Kent Mini Festival - Sevenoaks C

Sevenoaks C's, coaches and parents enjoyed another great day of rugby at Aylesford Bulls Rugby club who were hosting the Kent Mini Festival.

We played 4 matches of which we won 2 and lost 2.

First match was against Cranbrook A which were the strongest team in our pool.

Although it was a very tight first half in which we rucked and mauled at a very high standard, Cranbrook managed to score twice on the right wing. The boys with a lot of courage came back strong in the second half playing some all-around amazing rugby rucking and passing wide being the highlights. We finally managed to close the gap and scored on the left wing with a very good mix of team and individual production. Although we finally lost, the game ended with Cranbrook desperately defending their in-goal until the whistle finished a game that deserve to be a draw.

The second match against Dart Valley was a totally different story. It didn’t help that Dart Valley were short players and we offered to share a couple of our own. They dynamic of the game was very different from the first match. Our rucking or mauling wasn't at usual high standard. It became a bit like a touch rugby game running sideways to find the gaps in a very weak defense. Although we won by a large margin it felt that we could have done much better.

Our third match against Blackheath put our boys under pressure again and they reacted positively. Gradually we started to remember to ruck, maul, run straight and pass wide as we had in the first match. A couple of unfortunate events (missed kick in our ingoal) gave Blackheath a win by a small margin.

Our fourth and last match against Turnbridge Wells was probably the highlight. All of a sudden the boys felt the pressure of a very physical game and reacted to what coaches and parents were expecting: character and determination. We tackled hard, we rucked and played the breakdown with immense courage. Also our running game was excellent. Turnbridge Wells couldn't do much to avoid Sevenoaks scoring 3 tries again thanks to a combination of individual and team effort. Turnbridge Wells came back in the second half very strong scoring their only try of the game but the boys didn't give in. We continued to tackle all the way to the end. We could have scored more tries if we would have played wider but this is something that will improve with time and work on the training ground.

Overall another promising performance showing that gradually the boys are putting into practice all the hard work done at the Paddock every single Sunday.

Well done Sevenoaks C's!!! And well done parents that came to support their boys!!

Training at the paddock

Training at the paddock today saw some tackle bag practice with rucking and delayed running moves.

Carle's Tackling Warm Up

The training was followed by an excellent game of rugby with two equally split teams. Good fun was had by all.

Old Colfeians festival

On Sunday Sevenoaks U11's took part in a keenly contested festival at Old Colfeians with

the flowing team:

Baker, Burgess, Francombe, Holden, Killick, Lay, Lenaghan, Lindsay, Maynard, Millett, Sayers, Wilson

The first match against Medway was the warm up for much tougher challenges to follow. Sevenoaks won 2-1 with tries from Burgess and Francombe, with everyone demonstrating strong tackling, good support play and lots of open running.

The second match could not be more different however, as the boys took on a well organised and determined team from Old Whitgiftians. Sevenoaks lost their shape and their heads went down after a difficult first half. We went into the second period already three tries down and didn’t recover, eventually losing 5-0.

The third game against long time foes Westcombe Park saw Sevenoaks reassert themselves with 2 tries from Holden and one apiece from Lay, Burgess, Lindsay and Maynard. We won 6-2 but the final tally could have been much higher.

The final match against Old Alleynians was a thrilling encounter, and we went into half time 3-1 down. The second half was one of the best of the day as the boys fought back with the game ending 3-3 with Lay grounding the ball twice to add to Holden’s.

Overall a great team performance from all the boys.

Edenbridge Development Festival

On Sunday 19th March eleven boys travelled to Edenbridge for their Development Festival.

J.Box, T.Claridge, J.Clarke, R.Dalton, O.Ebsworth, T.Hewitt, H.Gustard, F.Rumsey, A.Stratton, J.Waller, G.Williams

Four games were played against Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge Juddians 1, Tonbridge Juddians 2 and Sidcup.

The Sevenoaks boys continuously improved their game over the festival and won all four matches against strong opposition.

In dry but very windy conditions, the opening two games saw us concede just one try in each with the standard of play improving with the forward running  and passing enabling the boys on the wing to power through and score the teams tries.

