Southend A Festival

Southend 'A' Festival

19th October 2014

Squad: Adam, Harry H, Harry HP, Harry P, Jack, Joseph, Kane, Lily, Nathan, Oliver P, Oliver T, Toby.
Having only played one fixture so far this season, the Under 10s were up against tough competition at the Southend 'A' Festival.

Match 1

Rochford Vs Upminster

Tournament days can often see the Under 10s start off slowly, but not this time! From the whistle the tackles went straight in, first from Toby and then Harry.P ripping the ball from the opposition. Passes went between Toby, Nathan. Oliver P and Kane before Upminster won the ball. But again, the tackles were strong, with Oliver P, Toby, Nathan and Harry P all getting involved before Toby picked up a dropped ball. A quick pass to Kane and then onto Jack, who made it through the rest of the field, put Rochford ahead.
From then on it was essentially a one sided game, with 4 more tries in this half, coming from Jack (2), Nathan and Adam. Everytime Upminster got the ball, they were unable to make any ground against the Rochford defence.
After half time, tackles from Joseph and Oliver T quickly won the ball from Rochford and a try from Nathan put the team 6 tries ahead, meaning the game was halted due to the try difference.
A strong start for Rochford!

Rochford - 6
Upminster - 0

Match 2

Rochford Vs Braintree

This was always going to be a tough game, as games against Braintree at festivals have always been close.
Again, Rochford tackled strongly from the start - Joseph, Oliver T and Toby all made tackles before Harry HP picked up a loose ball and passed to Nathan and onto Joseph. Braintree also put up a strong defence, winning the ball. This carried on with both teams tackling well and neither being able to get through the other's defence, until Joseph opened the scoring after a pass from Toby. But despite great efforts from Joseph, Nathan, Toby and Harry HP, Braintree quickly levelled the scores.

However, a quick pass from Toby to Joseph caught Braintree off guard and Joseph was able to run straight to the try line and put Rochford ahead,

The second half saw some excellent play from both sides. Jack, Harry P, Oliver T, Oliver P, Lily, Joseph, Harry H and Harry HP all made great passes and good runs, but none could get through the defence. All the team defended well and prevented any more tries from Braintree.

Rochford - 2
Braintree - 1

Match 3

Rochford Vs Westcliff

After and long break between games, Rochford looked as though they might have started to go off the boil a bit. There were times when players were watching the tackle, rather than attempting to win the ball, or leaving the tackles to their team mates. However, this doesn't mean that Rochford didn't play well! Jack, as in the first game, opened the scoring, thanks to a great pass from Toby. Nathan, Harry HP, Toby, Oliver T, Kane and Lily all made tackles that eventually gave the ball back to Rochford and lead to the second try of the game, this time from Nathan. The rest of the first half saw a bit of sloppy play from both sides, with the players understandably starting to tire. But although Rochford didn't score any more tries in this game, they also didn't concede any and went into half time two tries ahead.

After a half time team talk, Rochford came back a bit stronger. Oliver P, Kane, Lily, Adam and Harry H all made excellent runs before Westcliff gained the ball. But the unrelenting tackling from Toby, Harry P and Nathan soon saw the ball back with Rochford. Westcliff's defence was a little stronger in this half and they really made Rochford work for the ball and it took tackles from Toby, Kane, Joseph, Harry P, Oliver.P and Lily before the ball finally came back to Rochford. Harry P, Lily, Kane and Harry H all made excellent passes, before Harry P was denied a try on the line. But it wasn't over just yet, a tackle from Joseph gave the ball back to Rochford and it was Joseph who scored the last try of the game.

Rochford - 3
Westcliff - 0

Match 4

Rochford Vs Colchester

As the two leading teams of the group, this game was bound to be tough. Colchester started the game and Rochford showed them they weren't going to be a pushover! Nathan, Harry P. Toby, Oliver P, Adam and Harry HP made a phenomenal 12 tackles before Toby won the ball, passing on the Joseph, Nathan, Oliver P, Harry P and back to Toby, before Colchester gained the ball back. Harry P was able to rip the ball, passing to Oliver P, Toby, Nathan, Kane and Harry H, but no one could make it through the defence. The score going into half time was still 0-0.

Both teams came back just as strong after half time. Harry HP made a great tackle and Joseph then ripped the ball, passing to Harry P, Harry H, Oliver T, Oliver P and then back to Joseph before Colchester stole it back. But again, the tackling was amazing, with Oliver P, Harry HP, Harry H, Nathan, Oliver T and Joseph all being relentless in their defence. Harry P ripped the ball but was tackled out of play, but the rest of the team carried on where they left off with all the players showing their great defending skills.
Although the scoring was still 0-0 at full time, it didn't mean that both teams didn't play their socks off!

Rochford - 0
Colchester - 0

After 4 group games, Rochford remained unbeaten and had won the group. They would go on to play in the Cup Final!
Cup Final

Rochford Vs Woodford

Both teams started equally well. Toby, Oliver T and Joseph all made a run for it before Woodford ripped the ball, but tackles from Toby and Jack gained it straight back. Harry P, Nathan, Lily and Oliver P all had passes before the ball was ripped once more. The Rochford tackling was phenomenal; Oliver T, Oliver P, Joseph and Harry P all made great tackles, before a final one from Jack put the Woodford player out. But again, Woodford managed to gain the ball back before Oliver P tackled their player off the pitch.

There was more of the same for the rest of the first half. Rochford's passing was fantastic, with all players getting involved but they just could not make it through the Woodford defence. Similarly, Rochford's defence was tight and the score at half time was 0-0.

The start of the second half saw a speedy Woodford player put them ahead. They then quickly gained the ball back from Rochford and tackles from Joseph, Adam, Nathan and Oliver T couldn't prevent another try. Rochford were starting to suffer due to injuries picked up earlier in the day and they just couldn't make it through to the try line. But the tackling from Jack, Nathan, Oliver P, Harry HP and Kane clearly prevented any more tries being scored.

Rochford - 0
Woodford - 2

Despite an eventual loss in the final, this is an amazing achievement for Rochford, who came up against teams that could have easily brought two or three teams to the tournament. Having only played one other fixture at Under 10s and with all the changes to the game since Under 9s, they showed an amazing amount of talent. And, as always, the sportsmanship and behaviour of all the players was admirable and an absolute credit to the team.
Well done Under 10s!