There was more success for the Welwyn Mini Rugby section at the Ealing Trailfinders Annual Rugby Festival. Both the Under 8 A & B squads as well as the Under 9B and the 12B squads all finished fourth but the real shinning stars of the Mini section were once again the Under 10's.
The Under 10A squad ran out winners whilst the U10B squad finished 3rd in a highly competitive competition featuring teams from Wasps RFC, Harpenden RFC, Ruislip RFC, Old Albanians RFC, Bank of England RFC, London Welsh RFC as well as the hosts from Ealing.
The Under 10B squad had victories over Bank of England B (15 -5) and Ruislip B (20-0) whilst a draw with the hosts Ealing B (10-10) helped them qualify for the semi final where they were unfortunate to lose 10 -5 to Old Albanians. However they bounced back to win their 3rd place playoff against Harpenden B (25-0) to finish the event on a high.
The Under 10A squad went even better as they were unbeaten throughout the competition with wins over the Bank of England (10 -0), London Welsh (20 - 0), Old Albanians (20 - 5) and Ealing (15 - 5) before a draw with Harpenden (0 - 0) secured the festival win. Centre, Keir Lloyd led the way with 4 tries during the morning but he was ably supported by Alfie Orchard 3, Saul Otene 3 and one try each from Kyle Tormey, Cameron Boon and Gus Laws-Mather.
This was our talented Under 10 squads 3rd Festival win in 3 weeks and sets them up for another record breaking season.
« All done!
The annual London Double Header features Tag teams from around the country in a fierce competition for the chance to play at Twickenham in front of 60,000 fans. Welwyn U9s got off to a flying start to the new rugby season by sailing through their group down on Saturday, ensuring they would play on the hallowed turf between the Harlequins and Wasps match.
Welwyn's hard-fought campaign saw them fight off a determined 'ex-pat' side from Brussels in their first match. A tight defensive line allowed Brussels little ground, with Kevin Hannah and Matthew Billimore leading the tagging. A brace of tries from winger Deiniol Jones and further from Alex Bevan gave Welwyn a well-earned 15-0 victory. Second match against Aldermaston gave Welwyn a harder challenge, but the defence from (captain) Catherine Cirkel and Matthew Billimore proved watertight. First class tagging and two tries from Harry Evans, one from Michael O'Donnell and a further from D. Jones handed Welwyn a comfortable 20-0 win.
Match 3 against Eastligh started with exceptional rugby from Welwyn. Tight marking, and relentless tagging pushed Eastleigh immediately onto the back foot. A quick breakthrough try from Alex Bevan opened the flood-gates, and with Welwyn now finding their rhythm, Michael, Deiniol and Harry added to the scoresheet. Momentarily, towards the end of the game, Welwyn's enthusiam resulted in giving the ball away and conceding 2 soft tries, but managed to pull back a couple of fast tries to end with a convincing 35-10 win. Final match against Brussels B, showcased flawless rugby with another 25-0 win, to put Welwyn comfortably on top of their pool.
Welwyn topped the overall league table with the highest for-and-against differential, having conceded only 2 tries throughout the whole competition and ensuring their right to play in front of a huge Twickenham crowd in an exhibition match with other Pool winners, Richmond.
Building on last years numerous successes, the Welwyn U9s now look set to continue their form into 2010.
« All done!