By the third game the team came together and were putting into practice everything that they had covered in training, the boys were talking to each other on the pitch and maintaining good defensive and attacking lines which together with good mauling and rucking produced good results against strong opposition.  In one of the games the boys were concerned that one of the opposition players was much larger than they were, this concern was put to rest when one of our smallest players went in with a tackle in exactly the right way and successfully brought this player to the ground, which was representative of this teams attitude.

The boys were a pleasure to coach and listened to what they were being told and put their skills into practice with minimal input from the side lines during the match and noticeably improved their game performance over the morning.  An outstanding performance from all the boys.

Beccehamian Festival

Sevenoaks U11’s took a squad of 12 boys to the Beccehamian Minis Festival, where our boys triumphed in all 4 games winning our selected pool.

O.Maynard, W.Baker, M.Lindsay, H.Sayers, B.Smith, O.Brooke, O.Ebsworth, J.Wilson, A. Blackmore, Z.Johnson, A.Holden, F.Rumsey

The boys started off a little rusty but that soon dissipated and the boys went from strength to strength winning all 4 matches comfortably scoring 17 tries overall and only conceding 2 tries all day.

The first game against Alleynians started tough but with some excellent passing and rucking the combined effort of Smith and Johnson saw us to victory.

The second game against Old Whitgiftians had our defence stretched to the max but with Smith’s superb pick and runs and ball ripping from the maul saw him pick up a hat trick.

After two wins the boys were highly motivated and eager for another win in their 3rd match against Beckenham. The rucks and mauls were in place and now with the boys keen to succeed no one was going to break through our defensive line with some excellent tackles. Our attacking play was taking shape with some beautiful steep lines and the ball handling skills second to none. Some really good performances all round from the boys, winning with six tries from Ebsworth, Johnson, Maynard and Smith.

The last game against Sidcup was a pleasure to watch with some real dominant play in the first half and some fast running almost end to end to secure two for Brooke. With our opponent’s heads starting to drop Lindsay, Rumsey and Wilson took advantage to seal a convincing victory.

Overall Sevenoaks played excellent rugby and truly worked well with all players contributing to the success of the team. At the end of the festival coaches from Sidcup and Whitgiftians came to me to say what a great disciplined group of boys you are and what a pleasure you were to watch, you should all be very proud of yourselves.

Guildfordians Festival A

Sevenoaks u11's A - Team:
 

Max Avery, William Francombe, Arthur Hansen, Aston Killick, Kamren Satrettin, Alfie Stratton, Ian Shoobridge, Luke Sumner, Jaques Malan, Mac Raymond

10 wonderful ambassadors represented Sevenoaks U11's at the Annual Guildfordians Festival. Our gallant boys took on the A Squads of Dorking, Pulborough, Reigatians and Cranleigh in the constant rain in Guildford. Most of you know that when it rains at Guildford their famous pitches turn into one giant mud slide down to the spectrum centre. So downhill proved to be a massive advantage.

It was a brilliant and friendly tournament despite the weather with some truly amazing rugby played. The best of Surrey and Sussex (Plus a guest side from Guernsey) were on show and these elite boys helped our guys raise their game. Passion and commitment was to the fore.

After 4 very physical encounters, the lads ended up with a playing record of 1 win and 3 narrow losses. What was so pleasing was how the guys gelled as a unit and grew in confidence during the festival. And on another day some games could have swung in our direction. With a few losses happening in the final minute or two.

Having never played together as a unit in a competitive match it took a while for the guys to find their rhythm. But once they understood each other strengths their rugby stepped up another level and improved with every game.

It was commented by all opposition coaches, just how strong our boys rucked over the ball and ran straight lines. Finally, the boys were brilliant ambassadors for the club and we were very proud of them today in the face of some very strong teams.

Guildfordians Festival B

Sevenoaks U11's Blue entered a very tough Guildford competition with the following boys:

R.BEAUFOY, C. CHABOISSIER, L. FORDYCE-GRAY, Z. HEAD, T. HEWITT, S. KEENOR, N. HEBDEN,  T. STEVENS, H. VAN NIEKERK, M. WETHERILL

On a wet Guildford festival with steady rain all day turning the clay soil to a muddy slippy mess, the boys remained enthusiastic in the inclement conditions. There were 1800 children playing today, from teams as far as Guernsey. 

