Esher Festival Match Report

This Sunday the U12s were invited down to play in the Surrey Festival hosted at Esher RFC, and after a level event against Old Alleynians the week before on the Meads the boys were stoked up for what turned out to be an epic three games of Rugby.

First up was our relatively local and well matched rivals Reigate RFC who despite fielding a strong side that have previously challenged us point for point in some great contests home and away, just couldn’t find a way past the solid U12 forward pack who tackled hard and won ball, gaining ground in every breakdown. This immense defensive performance soon loosened up the opposition and allowed a number of great passing displays to be linked together in affording us several try’s in quick concession resulting in victorious 5-0 win.

After and hour and a half rest (festival match schedules need tightneing) our second game had us head to head with Haselmere RFC. The favourites for the day, fielded a big, fast and strong team. However, our lads, belly’s full and slightly lethargic from the rest, had lost the match before stepping on the field and although a last minute resurgence won us a try and some pride we lost the game 1-7.

Finally, after a short team talk and under pressure in a back to back fixture the lads stood tall and faced up to another strong side in Guildfordians RFC. The match started positively in our usual format with the boys making contact with the opposition all over the pitch. Side by side with one another in every phase no player was left isolated with or without the ball and we dominated the opposition and controlled the ball well throughout the first half, going for a midway breather with 3 try’s on the sheet. The second half was tough, and we conceded two quick break away try’s from the opposition. With their heart never in question it was the fitness that would be key to maintaining our lead now, but thankfully the midweek sessions paid off and the boys dug deep and came up with some rugby gold in securing two more hard fought try’s to secure a 5-2 win and second place in the group.

A great day of rugby, that rewarded the lads for their hard work and commitment in training.