U10
Matches
Sun 25 Mar 2012
Effingham A Festival
10:00
Chipstead Rugby Club
U10
Narrow Cup semi-final loss at E&L Festival – but Exiles emerge with character and their heads up.

Narrow Cup semi-final loss at E&L Festival – but Exiles emerge with character and their heads up.

Peter Hutton26 Mar 2012 - 19:52
Share via
FacebookTwitter
https://www.chipsteadrfc.co.uk

"when we did get into the proper body position some of the driving mauls were a work of art"

The squad : Luke , Euan, Elliot, Rory, Tom, Inigo, David, Finlay, Olly, Jack S, Tommy, Nathan and Daniel

Having made it through to the final stages of the Etihad Cup on Saturday 24th see separate match report) it was a confident Chipstead Blues team that rocked up at Effingham & Leatherhead on the Sunday.

Traditionally a competitive encounter the edge was taken out early on with the late withdrawal of Reeds from our group – a disappointing no show as it did not provide the hosts with an opportunity to invite a replacement team. However onwards to the pool matches.

Chipstead’s first game was against Guildford. This was a usefully physical encounter with both sides displaying a degree of commitment that is not always the case with a first match. That was not to say that this was a game with no subtlety and it was a full team performance that saw us emerge at the final whistle with a win. Final score 2-0.

Our next game was against Effingham B and in a slightly more one sided affair saw the Blues run in five tries whist again retaining a clean sheet. Final scored 5-0.

In both matches what was evident was that this squad work as a unit, support as a unit and defend with the same level of intensity that they put into their attack. A little more communication would be nice, however overall these were two very competent and confident performance; and as was noted by one of the coaches "when we did get into the proper body position some of the driving mauls were a work of art".

With the absence of Reeds Chipstead now had 90 minute wait to their next game – a Cup semi final against the runners ups from Group 1. It is difficult to keep momentum and focus when you have that long to wait. However in due course we lined up against Effingham A’s for a place in the cup final.

Suffice to say that this was a curious semi final decided as much by the consistently inconsistent decisions by the official as by the efforts of the players on the pitch.

It was evident that both teams were evenly matched and that it is probable that only one try would settle things. And so it proved. Chipstead edged a tight first half although the try line remained an elusive target. In the second half one needs to acknowledge the strong solo effort by an E&L player, running through a porous Chipstead defence and evading at least four Chipstead tackles that gave the home team an early second half advantage and the first points of the game. This score seemed to galvanise both sides as the intensity of the match moved up the scale. However how the match would have ended we won’t know as, following an awkward tackle on the wing and with significantly less that the six minutes on the clock, the referee blew up for full time. A curious conclusion to proceedings. Final score 0-1.

So no silverware for the cabinet; but full credit to the players. When decision go against you, you can either complain at the vicissitudes of life, or you can pick yourself up and look forward to the next festival and the next opportunity to test your mettle against Surrey’s finest. This latter way is the Chipstead way.

To the boys just remember : In referendarius est semper ius. Etiam cum est iniuriam.

[The referee is always right. Even when he is wrong.]

Match details

Match date

Sun 25 Mar 2012

Kickoff

10:00
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

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