Rugby Under 14’s at Kenilworth 10-a-side Tournament

Lions picked a strong, mobile squad laced with pace and power and entered the Tournament as favorites to retain the trophy they won last season.  With a simple but effective game plan Lions swept all before them in the early games scoring 11 tries and conceded none.  The onslaught was irresistible, fast flowing moves finished with pace and guile followed by fine interplay and offloads – it’s not that the opposition didn’t tackle, they simply ran out of defenders.  Lions entered the final game needing a win but Blackburn kept it tight and a battle royal ensued. Jackson Hughes scored a brace to cancel out 2 tries from Blackburn but as this exciting game drew to a close Tom Swindell burst clear to score the Tournament winning try right on the final whistle – Fantastic.  Squad with tries in brackets: Ben Warman (1), Ryan Masters, James Scott, James Saunders, Dan Martin (2), Kyle Webster (1), Grant Northcott, Tom Swindell (3), Tom Reeve, Rich Bannister, Harry Parsons (1), Kiron Phillips (1), Robert Chan, Stitch Loydall (1), Jackson Hughes (4).

Rugby Lions Under 13s Stratford 10s Festival

19 April 2009

The Under 13s visited Stratford last Sunday to take part in a 10 a side competition involving 5 local clubs.

The first match against Bromsgrove was a very tight affair and Bromsgrove were first to score. However the lads were keen to retaliate and soon levelled when Luke Townsend broke through in the last play of the first half. The second half yielded no further scores with both sides defending well. The final score ended at 1-1.

In the second game against Old Edwardians the team found the going a lot easier and scored 13 tries with virtually every player getting on the score sheet. The final score was 13-0.

The 3^rd game was against Moseley and Rugby were soon in the lead following another try from Luke. Moseley levelled the score just before half time. However in the 2^nd half Aex Rae and Luke scored 2 more tries to kill off any comeback from the strong Moseley squad. The score finished 3-0.

In the final match against Straford it was clear that the winner of the competition would be determined by the most tries scored and Rugby was in contention with Bromsgrove. Sights were set on at least 4 tries to secure the win and the team were soon able to relax when Patrick Mills, Luke and Oliver Robinson ran in 5 tries before half time. Stratford were keen to get back in the 2^nd half but Rugby’s defence was solid and the final killer blows came when Chris Easton and Jack Tayor ran in tries before the final whistle to take the score to 7-0.

Rugby ran out winners in this inaugural competition and look forward to retaining the trophy at next year’s event in the older age group.

Rugby Lions Under 13s Tour

12 April 2009

The Under 13s went on tour over the Easter weekend to Edinburgh and took part in 2 hard fought matches with local sides Hawick and Boroughmuir.

In the first match against Hawick the lads came under severe pressure during the first 10 minutes but managed to defend their lines well. Once the team was settled the tide started to turn and with the forwards making good ground they soon found themselves a few metres from the Hawick try line. When the ball went to ground Toby Everitt managed to collect from the back of the ruck and saw a gap to dart over the first score which was subsequently converted. Chris Easton was next to score from an interception and ran virtually the ful length of the pitch to take the score to 14-0 when the conversion was taken.

In the second half Hawick fought back and narrowed the gap to 14-7 when they broke through from a penalty. With minutes remaining Rugby managed to confirm their superiority when Luke Townsend tore down the wing the to score and take the final score to 19-7.

The second match against Boroughmuir was a much tougher affair and Rugby were keen to gather as many easy points as possible as the game developed. Rugby went ahead from a Chris Easton penalty 15 minutes into the game but the home side scored a try just before the half time whistle to take the score to 5-3. In the second half Chris Easton successfully converted his second penalty of the day and the lads had a very slender lead until the final seconds when the large Boroughmuir centre broke through the Rugby defence to take the final score to 10-6.