Rochford U9s vs. Upminster, Braintree Festival 18 April 2010

Having seen Upminster play well in drawing against Braintree, and then conceding a try to them within two minutes, it looked initially as if this would be the same story as the other games. But no, Rochford were stung into action. Giving up on the rucks, we mauled and mauled, and excellent running and support play, with good passing down the line, saw Nick Campen dash through a gap to put us level, and get our first try of the tournament. Very soon after, Jack Chandler got the ball from a good pass out of the scrum, dummied a defender and then dashed through to put Rochford 2-1 up. That was the score at the end of the half.

Upminster obviously got the hairdryer treatment during half time, as they spent the first few minutes entirely in the Rochford half, often within 5 yards. Once again excellent tackling kept them out, with the whole team getting involved in either tackling or mauling them away from our line. Gradually Rochford forced their way back into it, and then a good pass from James Berry put Nick in a bit of space. There were still a couple of defenders to beat, but a sidestep and sheer pace took him over the line to put Rochford further ahead. In the last few minutes, Rochford had several more great chances, getting within a yard or so of the try line each time, but a couple of forward passes, and then la turnover, kept the score at 3-1.

Overall a good tournament, and even though the team didn't get through to the semi-finals, they never gave up throughout 4 hard games, and gave their all. Plenty of work to do in training on rucking though!