U10s victorious at Chippenham Tournament

Sunday 29th March 2009

Not for the first time this season, the Under 10s A team put on a scintillating display of rugby last weekend to lift the Chippenham Festival trophy and leave their fans delirious.

The Under 10s have had another very successful season, coming to the Chippenham Festival with only one defeat in 39 matches. However, they had yet to bag any significant silverware, having finished second at London Irish's St Patrick's Day Festival and third at both the Saracens and Maidenhead Festivals.

Steely determination and a deep self-belief meant they wouldn't be leaving Chippenham empty handed without a fight. Maids were making their debut at Chippenham and, after a 75 mile journey west along the M4, they were pleased to find that the tournament was blessed with some glorious Spring sunshine, conditions that were bound to favour Maids' brand of exciting attacking rugby.

Maids got under way with a reasonably comfortable 10-0 victory over a resolute Marlborough side, with tries coming from Harry Wells and Rory Adamcsik. This gave them the early fillip they needed and set them up nicely for their second match against a nervous Wooten Bassett side that had finished on the wrong end of a 45-5 drubbing the last time the two sides had come across each other back in 2007. The margin of victory was no different this time, as Maids played some wonderful, expansive rugby and ran in eight tries without reply; Wells (2), Sutton (2), MacLean (2), McCaffrey and Lawrie were the lucky ones to be on the end of some great passing moves.

Next came hosts Chippenham. However, despite being roared on by a partisan home crowd, they were no match for the Maids and were pleased when the ref brought the game to an end with the score at 30-0 to the boys in magenta, violet and black. Wells and McCaffrey both bagged braces and McGregor and Adamcsik chipped in with a score apiece.

Three wins out of three meant that a place in the final was now within touching distance for the Maids. In their way stood a strong Salisbury side who had also won their opening three games. Maids knew that a draw would be good enough, given their superior scoring record in the other group games but Salisbury tested them to the limit. Maids scored first, through Wells, and should have capitalised on a number of other chances. However, the tournament was thrown wide open when Salisbury muscled their way over for a try. Maids ended up hanging on for the draw, although you always felt they had enough in the tank to ensure their passage through to the climax of the tournament.

In the final, they came up against Bath, a club with pedigree throughout and a strong rugby tradition. Nerves perhaps played a part as Maids got off to a slow start. Some weak rucking and a couple of missed tackles saw the blue and whites crash over for the opening try and the score remained 1-0 until half-time. Just like they had been a week earlier at the London Irish Festival, Maids were again in danger of playing the 'bridesmaid' unless they could rediscover the flowing rugby that had served them so well earlier in the day. In his half-time team-talk, Maidenhead's coach, implored the boys to stick to the basics, cut out the silly mistakes and get the ball moving along the back division.

The words worked wonders and Maids lifted their game to another level in the 2^nd half. Wave after wave of attack was launched on the Bath defence until, finally, it could withstand no more. Harry Wells, who had been inspirational all day with his mesmerising side-steps, jinked through a gap in the Bath back-line. Then, after some good play from forwards Payne, Green and Lawrie, it was McCaffrey's turn to put his foot to the floor, as he outsprinted the Bath wing to touch down in the corner. Wells then ran in two more tries to complete his hat-trick, put the result beyond doubt and see Maids crowned as worthy champions. Shaun Berne, the Bath and former New South Wales Waratahs fly-half must have had mixed emotions as he handed out runners-up medals to the Bath U10s. But he recognised quality when he saw it and warmly congratulated the Maids on their fantastic rugby, before handing them their medals and the gleaming trophy!

Under 10s A team: Rory Adamcsik, Moose Green, Oliver Lawrie, Thomas MacLean, Harry McCaffrey, Olie McGregor, Saul Payne, Alex Sutton and Harry Wells