Rochford U12 vs. Southend, Upminster Festival Final, 27 March 2011

Despite tiredness starting to creep in after a long day of rugby, this was a match we just had to win. We started with great determination and the scrum was again dominating. After a few minutes of stalemate, Stef ripped the ball off one of the Southend forwards. The ball was passed out to Ewan who surged forward and off loaded the ball in the tackle to Jake who ran it home. A similar move saw a reversal of roles with Jake passing out to Ewan who was over to score but the pass was deemed to be forward. Michael continued to run rings around the Southend players.

A series of passes across the width of the pitch saw Derek get his hands on the ball and run in another try. Harry Oldacre was terrorizing the Southend forwards and scored after another period of forward pressure on a failing defence. Southend were looking well and truly beaten now and barely made it onto our half of the pitch. Another speedy run from Derek saw him off load the ball to Jake who scored our final try.

The final whistle went and we had done it! It was a great moment for all of us, the players, coaches and supporters. The whole team had performed brilliantly throughout the festival, thoroughly deserving the win. We had played five, won five, scored 24 tries and conceded none. As a coach, I couldn’t ask for more! Well done lads, you made us all proud!