U10
Matches
Sun 11 Mar 2012
Mitcham Bull B Festival
10:00
Chipstead Rugby Club
U10
Mitcham Bulls' Festival - Chipstead U10s Bowl finalists

Mitcham Bulls' Festival - Chipstead U10s Bowl finalists

Paul williams11 Mar 2012 - 20:20
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https://www.chipsteadrfc.co.uk

Chipstead Exiles “Golds” add more silverware to the cabinet.

Squad: Daniel , Geoffrey , Jack , Jack , James , Jay , Kieran , Lewis Bra, Lewis Bro , Louis , Luca , Rafe , Richard and Tommy .

It is a sign of the progress made by the Exiles’ Golds that a Bowl final at a festival is seen as a missed opportunity. This is to take nothing away from another excellent performance generally by the boys only a week after winning a Plate Final at Beccehamians.

There was a certain serendipity that saw our first game being against Old Cats, who had beaten us the previous week. This time we kept our focus and delivered a solid performance going in one try to the good at half time and closing off a tighter second half to secure a solid win. Final score (2-1).

Next up were Bromley. Buoyed by success in the first match Chipstead continued to play our proven route one game with some excellent line breaks setting up the platform for another win. Final score (2-1).

The limitations of the Golds' defence were exploited by Whitgift in our third game with fast wing play by the South Croydon side delivering three tries. Chipstead still had a potent direct attacking approach with two or three players regularly combining to ensure that we also crossed the line. However it was not enough of a team effort and the final whistle announced our first defeat. Final score (2-3)

The way the league system worked we went into our final game knowing that we had to win to have a change of going through. Seven of the thirteen teams playing would be going home early. We were determined not to be amongst them.

So our final league match against Beccehamians. Fired up with the prospect of a final the Golds came out determined to make a statement; against albeit one of the weaker teams in the pool. The final result was a comfortable enough win, although at the expense of losing one of our forwards to a collapsed scrum; a trip to St John’s ambulance and an ice pack ensued. Final score (3-1).

So played four, won three.

Points for, 9; points against, 6.

A fair reflection of the performance so far. We finished fifth out of 13 (a solid mid table position) and were into the Bowl final against Wimbledon.

Wimbledon successfully exploited our weakened forward line and spotted the gaps in our defence. On the numerous occasions where we broke through we missed the opportunities to convert them into points; the same could not be said of a well drilled and front footed opposition. Final score (0-3)

Observations on the five games were that our route one approach is effective against some teams but our defence remains porous. There are 9 players on the pitch, but unless all 9 are committed in both attack and defence then any competent opposition will exploit the weaknesses in front of them – and this happened on enough occasions to suggest that this is an area that we need to work on.

On too many occasions the Golds found themselves running into trouble rather than running into or, even better, passing into space. Chipstead Exiles pride themselves on heads up rugby; this means playing what is in front of you and having the confidence to know when to pass rather than risk losing the ball in the ruck or maul.

There are three types of player on the pitch; those who turn up and commit from first whistle to last, those who watch them; and those who wonder if they could have done more. Each player needs to think back on their contribution and decide which type of player they are.

However, putting this performance into perspective, the Golds have gone to two back to back festivals and come away from each with trophies for the cabinet back at the Meads. By any measure this is a great performance by the squad and is something that we can take into the forthcoming Surrey and London Irish Festivals.

Match details

Match date

Sun 11 Mar 2012

Kickoff

10:00
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Club Sponsor - Furniture Village
Shirt Sponsor - Xolent Scaffolding Services
Shirt Sponsor - Macar Developments