A hectic and successful weekend for the U7s – two teams travelled to Cranbrook for a festival and the rest of the squad travelled to Aylesford for a joint training session.
Aylesford welcomed the Sevenoaks players with open arms and we enjoyed a clockwork session, with both the Sevenoaks and Aylesford players mixing together for games and matches. At the end, Aylesford delivered trays of hot dogs to finish off a superb morning.
The Cranbrook festival provided an opportunity for our latest group of U7s, the Tigers and Sharks, to experience the ups and downs of festival rugby – dominated by the ups!
The Tigers Results
Team: Elliott Stratton, James Quin, Jonty Corstorphine, Robbie Williams, Thomas Saunders, Tom Weston-Simons
Played 5 – Won 4 (Haywards Heath, Cranbrook, Beccehmanians and Tonbridge Judds), Lost 1 (Sidcup)
The Tigers got off to a sluggish start, at the same time meeting a Sidcup team full of confidence who showed a great turn of speed and ferocious tagging skills to inflict the only defeat of the day. The Tigers regained their composure before the second match and with solid teamwork built on a growing belief in their ability. The boys themselves called out why their game improved, “attacking tagging, supportive teamwork and fast running” – and this was demonstrated by all The Tigers in spades!
With the turning point complete, the game play improved with each match:
Fabulous defensive structure from James, coupled with some demon running and textbook tagging
Robbie had a keen sense to find and fill the gaps in our defensive line helping to hold the opposition back
Thomas proved that even with an injury you are still a valuable member of the team and how important for team morale to support from the side line. Prior to injury Thomas showed great all round rubgy skills and we look forward to seeing him back on top form
Tom showed the team what a turn of pace can achieve, with try after try scored from inside his own half
Support play was showcased by Elliott and Jonty, who between them managed to offload many balls to each other, ensuring we secured tries.
A great days rugby from a wonderful set of boys determined to do the best they could. Thank you also to the Mums and Dads who travelled to support their boys.
The Sharks Results
Team: Aiden Rosier, Benj Rosier, Ollie McDonald, Alex Neale, Cayden Stenhouse, Matther Trenter.
Played 5, Won 4, Lost 1
The Sharks started off winning the first two games against Juddians and Old Colfes.
In attack, the whole team took what they had learned in training to work through the phase and cross the try line – tries all round. Strong and straight running were the key but the team also demonstrated good judgement, passing to the person who was in the best place to receive the pass. More often than not there was someone in support of the tagged player which led to a lot of our tries. It was great to watch.
Westcombe Park was the third game and they had two very good players who effectively won the match on their own – the players reacted superbly to an unexpected onslaught.
The final two matches included a slightly more relaxed interpretation of the rules, and while a number of tries scored against the Sharks were possibly ‘generous’, the Sharks came out on top.
A wonderful morning for parents and players alike, full of fun and real development for the two teams.