le lac, le soleil, le trophée

Big thanks to Charlie and the organising team at Beccehamians for overcoming the vagaries of the climate to put on an excellent U10s – U12s “A” Festival which, as we have come to expect, was a festival played by all in the right spirit of friendly competition. With a late call off by another club Chipstead ‘Exiles’ had the opportunity to bring a squad of thirty and field both the Golds as well as the Blues.

With their pitches resembling a boating lake (with accompanying yellow plastic ducks and rumours of a shark infested first team pitch) alternative pitch arrangements were provided; the games were played on the Croydon RFC pitches next door. To accommodate all the teams and groups playing the pitches were narrower than usual and led to a change of "Exiles'" game plan, with direct running and short passes being the ‘order of the day’ from the coaches.

Competing against “A” opposition such as Cranbrook and Beccehamians the Golds acquitted themselves well. As the matches progressed the Golds started to play more as a unit; although there was still not enough support at the breakdown to maintain momentum and keep advantage – so that many Chipstead attacks broke down. Likewise we tended to be slow to close down the opposition; gifting them space and opportunity. So next Sunday at the Meads the Golds will be working hard in training to address these areas of our game.

The Blues started the pool stage against Sidcup. The Blues played a hard running game with close support and off loads that was a pleasure to watch. They executed the coaches wishes to the letter and a (4-0) victory was the result. The second pool game was against Bromley. The team rucked well and supported each other. The pack was on fire, they won a lot of scrums against the head and mauled well. The ball was kept alive at every opportunity creating momentum and opportunity for the backs. There were a few missed tackles for the Bromley try, but the boys picked themselves up and produced a good solid performance. The result a (3-1) win for the Blues. The last pool game was against Dartfordians. This was a team that three of our boys had helped to a win against Sidcup. Now the gloves were off and assisted by some Old Beccs boys Dartfordians gave their all. Hard tackling by all the Blues and deft handling with more direct running saw the boys win again (4-1). The positive, creative rugby on display was picked up on by Coaches from other clubs who were complementary about the brand of rugby the Blues were playing.

The Blues were through to the cup semi-final against Cranbrook. This was played on a slightly wider pitch. The forwards continued to create a robust platform allowing for good ball out to the backs who made the yards with ball in hand. Against stronger opposition the Blues maintained their patterns of play and won the game (2-0). Now we were into the final to face Tonbridge Juddians (TJ’s).

This was a competitive inter-county duel between the Kent and Surrey sides and the game was another step up in intensity as you would expect for a final; with both teams putting in a good shift and tackling anything that moved and was carrying the ball. Two Chipstead tries either side of half time set the Blues up well; but there was still a lot of competition left from both sides. Unfortunately, following a collision in open play, a neck injury to a TJ player (their captain) brought the match to a premature end. Everyone at Chipstead is hoping for a benign prognosis and a swift recovery. The final score in this truncated match was a Chipstead win (2-0).

Across the 5 games, this was an excellent overall showing from the Blues; with some subtle interplay combining with assertive forward running and collaborative commitment in defence. What was especially pleasing today was the team's willingness to change their normal running rugby and adapt to the pitch size. They still played a good brand of rugby keeping the ball alive when possible. The interplay from both backs and forwards was impressive.

And all the effort resulted in another trophy for the cabinet. Well done to players, parents, siblings and coaches for a great day out at Beccehamians. This win sets the ‘Exiles’ up nicely for next week’s Effingham and Leatherhead “A” festival. The Blues need to take the intent and drive on display from today’s competition and build on it for another series of highly competitive games.