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Bicester Nov 05
Faringdon RUFC Under 9s played in the mini rugby tournament held at Bicester on Sunday 7th November. Despite dreadful wet and windy weather the tournament was a great success. Faringdon’s first game was against Tring and the team got off to a great start by winning 5-1 with tries from ??? Sadly this was the last match for Alex ? who was suffering from blisters from his new boots - but didn’t stop him from supporting the team. It was then back to the tent for some shelter from the weather and team tactics which was ably given to the team by coaches Nick and Darren. The second match was a tight affair against Bicester and despite a great break away in the last few minutes by Euan Coard he was thwarted 5 meters from the try line by a covering tackle from a Bicester player, so the score remained at 0-0. There was an injury in the last few seconds of the game to one of Faringdon’s key players Alfie ?, but he showed great courage and determination to be out and ready for the next game which was against Wheatley. This was Faringdon’s heaviest defeat going down 5-1 but Wheatley came into this game following a 7-1 win against Bicester, so Faringdon did very well to keep the score down to this level, especially after a quick look around the Wheatley players, they were all much bigger than our team, but this didn’t perturb Jack Tabrah (playing for the first time), who put in some big tackles. Our consolation try was scored by ?. Back to the tent for some more refreshments and it was back out to face the eventual overall winners of the Under 9s, High Wycombe. High Wycombe got off to blinding start with a break away try in the first few seconds, this game was then temporarily abandoned due to the fact that the wind and rain was so bad that even the players were going to find it difficult staying upright, so to much relief to all the parents who had turned up to support it was back to the tent. After the storm had passed the game was resumed and Faringdon made a wonderful effort to keep High Wycombe down to scoring only a further two tries, this was due to some fantastic tackling from Jonathon Carter, Alfie ?Edward Kershaw-Houghton, Sam Kenyon and especially Rory Smith who in one memorable moment had just grounded one of the High Wycombe’s players and was straight up to tackle another player who may have thought he was to escape Faringdon’s defence - how wrong he was! After a quick team photograph where the rain and sweat gave our team the appearance of a tough group of players determined to let nothing get in their way to enjoy their day, it was onto the last match against Bicester 2. Despite all the players being slightly tired and with a few carrying knocks, Faringdon put in a fantastic effort to run out 5-1 winners. This showed the great team spirit and the importance of all the players contributing which Gareth Reynolds and Max ? together with all the players certainly did. In this last game there was a couple of great tries from Liam ? and George Kershaw-Houghton. The other tries were scored by ? The final analysis was won two, drew one with two defeats, which is a wonderful achievement which all involved should be delighted and proud and each player took away a well deserved medal. Despite the weather all the boys enjoyed the tournament and will be looking forward to the next one. A big thank you must go to the two coaches Darren and Nick who kept the team going in atrocious weather but also to the many parents who came along to support their children, who I am sure like myself are immensely proud. Finally we must thank Bicester RUFC for putting on the tournament as it was very well run and enjoyable day.
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