U11s at St Neots Festival - 27 Apr 08

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Some solid performances got us through to the quarter-finals where we met our most frequent rival of the season - St Neots - for one last time as we finished the season almost as we began, only with the result reversed. But at least we had played our part in contributing to Hitchin winning the overall festival trophy.

The day began with some echoes of previous weeks only this time the weather was very pleasant (to start with), making a distinct change not only from the previous week but the previous year's same fixture. This time also we were pleasantly surprised to see Tim's appearance although only for the first two matches if on schedule. Needless to say we started late and got progressively later so we ended up with Tim for only one match.

Having enough players became the main topic of conversation as we convened. We knew that we wouldn't expect the full nineteen allowed but at one point we could count on only twelve once Tim had departed. So it was with some relief that Calum turned up just before the first match having taken a "detour" via the originally scheduled Letchworth match. (Or at least that what his father told us! Let's just say Andy has previous when it comes to detours!!) So that was alright then: no need to worry about the "maximum three tactical substitutions at half-time" rule; everyone would get a good run around; but little room for injury.

By the time we got to play our first match against Newmarket the weather had turned and the rain was falling quite hard. We did our usual thing of starting slow and handing the opposition a one try head start as Newmarket were able to run through the middle. Not too far in and Jamie had to be substituted after receiving a knock and an impressive nose-bleed (fortunately this was the one game we could afford an injury). After that however we gained some control with two solid tries either side of half-time only to be outdone twice by tries directly out of scrum, the second one being the most galling as they had managed to turn our attack into a 5 yard scrum with a big clearance kick that Rui was forced to touch down and they went over in the final play of the match.

The St Neots match was a really tight affair with some big tackling by the whole team - Simon was especially notable for making his presence felt as he moved around in his full back role. On a couple of occasions he also came close to getting a score but in the end it was St Neots who scored a neat try, again out of a scrum but this time more elegantly moving the ball across the line to get the overlap into the corner.

Having (narrowly) lost the first two matches we primed the team for what would be the final match of the season - so we wanted to go out on a high against Ely. At first it seemed our luck was not in for the day as two good efforts went to naught - first Rui just failed to hang on to the ball as he had to dive in over tackles to the try area and an attempt by Ellis out of the 5 metre scrum, which we won against the head, was just held up. After that however we put together our most consistent stretch of play for the day running in three tries - the same winning margin as the previous year against this team.

At this point we were about to prepare to leave but first considered it prudent to confirm that it was over. As Will's mother had nothing better to read all day she had become versed in the ins and outs of the scoring system and in particular the bonus points, so you couldn't be too sure. And wouldn't you know it? We were the best of the 3rd placed in the group stage which meant our reward was a rematch against St Neots - the fifth time this season - the St Neots' coach's expression said it all: not again!

The second match against St Neots turned into a highly charged affair, especially in the second half by which time tempers were starting to rise discernibly and there were several stoppages for injuries and incidents. St Neots' tries came quite early from chasing down a big kick out of defence which ran nicely and moving the ball again neatly into the corner. It was pretty frantic stuff in defence but we made some headway too and never let our heads go down right until the final play. And here at least we were rewarded with a deserved final well-worked try of the season from the forwards. During the course of the day, it was gratifying to receive, on more than one occassion, positive comments from spectators about the quality of our play. The St Neots' parents in particular were especially appreciative of the intensity of our tackling.

Match 46 v. Newmarket Lost 14-19 (HT 7-5)
Peter, Will, Ellis, Jamie (Calum), Lewis, Harry, Dominic, Guy, Ruiri, Simon, Chas, Tim
Tries:
Ruiri - Ellis was given the ball from a penalty and punched a big hole in their defence, followed up by Ruiri who bustled in and over. (Con: Dom)
Simon - a very nice move this one across the line from Tim to Ruiri and finally out to Simon. (Con: Dom)

Match 47 v. St Neots Lost 0-7 (HT 0-0)
Peter, Will, Ellis, Jamie, Lewis, Harry, Dominic, Guy, Ruiri, Calum, Tom, Simon

Match 48 v. Ely Won 21-0 (HT 7-0)
Peter, Will, Ellis, Jamie, Lewis, Dominic, Ruiri, Guy, Calum, Harry, Chas (Tom), Simon
Tries:
Harry - Calum made the big rn down the line and then moved into the centre where it was picked up by Simon who went for the corner passing out at practically the last moment to allow Harry to dive in (con: Dom)
Simon - scrambled in through the defence on the back of a scrum and hustled into the corner (con: Dom)
Ruiri - scrambled down the touchline (con: Dom)

Match 49 v. St Neots Lost 5-14 (HT 0-14)
Peter, Will, Ellis, Jamie, Lewis, Dominic, Ruiri, Guy, Calum, Harry, Chas (Tom), Simon
Try:
Jamie - Ellis bulldozed his way through the defence from a 10 metre penalty literally knocking his opposite number backwards several feet; the pack then consolidated allowing Jamie to clear up and come through.

Note 1: For the first time this season conversions were drop-kicked
Note 2: In the group stage all teams were approached to contribute to the Barbarians team: Calum volunteered for their first game (we caught him unawares as he'd only just turned up). Simon, Rui, Guy and Will all participated in the Baa-Baas final match (refereed by Alex!) and by then we speculated what would happen if they actually got through the group stage: would anyone be allowed to leave? Thanks to all those who volunteered their services!