The boys won one game and lost three games. The opening game saw the boys working well together, with a dip in results in the middle games and the last half of the last game saw the boys pull together and put in strong performance.

We played HASLEMERE RED, DORKING, BRIGHTON, HASLEMERE BLUE.

All the boys put in an excellent performance against some strong opposition and we certainly didn't disappoint losing by small margins. The day was a wonderful experience for the boys.

Foxbury Mixed Ability Festival

A “mixed ability” Sevenoaks u11’s team consisting of the following players attended the Foxbury Festival:

Rory Dalton, Ryan Dixon, Finn Gallagher, Felic Gollan, Peter Latrobe, Sean Lenaghan, Richard Millett, Ben Pearl, Andrich Skein, Finlay Thomas, Liam Thomas

The first game was against Westcombe Park and a fired-up Sevenoaks team played some exhibition rugby with excellent rucking, tackling, running and passing and scored 4 excellent team tries through Ben Pearl, Felic Gollan, Ryan Dixon and Richard Millett.  Westcombe Park did not know what hit them and ended the game with only 8 fit players which was testament of the commitment of the Sevenoaks players who played their hearts out.  Final score 4-0 to Sevenoaks.

Due to a tough fixture draw, Sevenoaks had to play their second game straight after the first but the team did not complain and ran Dartfordians off their feet in the first half scoring 3 tries in the process, one by Rory Dalton and a brace by Richard Millett.  Due to tiring legs, the team did not manage to score another try after half time but more importantly did not concede a try either.  Final score 3-0 to Sevenoaks.

With Old Elthamians winning their first 2 games as well, it meant that the winner of the final game between OE’s and Sevenoaks would be the only unbeaten team (“winner”) and the game did not disappoint.  OE’s started with a bang and threw everything at Sevenoaks but our boys did not budge and when three of our boys had to bundle one of their players over the touch line on the corner flag, it was time for Sevenoaks to take control of the game.  Our boys regrouped and they forced the game all the way back to OE’s try line and won a 5 meter scrum, just for the referee to blow the half-time whistle.  The second half was as ferocious as the first but mid-way through the half Felic Gollan picked up a loose ball and ran half of the pitch to score a stunning try.  OE’s wasn’t done yet and tried everything to get the equaliser but the Sevenoaks boys fought off attack after attack and deservedly won the game and the jubilant scenes at the end showed how much it meant to the boys (and parents).

It was an excellent performance by a team who has never played together before and a day that all the players and parents can be very proud of – although there were lots of highlights and excellent performances by individuals, a special mention has to be made to Richard Millett who was everywhere and scored three excellent tries and was the Sevenoaks’ “Player of the Festival”.

Sidcup RFC Mixed Ability Festival

Sevenoaks U11's entered two teams into this well established festival at Sidcup. The teams were mixed ability and split into Blue and Gold:

TEAM BLUE

W.Baker, A.Blackmore, J.Box, O.Burgess, F.Daly, R.Dalton, T.Hewitt, A.Holden, M.Lindsay, R.Millett, H.Sayers, F.Thomas

The squad of eleven mixed ability players settled into action quickly, putting into practice the winter training and all pushed their abilities and fully worked as a cohesive team.

The boys worked well with excellent passing and tackling resulting in four wins and losing just one game. Sevenoaks scored eleven tries over some hard fought matches with only two tries being conceded.

The opening game was against the home Sidcup side with tries scored by Sayers and Holden facilitated by excellent passing along the line. The second game against Park House saw a good ruck from Baker and Millett and in the second half an unexpected kick from Thomas caught everyone unaware. Sayer scored two tries and Hewitt and Millett one each, ending in a four nil win.

The third game was hard fought against a physically large Beccehamians team that worked the boys hard both mentally and physically. After being one nil up at half time the boys were motivated to achieve better and applied their skills and ended winning four nil. Millett received the ball and ran three quarters of the pitch to score the opening try, Lindsay, Burgess and another by Millett brought the score to four nil.

The fourth game against Edenbridge was a technical game with some good rugby ending with Sevenoaks winning one nil, with the try by Lindsay. The final game saw tied legs playing against a very at strong and capable Westcombe Park team. This was a demanding game with Sevenoaks losing by two nil. This was a strong result against the Westcombe Park team.

