Sutton & Epsom Festival

Sunday 8th October saw Chipstead U9’s attend their first full-contact fixture at the Sutton & Epsom Mini Festival. Nerves were felt across the team - although it was also noted that once the shiny new Chipstead Gazebo was in place the troops rallied together and got stuck in to some energetic rugby.
Captain Kiran was in charge for the majority of the day. With his full suit of recently purchased protective gear he flew around the in his usual “diving” fashion. The coaches believe Kiran is a born fly half - with his constant communication and instruction to everybody in his vicinity. We watch his progress with excitement. Closely following this example was Ryan - who literally managed to run circles around the opposition. The attacking runs from these two were impressive- although both are learning fast that skipping too close to the touch line can often end in a tackle in to touch; and at this level this can lead to a turnover ball. Both have committed to cutting inside further away from the touch line, in future matches, which will make them a terrifying double trouble combination in the coming season. We can’t wait.
The team opened up full throttle in the first of the matches against Sevenoaks. It seems that Deen had been waiting some time to be let loose on the opposition. He immediately began bowling through the middle of the rather shocked Sevenoaks defensive lines. This full frontal assault approach paid dividends and was rewarded with some impressive yard gains and some point scoring. Deen was kept on the pitch much of the early part of the morning- to give his all as he needed to make a quick getaway due to family commitments. His efforts in running forward through the opposition including offloads to supporting team mates were rewarded with being nominated as the “Attacking Player of The Festival.”

Theo McCarthy was an impact sub taken from the bench in the second half against Sevenoaks- it was Theo’s Chipstead debut. All tall order for a fairly new team member... but he did not fail to impress. Theo stormed on to the field in his rather roomy, borrowed Chipstead shirt,(thanks big bro...) and showed that he’d picked up a lot of rugby skill in a very short space of time. He has some pace and we are confident with more time spent in the blue and gold hoops he will be huge asset to the team.
In the following matches, including Esher and Sutton & Epsom there were some glimpses of rugby playing brilliance. Rowan made some excellent tackles, fully utilising some of the techniques he’d managed to pick up in training. He also made some fantastic runs and at one point even threw himself in between some opposition really vaulting himself towards the try-line only to come up literally centimetres short. Although this did not dent his enthusiasm too much and he carried on for the rest of the day in the truly professional sportsmanlike fashion we have come to recognise from the young Mr Fleming.

Aaron Johns had a positive start to the day- with borrowed Kit (thanks Edward...) he certainly looked the part (We hope Akuma hurry up with his own strip) We feel Aaron’s confidence is growing and it won’t be long before he starts bouncing around the pitch like he did in the closing stages of last season. He showed some good supportive work and with some help from his pal Josh will surely flourish this year.
On that note, we turn to Josh. Like Deen, he has also realised that he has the ability to run through mere mortals. He is still finding his feet but Sunday was an amazing way to show case his new found strengths. At one point in the day Josh was actually running with multiple opposition players attached to him - which turned in to a full maul. Although we aren’t quite mauling at this age level I think the referee was in such awe of Josh’s power he forgot to blow his whistle.

This first contact event also saw the return to form for Nancy, who after a rather cautious start - soon got in to the swing of things and mucked in to help her team mates. The rugby skills are there and seeing Nancy hold her own when competing against high level teams should give her the boost that she needs going forward. Ameerah was pleased to have a buddy Nancy around to work with. And it was a pleasure to watch them both learn and progress together. Ameerah at times showed a little over eager to get the ball often being several yards offside or in front of the ball. Although it is this passion to get involved that we need to retain and encourage... and perhaps the coaching staff that are to blame for any infringements. Now that Ameerah is loose on the full contact pitch, her big brother should maybe a little concerned if she decides to practice her tackling capabilities at home.

A mention also needs to go to “Offloading Oscar” a name any rugby player should be proud of. He was constantly supporting his team mates and made some great direct runs with pretty much faultless passing out of the tackle. Some of the day he held back a little in defence, but once he realises that all he needs to do on the pitch is what he regularly does to his brothers at home- full two armed tackles!
The day was a tremendous success and some amazing rugby was on display. The sidelines were full of enthusiastic parental commentary... which leads us to Sam. For the majority of the day all you could hear from both the coaches and the parents in attendance was “great tackle Sam!” and “Well done Sam!”
Sam was truly tenacious in his tackling and the amount of hits made on Sunday were more than some premiership players make in a season. To recognise this excellent display, Sam was awarded “Best Defensive Player of The Festival.” However, with some of the strong runs he made he could have equally been awarded other accolades. It’s rare you see players advance and take down so many in such a short space of time and it was an absolute pleasure to watch.

A big thank you to all those in attendance and we look forward to getting stuck in to the next big event, the best event of the year... Chipstead’s own Mini Festival !