U9s - Fair and with Flair at Oakmedians

The U9's beat the weather on Sunday by attending the Oakmedians festival - a good call as the rearranged Hampshire Tournament fell victim to a waterlogged pitch for the second time.

A cold but mercifully dry day resulted in us taking home the Fair Play award which was richly deserved. The players stood out as playing the game in the spirit to which we all aspire.

The other huge success was that, for just about the first time, we won the first game of a tournament - against Salisbury! The display of fast hard running, offloading and stout defence caused all watching to be grinning from ear to ear. "Just great rugby to watch" was a comment that summed it up. To put in to effect what we've been striving to achieve all season was an absolute joy - the smiles on the players faces were a real treat. The club Director of Rugby had a session with us earlier in the season and we think he would have been proud.

Other results were mixed with a win against Oakmedians 2 but losses against much stronger teams from Dorchester and Oakmedians 1. We then lost to Salisbury in the play off due to their main strike runner having woken up and our tackles being a little tired.

Well done to each and every player but special mentions to Danny for playing while under the weather; Tom for a hat-trick on debut; Jonathan and Harry for relentless tackling and all for putting up with the cold.