Sevenoaks Panthers at Warlingham
Team Benjamin Williams, Cordelia Davies, Emma Coll, Jonty Corstorphine, Ryan Mallet, Don Glanfield and William Ray
5 matches with 2 wins 2 draws and 1 defeat
The first match started in drizzly rain and the Panthers didn’t quite get going being pipped 9-7 by Sutton. The larger pitch size was fully exploited by the opposition runners, finding the space with strong runners sneaking a couple of extra tries in the second half.
However the team bounced back in the second match drawing a really close encounter 8 - 8 against Reigate with then team bonding and starting to play with great support, often scoring after 5 or 6 phases. William made some jinking runs and Ryan charged through the opposition and some ‘tag tackles’.
With match three came the Panthers’ first victory. Emma was launching herself at the opposition and leading the tagging with some most incredible flying tags. Cordelia ran straight and powerful, scoring some cracking tries. Victory 10 - 9 over Streatham.
Match four saw the team deep dig in their mission and ended with a credible draw against a strong Beccs squad. Jonty was in scintillating form with more dazzling runs supported by the dipping runs and side steps of Ben.
In match five the team came up against the hosts Warlingham and the final game was a spectacle of ding dong scoring. It was left to Don to score with the last play of the game for a 9 - 8 win with a muddy slide in.
Some very tired children departed having bonded as a team after putting their training to great effect. They all shared the tagging work load and running straight or finding the space on the larger pitches. Great support play led to some very quick phases of rugby.
Well done Panthers
Sevenoaks Dragons at Warlingham
Team: Charlie Warren, Ethan Clark, Henry Birkett, Matt Stignant, Mikhail Timashenko, Ollie McDonald, Seb West & William Beech
Four matches, three wins and one defeat.
Sevenoaks Dragons began their first game against Beccs 2 and immediately realised how much larger the pitches were than the ones they were used to in the U7s last year. This didn't phase them and with some straight running and good support our players got the upper hand. Both sides scored a number of tries but Sevenoaks successfully scored in the last play of the game to win a tight match 6-5.
We had a welcome twenty minute rest to top up on fluids and talk tactics ahead of our game against our hosts, the Warlingham Worms. The team began well and were getting into their stride showing team work and good passing. The children demonstrated strong tagging throughout which was rewarded as it led to a turnover on more than one occasion. In turn, the opposition knocked on a couple of times and the Dragons ended the game 7-5 up.
With no time for a break the team went straight on to play Sutton & Epsom. Tiredness began to creep into the game and our tagging could have been better. The opposition had fresh legs and Sevenoaks inadvertently ran into touch a couple of times handing the ball to opposing side. The score was equal at half time but Sutton & Epsom upped the pace in the second half as they ran in several tries leaving the score 5-7 at the whistle.
The final game against Beccs 1 was thrilling. Everything came together and the team ran some very straight lines and notably always supported the player with the ball. Consistent straight running led to an avalanche of tries with one Dragon scoring four times. A high scoring game with consistent pressure led to Sevenoaks winning the game 10-6.
What a fantastic start to the U8 season and the children should all be very proud of themselves; they put their training to good use and are, I hope, looking forward to representing the club again soon. They should all be commended on their performances and their behaviour.
Sevenoaks Tigers at Foxbury
Excellent day of rugby all round. Team included Austin and Oliver Harwood-Bridgen, James Diamond, Charlie Pierce, James Sumner, Sam Lobo, Pablo Pinto and Theo Andrews.
First game against the hosts Old Elthamians, was a fast close game, all decided on a turnover for stepping into touch by Old Elthamians, with Sevenoaks winning 6 - 5. With some very good straight running from Sam, Austin, James S and Oliver - all scoring tries.
Match 2 was against Westcombe Park, another very close game, this time Sevenoaks lost 5 to 6, all decided on one turnover, with Theo scoring 3 very good tries as a result of some superb support play, but the highlight of the game was Sam running the full pitch for his try.
Next match was against Dartfordians, where Sevenoaks bounced back from their previous game to run in 6 tries to 4 winners, the highlights included a 7 tag turnover which was the swing factor in the game as a result of the whole team contributing and some phenomenal direct running from James S with 5 tries.
The last game ended in a 6 all draw, with some excellent tagging from all, and strong support play.
Well done to all the players, showing that they put into play all the skills that they have learnt over the last few weeks.
Medway Pumas
The six gallant girls and boys from Sevenoaks Pumas, overcame the challenge of a small squad to see off Kent’s finest U8’s with panache and a lot of guts.
Cheered on by an enthusiastic and very vocal group of Mums and Dads, that probably gave the team the honour of having the loudest supporters.
Superhuman tagging by the whole team, especially the ever-smiling Farah, put the Pumas into a position where no team could beat their resolve.
Mazy running by Thomas and Felix, wily determination by Matt, dogged defence by Naomi and a bag full of tries by George, following some interesting try line navigation, led the Pumas to an unbeaten festival.
Clubs with such mighty reputations as Maidstone and Old Alleynians, were left crestfallen after playing the mighty Pumas. The team spirit and continuous learning were apparent throughout.
We played four games, won the lot, scored more tries than we could count and conceded very few.
Well done Pumas a mighty effort!
Team: Farah Hilden, Felix Morris, Naomi Wright, Thomas Saunders, Mathew Trenter and George Coulter
Guildford - Sevenoaks Lions
What a ROARING start to the season!!!!
Sevenoaks Lions came out the blocks with pace, support and penetration. A couple of knock on’s was disappointing to give turn over ball, however, their understanding of the offside rule and not getting caught in this position was great to see.
The first match against Guildfordians blue, was a great starter with good all round skills being shown. This match ended as a 7-5 win.
The second match against Dorking Red was a competitive game with Sevenoaks two scores down at half time. With much tenacity we fought back with tag turnover and drew the match in the last move of the game. 5-5.
The third match was against Dorking Blue which proved to be a difficult game, with some very good running from the opponents. Our tagging could have been a little stronger in this game, and we’ll take this back to the training ground. A loss at 6-4.
All or nothing in the fourth match, we could not go home on a loss. The team dug deep, brought all their experience from the first three matches together to produce a commanding and successful win over our hosts, Guildfordians red. A victory to complete the day, 6-3.
A great start to the year and both RJ and Julian were very proud of the Lions.