Overall Sevenoaks Blues played excellent rugby and truly worked as a mixed ability team with all players contributing to the success of the team and were a joy to watch.

TEAM GOLD

O.Ebsworth, W.Francombe, F.Gentry-Potter, H.Gustard, A.Killick, S.Lay, S.Lenaghan, K.Satrettin, A.Skein, L.Sumner, L.Thomas, J.Waller

The gold squad of 12 mixed ability players put in a thoroughly entertaining performance over 5 matches often facing "A" team squads from other clubs.

Our first match against Westcombe park saw us earn a draw against strong opposition. We played as a team, rucked well and fought for the ball. A great tackle by Lay on the biggest player of the tournament. A good performance all round. A great performance by Francombe.

In our second match against Edenbridge we started a little slower than the first game with less urgency in our overall play. The boys picked up the pace in the second half which was good to see and we turned out 1-0 winners with Ebsworth scoring our only try.

Our third match was a 0-0 draw against Beckenham. There were some good performances across the pitch with both teams scoring tries that were disallowed.

Our fourth match was against our hosts Sidcup where we started to get back into gear and a good strong performance prevailed. Some really good performances by the boys all round, winning with two solid tries  from Francombe and Ebsworth.

Our final match was against a very strong Old Colfeians. Our boys played very well and were unlucky in the end. A great try was scored by Lay.

Cranbrook Away Training and Matches

The rain held off but the wind was bitter on a grey morning at Cranbrook RFC.

The mighty U11s arrived en masse and from the first minute of training showed the spirit, enthusiasm and sportsmanship that was needed to negotiate the tough conditions.

Cranbrook were as hospitable as always and the session gave everyone a good run-out.

The inter club matches at the end were played with great determination and I know from speaking to every Oaks coach on duty (I think we had 9 to their 4) just how proud they were of your efforts.

Every team stood tall and tested our hosts at every opportunity - our passing and recycling of the ball at times was stunning but we are still a little too polite in the ruck and not low enough still in many areas of tackling (we will continue to work on this in the coming weeks though - we will get there!)

Just in the one game alone myself and Sid looked after there were so many uplifting moments and it is very evident we have a talented deep bench of players who are clearly enjoying themselves.

Great to see so many smiling faces on such a cold day.

We came, we saw , we conquered - and ate wonderful sausages!

Home Training with Edenbridge

This morning, our U11's and coaches welcomed Edenbridge U11's to the Paddock for a training session and matches.

The whole morning was played out in good spirits, with some great displays of rugby from both teams.

Well done to both teams!

Aylesford Mixed Ability Festival

A great performance from Sevenoaks, who were unbeaten on a cold and windy morning with the following boys:

Warrick Baker, Oliver Brooke, Zach Johnson, Ashton Killick, Sam Lay, Max Lindsay, Ollie Maynard, Richard Millett, Ben Pearl, Harry Sayers, Brett Smith, Liam Thomas

Gravesend were dispatched 4-0, with Warrick Baker celebrating his Dad’s 50th with a try in the corner to open the scoring. Further tries followed from Brooke, Smith and Lindsay.

Canterbury were well beaten 5-0, with a hat-trick from Johnson and tries from Killick and Maynard.

Next up was Cranbrook and in a scrappy game, Oaks were held to a 1-1 draw.

The final game against Aylesford was even in the first half but the boys upped the aggression in the second-half and scored tries out wide from Johnson, Lindsay, Pearl and Smith to win 4-1.

Overall a good morning’s work - Well done to all.

Beccahamians Development Festival

A tough day of rugby against some good teams with the following boys representing us: 

BLACKMORE, SATRETTIN, WILLIAMS, DALTON, CHABOISSIER, BEAUFOY, KEENOR, DIXON, SUMNER, LATROBE, LENAGHAN, STRATTON, WALLER, HEAD, DUNCAN

We got off to a slow start and then got in our stride, with the last two games being absolutely epic performances.

Our first match was against Westcome Park, where we started slowly and got into the game in the second half. There were two excellent runs from Lenaghan giving us a 2-1 Win. Man of the match was Sean Lenaghan scoring both tries.

Our second match was against a well drilled Edenbridge team. We ground out a 2-0 win with tries from Dixon and Dalton. Good offload by Satrettin to enable Dixon to score the first try. Man of the match goes to Dixon.

