U8s away at Trafford MV

Having a round of home games the nigh after a bonfire party on the fields made for an interesting and wet day of rugby.

David and Alex’s team facing Trafford Metrovicks in particularly muddy conditions this week included Isaac, Patrick, Jacob, Fionn, Matthew, Thom, Gabriel and new starter Joel. The first game was on a smaller than usual pitch, only allowing us to start with 5 players. We started well with Matthew and Gabriel scoring some great solo tries. Defence throughout the day was much improved with a designated captain in each game in charge of organising the line. The second game was on a much larger pitch allowing us to play some great if at times individualistic rugby. Thom and Jacob combined well on a couple of occasions setting up one of new starter Joel’s two tries. For his first game, Joel was exceptional, getting stuck in immediately in both attack and defence. He could have had a hat trick but strayed into touch with the try line in sight. We played our best rugby in the third game with Isaac and Patrick combining to score a brilliant length of the pitch try demonstrating brilliant support play and passing. Fionn gets a special mention for a brilliant pick up of the ball off the ground following a stray pass. A very difficult skill which was rewarded with a score in the corner.
All in all a demonstration of how we can play when we put our mind to it in not very helpful conditions!
Player of the day goes to Joel, who played brilliantly considering it was his first game. You wouldn’t have noticed!

Nick and Steve's team included Austin, Finnian, Jamie, Ryley, Sam, Will, and new boy Charlie (big welcome). The somewhat hidden touch lines didn't help matters, but the team got off to a good start, combining well to score a number of tries. Restarts are improving, as is setting a defensive line, with Will and sometimes others keen to fill gaps where needed. Keeping a defensive line is work in progress, as expected at this stage of the season, but the boys managed to peg back their opposition on numerous occasions, if straying off side a little too frequently. Straying offside (intentionally or otherwise) will increasingly get punished as the season progresses, but on the whole the Trafford refs did a good job of keeping the game flowing whilst warning the boys of infringements. Defensively the team managed to keep the opposition working hard to score, the exception being on the smaller pitch where Trafford had a particularly strong runner.
Most of the team managed to get across the whitewash, with Finnian, Austin, Will, and Sam running in (almost) length of the pitch tries on the last game. It was good to see Charlie getting stuck in from the outset, with some strong running. Player of the Day however was Jamie for continued hard work and a delightful (and immediate) pass putting Austin, who ran a good line in support, through down the flank in the second game. An enjoyable set of games to watch on a sunny, if a little muddy, day.

Dom and Dan's team was;, Owen, Matty, Thomas, Luke, Teddy, Tom B, Ryan and James. With the first game being on a pitch with absolutely no markings, the boys struggled to get going at first whilst our hosts seemed much more able to adapt to the conditions. As they warmed up though we saw some strong running from Owen initially who took the game to them. Thomas bagged himself a hatrick of tries all in a similarly direct but effective manner. The rest of the day was filled with some excellent tries all round especially from Luke and Tom who ran in long range belters. James showed his continual learning curve is going upwards with some much improved passing too. Defensively we were caught sleeping at times and needed to do a lot more work making sure the defensive line was spread and moving up. Going into the last game on the small pitch we really got going with Teddy deciding he was going to join the party and scoring a couple of long range belters. Player of the Day went to Matty who's enthusiasm was matched by his strong running and effort through each game.