Reading Abbey Shield A
4th April 2004by Phil Paul
The listing was posted by
Reading Abbey Mini Club Challenge
Sunday 4th April 2004
Team: James Paul (Capt), Jack Leach, Toby Clark, Clark Thorley, Harry Kemball, Ben Story, Harry Mackenzie, Jamie Hayes-Brown, Louis Cripps
Match 1 Windsor 6 Redingensians 3
Tries Scored: James Paul 3, Toby Clark 1, Ben Story 1, Harry Mackenzie 1
Match 2 Windsor 3 Maidenhead 3
Tries Scored: Jack Leach 2, Jamie Hayes-Brown 1
Match 3 Windsor 7 Bracknell 2
Tries Scored: Jack Leach 1, Toby Clark 1, Clark Thorley 3, Harry Mackenzie 2
Match 4 Windsor 6 Abbey 4
Tries Scored: James Paul 2, Toby Clark 1, Jack Leach 1, Ben Story 1, Clark Thorley 1
Windsor Under 7’s took three teams, the A’s, B’s and C’s, to contest and attempt to retain the Reading Abbey Shield for the second consecutive year. The tournament is an annual event where each age group is working to win points for their club as a whole. The winning club is awarded the Abbey Shield to hold for a year. Windsor were keen to continue the momentum of last year and retain the trophy. The excellent results by all age groups, with the Under 7’s winning their group, resulted in Windsor winning the shield for the second year.
The first match against Redingensians saw the boys having a break with tradition and settling down immediately to play some good attacking rugby. The passing and running was better than expected and saw Windsor taking an early lead to finish the first half in front by four tries to two. The second half comprised of Windsor defending well and tagging better than usual, the defensive play enabled Windsor to push the opposition back deep into their half and to force Redingensians into some basic errors. The final score of six tries to three represented a good win and showed the team had grasped the importance of concentrating early in a tournament.
The match against Maidenhead should only be described as an example of how not to conduct any game with some disgraceful behaviour by the opposition’s coach. The less said about this game the better safe to say Windsor drew the match with three tries apiece.
Match three against Bracknell was an altogether better example of mini rugby. Windsor produced some good play with the team performing well in the line and passing more effectively in the first half. Whilst the result of seven tries to two showed an emphatic result the team were not playing to their full capability in the second half. They were crowding around the ball and not maintaining positions which led to some confused and erratic play.
The final match against Abbey needed to be won to ensure a good position in the age group and vital points to be won for the overall challenge. Windsor started well with two early tries but started to fade and again demonstrated that keeping the line and not crowding around the ball was important. The team seemed unable to keep positions despite having a large field of play that would have allowed running the ball along the line to contribute to better scoring opportunities. Despite the problems the team finished ahead by six tries to four giving enough points to ensure a win in the age group and vital points to the club.
All in all a great day with Windsor winning the shield for the second year, the boys need to ensure better positioning in future but considering how the team has performed at the last four tournaments a great result again. Thanks to the head coach Adrian and also to Steve for running the line. Also great results for the B’s and C’s which only demonstrate what a good and effective squad the Under 7’s have become. Well done to everybody.