Our third match was against a big group of boys from Beckenham. We really stepped up a gear in this match with a faultless display in powerful attacking rugby. We closed the opposition down and it really showed with a 5-1 win. The scorers were Waller, Sumner, Dalton and Beaufoy. Man of the match goes to Fin Duncan, for the most amazing tackle against the largest player in the tournament, superb!

Our last match was against a physical Whitgiftians team. This was an excellent and well disciplined game against tough opposition. Our boys stepped up a gear from the last match and played incredibly well winning 2-0 comfortably. Our defensive play was excellent and we were unlucky not to make it 3-0. A great kick from Satrettin enabled the lightning quick Keenor to latch onto the ball and score our second try. Man of the match goes to Satrettin, for good tackling, ripping the ball and offloading to team mates. Try scorers were Beaufoy and Keenor.

Seven different boys scored tries and all the boys got really stuck in. There was some strong tackling and some excellent pressure put on to the opposition which nullified their attacking play. We chased down balls, got in hard and played really well as team. There was strong running from Beaufoy, Lenaghan, Waller, Stratton, Dixon and Sumner. Some great all round displays from, Dalton, Chaboissier, Blackmore, Latrobe, Williams and Head.

Well done to all the boys, you were an absolute pleasure to watch and a credit to our club.

Old Colfeians Development Festival

Beaufoy, Chaboissier, Crosby, Fordyce-Gray, Hedger, Kelly, Malan, Raymond, Van-Niekerk, Williams

First up was Tunbridge Wells. We played well with the everyone putting in a strong rucking and physical performance. We dominated the game but could not find a way through. Unfortunately due to a couple of missed tackles and break-away tries we ended going down 0-4. The scoreline did do justice to our performance.

Second up were Blackheath, and we continue this game where we left off. A great show of powerful rucking/mauling and tackling gave us a half time lead of 3-0. We took our eye off the game a little in the second half and we gave away 2 break-away tries to set up a tense finish. Fantastic vision at a maul, realising that we were over the try line made sure of our victory, 4-2.

The try scorers were: Kelly, Raymond, Beaufoy and Malan

In a very tight third game against Westcombe park we ended going down 0-1.

In our final game against Old Alleynians, we looked a little tired and rusty having had to wait almost an hour between games. We again missed one or two tackles and leaked a couple of tries, going down 0-3

The results may not show it but this was a much better performance than last week. The boys are growing as a team and there was some outstanding tackling today.

Blackheath Development

Sevenoaks entered the Blackheath Development Festival with the following team:

Beaufoy, Daly, Duncan, Fordyce-gray, Head, Hebdon, Keenor, 

Raymond, Rumsey, Shoobridge, Toms, Williams, Van-Niekerk

First game was against Old Whitgiftians where we were a little slow to start and adapt to the new rules, conceding 4 tries. Against Edenbridge we showed signs of what we were capable of with a fantastic clearance kick by Head and chase from Duncan, resulting in a try for Shoobridge in the corner. Unfortunately we went down 4-1. 

Blackheath were up next and in a tight game we played a lot better for 3/4 of the game, unfortunately conceding 2 late tries to go down 2-1. Due to Old Dunstonians being short of players, we lent them 4 players, and after a shaky start where we gave away 2 simple tries we rallied and eventually won 4-2. Tries from Rumsey, Duncan, Head and Kenner.

Despite a final game effort we went down 3-1 to Dartfordians. Highlights were a run from Raymond from inside our own 22 only to be pulled down 5 metres short of the try line, and a fantastic try by Williams that came from immense pressure and tackling.

Bromley Festival

A Tough day "at the office" for the boys. Sevenoaks entered a mixed ability team with the following boys:

Blackmore, Satrettin, Thomas, Clark, Sayers, Stevens, Killick, Sumner, Youngson, Gustard, Wilson

The boys came up against 5 strong A/B team combinations and did their best over the whole day starting at 10am and finishing at 4pm.

Old Elthamians - Sevenoaks played well with a great powering run by Satrettin, ending the match a 2-1 loss. Man of the match, Satrettin. Strong performances by Thomas, Sayers, Killick, Sumner.

