Top of the table at New Milton!!

New Milton, the tournament coaches love and loathe in equal measure. 

Ok, loathe may be a bit strong, but New Milton is the first tournament of the season, so the first outing on full size pitches for many, first official matches with the new rules now they're a year older (and a different ref's 'interpretation' of the rules). How will the kids get on? Will they cope? Will they get thrashed? Will they win? Etc etc. The run up to the day can be quite stressful for a coach!

I should have known better though, the kids did great!

Two years ago, the tournament was a bit of a shock for us all - despite trying their best, we ended up 5th in the group.

Last year, with a bit more experience under our collective belts (kids and coaches) we did really well and placed 2nd in the group, narrowly losing the final to a well-drilled Alton RFC.

This time around, we had New Milton, Wimborne, Alton and a BaaBaas team in our group (BaaBaas = players from all other teams not in that match to make up for a team that had dropped out).

New Milton had a great little runner, who scored try after try against other teams - completely shut down by E&R defence! 

Wimborne - practically swept aside as we romped home.

BaaBaas - a tough game but we played strong and won out in the end.

Alton - as well-drilled as last season, but our kids remembered all the hard work they'd put in over the previous weeks and we held them to a draw.

E&R U8's - top of the group as the only undefeated team!!

So, to the final against Gosport & Fareham. Despite trying their best and playing really well, we were edged to the title and narrowly lost the final. Everyone tried their best and added something to the game, even when things went against them (Harry wasn't in touch as he scored a try, and Isaac wasn't offside when he put himself clear after brilliantly intercepting a loopy pass), so we don't dwell on the ref's decisions, but move on a make the next play. Loving their discipline.

In U8's, there is the '7 Tag Turnover' rule - the 7th consecutive tag taken gives the ball to the tagging team. I only saw this done once by all the other teams put together during the day and we managed it time after time! Brilliant defence!!

Everyone played their part and gave it their all - that really is the best I've ever seen our gang play. Outstanding performances and everyone displayed rugby's Core Values to a T - made me very proud to be involved with the team. 

We have at least three more tournaments in the pipeline, so we'll be doing our best to take that extra step!