As part of their pre-season programme, Sevenoaks RFC entered the 2016 London Beach Rugby event at Finsbury Square in London on Saturday. Fielding a youthful side captained by Ollie Shirtcliff, the Oaks got off to a good start by beating recent play-off opponents London Cornish by five tries to four.
In a difficult second game, the Oaks faced a Sandbanks team that were clearly well versed in the art of beach rugby. With the opposition at the top of their game, and Oaks not at the races, the result went against the men from the Paddock by four tries to nil. The resilience of the youthful squad was evident in the next match however, with the team putting in arguably one of their better performances with organised defence and some cleaver attack, before losing by a single score against the Tornado 7s.
After an extended break, the Oaks managed to win their next two games, which saw them navigate themselves to the Plate Final, against the tournament sponsor’s invitational team, the Doom Platoon. In a game that was nip and tuck, two lapses of concentration saw the men from the South West nick the honours by a single score.
Despite the loss, the experience and application for the Oaks was first rate, with captain Shirtcliff also winning the plaudits of the tournament referees who voted him as the Player of the Tournament.
Oaks now continue their pre-season preparation with a trip to Medway on 13th August, before heading to the Grasshoppers tournament on 20th August.
Squad: Ollie Shirtcliff ©, Ryan Weeks, Sean Derrick, James Vigis, Ben Adams, George Beale, Charlie Beale, Simon Tree, Chris Karg, Jack Thomspon, Cormac Barry, Harry Rugg
Captain Ollie Shirtcliff receives the Player of the Tournament award from the London Air Ambulance