U8's visit to Luton

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Hitchin visit Luton and nobody asked us to give up the gate receipts.....

Wrong sport...apologies...

Match reports and coaches comments follow, however just some info about forthcoming weekends. This weekend we are at home training. Can you let me know if you are not available (it makes it much easier to plan the session if we know how many are turning up). The following weekend we are at home against Chess Valley. Again we will be picking 2 teams, which will inevitably leave some players without a game. If you are not available let me know and I can take this into account. The following 2 weekends we will be looking at introducing some contact. More information about that will follow. We are also planning an introduction to contact (rugby that is) for the parents (I know that there are many of you out there who cannot wait to do some cheek to cheek with Eric!). This will probably be either a Tuesday or Thursday evening at the club in the next couple of weeks and will be run by Tim Bonnet.

Match report for Tigers courtesy of Jill……

Game 1 - Hitchin 9 Luton 6
Hitchin started strongly, with Sam charging down the middle, off loading to Alfie who got us our first try. Some brilliant and consistent defensive work from Harry D won us a turnover which Alex punished Luton with to make it two to Hitchin. Alfie got the third in his usual style before Luton came back with a couple of tries. However, Joe kept our two try lead by finishing off a great series of long passes finding plenty of space on the wing. Following half time, Elliot grabbed a try with a fine solo effort with plenty of his team in support. Joe then defended well and won a turnover which he passed out to Sam and another fine example of team play resulted in a try, scored by Elliot. Sam got his first try of the year by taking a brilliant pass from Alfie and side stepping through the Luton players. They won yet another turnover, this time Harry L making the most of it with one of his strong runs to the corner. The game was finished off by Alex, who had been supporting Harry D perfectly and took the final pass over the line to end things at 9 - 6 to Hitchin.
Tries - Sam 1, Alex 2, Joe 1, Harry L 1, Elliot 2, Alfie 2.

Game 2 - Hitchin 7 Northampton 4
Northampton looked like a strong and well organised team but it didn't worry the Lions. Elliot got us off the mark with a cheeky side stepping dash, which was followed up with another try from Jordan as a result of some great interplay from Sam and Harry L. Northampton then scored but we won another turnover which Elliot scored from to make it Hitchin 3, Northampton 1 at half time. Northampton pulled a try back almost immediately but a fantastic pass from Alfie, finished by Elliot kept a strong lead. Despite some good defensive work from Jordan, Alfie and Sam, Northampton eventually managed to get another try. However, Elliot scored a superb individual try by dodging through the entire Northampton team almost immediately after. The team play and communication was exceptionally good and they set Elliot up for his 5th of the match. Hitchin then dominated and what can only be described as one of Alfie's most beautiful tries scored just before the end of the game finished things off.
I can't remember the last time this team lost a game, and with great team play and team loyalty, long may it continue. Well done boys.
Tries - Elliot 5, Jordan 1, Alfie 1.

Tigers report courtesy of Eric

Tigers 3 4 Northampton

The Tigers, under the captaincy of Rees, came out strongly and were quickly in with lots of tags, putting Northampton under pressure. Jack and Pippa filled the two 'fullback' roles and covered any Northampton breaks. Unfortunately, just as we thought the Tigers were bound to score Northampton broke away from their own half to take the lead. The Tigers kept up the pressure and there were strong runs by Iago, Jack and Joe and on a couple of occasions we came up just short. To make matters worse, just before half time Northampton broke away again to lead 2-0. Also an injury to the strong running Ben S upset the team’s rhythm. A positive half-time chat with the team, reassured them that were doing lots of things really well and sent them back out on a high. The introduction of Harry D also paid dividends as the Tigers quickly reduced the deficit with a try from Harry D. Despite some strong defensive play by Rees and Jonathan, Northampton extended their lead. Starting to believe in themselves, and with excellent support from the parents, Tigers kept pressing until Ben L broke through to make it 3-2. Yet again Northampton scored a break away try and at 4-2 it looked like they were in the ascendancy. However, Tigers dug deep and a really strong run by the impressive Iago cut the lead to 1. Then with only seconds to play Ben L broke through a gap, but just as he was about to score a Northampton defender just caught up with him and the referee determined that Ben had taken one step too many and called a turnover; so close and 'yet so far' but an excellent performance by all of the Tigers, especially in the second half which they won 3-2.

Tigers 5 9 Luton

Boosted by their second half performance in the first match and the addition of Harry L the Tigers came out strongly in the second match. A strong run by Jonathan and a pass to Harry L led to the Tigers leading 1-0. Luton were a strong and well drilled team and quickly pulled the score back and then took the lead. A run along the touchline past the Luton defence and despite a last second tag, two steps gave Harry L his second try. Luton then showed their strength and scored 3 unreturned tries to lead 5-2 at half-time. Refreshed Ben S replaced Harry L at half-time and quickly showed his value to the team with some strong running. Jack continued to show his ability at full back with strong covering and using his pace to get up and support the attacks. Hitchin quickly traded 2 tries apiece with Luton. The Tigers scores came from the hugely improving Iago, who gave a captains performance with two runs straight through the Luton defence. He quickly followed this up with some try saving tagging when the fast Luton team attacked. Luton's pace began to tell and despite strong defensive work by the whole team they added two more tries. The final score of the match came from the hard working Pippa, who showed her pace and strength to battle through in the corner to make the final score very respectable.

Due to strong performances all around, this week's Player of the Week was yet again a tough call. In the end I went for the player showing the greatest improvement and this was Iago. His concentration level throughout the two Tigers matches was as good as it's been all season; he really wanted to get involved at every opportunity. This was especially true in the second match, where he was selected as Captain (I'll have to remember this in the future!) There was a 5 minute spell in the second half when Iago was either running forward with pace to score two excellent tries, or he was dashing about grabbing tags - a real captains performance! The level of performance you showed today was of the highest order and particularly impressive as you've only been playing since September. Very well done Iago.

Coach's Comments

Overall a very strong performance by both the LIONS and the TIGERS.

The experienced LIONS are starting to look a truly formidable team and will prove tough opponents for any U8 team in Hertfordshire. Your pace and try scoring ability, both as individuals and as a team, will cause problems for any defence. Equally your pressure defence caused a number of turnovers that led to you winning both matches comfortably. This is backed up by excellent covering defence by the two 'full backs.' As you know, when you hold your defensive positions, in your own channels, you force the opponents to run towards the player rather than space and make getting the tags much easier. The final element we need to work on is speeding up the pass out of the tag/ tackle and looking for the support player when running, just in case the opponent’s defender gets to you. Having missed watching you last week, I was really impressed with your return from the Christmas break and I can see us having a very successful second half of the season - well done.

The less experienced TIGERS, for many of whom this is your first year playing rugby, you have really developed over the first half of the season. Your running, passing and support play has come on in leaps and bounds. Your defensive positioning is really improving and your confidence to get the tags is excellent. You're also really starting to work as a team and this will lead to improved results in the second half of the year. Each one of you should be proud of the improvements you've made individually and as a team. I said to you at half-time in the first match that I thought you were excellent, this led to probably your best performance of the season in the second half. It just shows all you need to have is confidence in your own ability. I'll keep telling you, but keep telling yourself and each other because it certainly improves your performance - well done.

The coaches are all delighted with your efforts and performances - let's keep it up.

See you Sunday at 10.15