.
With the sudden stomach bugs and mixed up messages we arrived at Richmond with only 13 players and a long day ahead of us.
First up we played Salisbury, the boys had their team talk on the bus, so every player knew what position they were playing in and what was expected of them. The boys were fired up and ready. Riku stepped into the hooking position for the second week in a row. All went well in the first half, winning most of the scrums and line outs to feed the backs to run. Freddie went over the try line only to be held up, two minutes later he went again for his deserved try. Half time and with only one sub there wasn’t much to change. In the second half Salisbury started to weaken under the relentless Stortford pressure. Then Ryan O’Sullivan went on a run on the wing with so much aggression he went through four players to score his try. Toby converted to make the final score Stortford 12, Salisbury nil.
Second up was Winchester. This was a step up and the game could have gone either way. Although the boys played well, a couple of missed tackles let in one try per half. Final score Stortford nil, Winchester 14.
Next was Effingham. After a good team talk the boys came out fresh ready to play. In the first half Stortford was again winning scrums, line outs and rucks. All square at half time. The tired legs and lack of substitutes was starting to show in the second half. As players were getting injured and replaced, the recovery needed to be quick to get back on the field. Still we looked like winning, playing the game in the oppositions half. Final score a disappointing Nil to Nil.
Briefly it did cross my mind to perhaps call it a day with so many tied players, but they seemed to recover quickly.
Last to play was tournament favourites Richmond. This, as all the games, was a close match against a good team. A mention to our three props, Jaq, Jack and Ryan Wilson, as they had been doing a lot of work. So a 4th prop needed to be trained, Nathan. He had been playing fly half, but we needed him in the front row and he did a fantastic job. Final score Stortford nil, Richmond 14.
This is our best results in this national tournament for several years. Well done to all the boys and I am looking forward to the Herts tournament this Sunday.