Sidcup - Sevenoaks came up against a good Sidcup team and ended the match a 1-1 draw with Youngson scoring our try. Man of the match, Sayers.

Beckenham - Sevenoaks were very unfortunate not to win this game with a heartbreaking try scored by Beckenham from a forward pass. Elijah scored our only try from the beautiful offload by Sumner. Great play by Clark, Stevens, Blackmore. Man of the match, Sumner.

Bromley - Sevenoaks played a strong Bromley team, and put in a fantastic performance. Easily the game of the tournament for us. Satrettin winning all but one scrum for all put-ins. There was an excellent try saving tackle by Gustard which stopped Bromley in their tracks. This was a blood & guts performance by all the boys with the two boys; Thomas and Clark as men of the match. Every single boy played well.

Cranbrook - An excellent game against a well drilled team. Tries scored by Youngson and Wilson. 4-2 Loss. Man of the match Sayers.

Man of the day goes to Harry Sayers.

Blackheath A

Sevenoaks had 12 players away at the Blackheath Under 11 A competition on Sunday 8th October.

In the opening match against Edenbridge the boys played well with Gollan powernig over to score the opening try. Lindsay drove through to score the second try bringing the final score to two nil to Sevenoaks in a well fought match.

The second game against Old Alleynians ended with Sevenoaks going one nil down.

Sevenoaks regained their team spirit for the third match against Dartfordians with Millett, Brooke and Lindsay scoring tries, with one try conceded Sevenoaks took the match three one.

For the final match against Tonbridge Judds the Sevenoaks boys were keen to make it three wins and worked well together to win seven nil with tries from Linsay, scoring his third try of the tournament, Hewitt scoring two, Brooke and Gollan each scoring their second of the tournament and Avery and Gentry-Potter each scoring one try.

The boys performed well and pulled together after losing a match to give a good overall performance for what was the opening festival of the season for many of them.

Warlingham Festival

A “mixed ability” Sevenoaks u11’s team consisting of the following players attended the Warlingham Festival:

Joseph Box, Finn Gallagher, Jack Hall, Arthur Hansen, Alex Holden, Peter Latrobe, Sean Lenaghan, Luke Onuoha, Ben Pearl, Andrich Skein, Alfie Stratton, Jared Waller, Monty Wetherill

The first game was against a very strong team (read “A-team”) from the host club and with Sevenoaks starting too slow, missing tackles and losing their rucks, Warlingham ran out 5-0 winners and they have scored some exceptionally good team tries on the wing.  A special mention to Jack Hall who never gave up and Luke Onuoha who made numerous tackles on players twice his size.

The second game was against Old Alleynians and it was a very different Sevenoaks team who turned up.  With Ben Pearl and Jack Hall leading the charge, Sevenoaks went up 1-0 following a try by Ben Pearl.  Although Old Alleynians fought back, tries from Jack Hall and Monty Wetherill (following a team move involving at least 6 players off-loading in the tackle) sealed a 3-1 win for Sevenoaks.  This was an incredibly good team performance against a very good team.  Jack Hall was “man of the match” and special mention to Andrich Skein (rucking & tackling), Sean Lenaghan (tackling), Finn Gallagher (winning all the scrums as hooker), Arthur Hansen (work horse all over the pitch), Alex Holden (2 disallowed tries), Jared Waller (strong runs on the wing) and Alfie Stratton (creating the “team try”).

Due to one team not turning up, the Sevenoaks players had to wait long for their third game against the Old Cats.  Although the team was a bit rusty from the long wait, Ben Pearl was in devastating form and scored three tries and with further tries from Peter Latrobe (finishing a lovely team effort) and Alfie Stratton, Sevenoaks comfortably ran out 5-0 winners.  Again a very good team performance – Ben Pearl was “man of the match” and special mention to Jack Hall (lively as always), Alfie Stratton (creating lots of opportunities for team mates), Finn Gallagher (winning all the scrums as hooker), Alex Holden and Jared Waller (strong runs when receiving the ball on the wing).

Due to a misunderstanding, only 5 Sevenoaks players were able to attend the “last-minute” award ceremony where we won the “runners-up” trophy, hence the lack of players on the photo with the trophy.

A good introductory day to u11s rugby for most of the boys and the players and parents were excellent representatives of the club.