U10 Lions roar to Brean Sands final

2nd - 3rd May 2009

A bank holiday trip down the tracks to the 2009 Brean Sands Tournament for the Maidenhead Under 10s, and the Lions were prowling. After the team united on Friday and match tactics were mapped out by the evening watering hole, the dawn broke on Saturday over the Burnham On Sea savannah and the Lions went on the hunt for their prey.

With everyone in the jungle hungry for success, the prey in Pool B was never going to be easy to catch. After a tight first match against Buckingham, honours were shared with one mouthful each (1-1 with an important first bite from Jenkins). This whet the appetite for an improved performance and confidence boost to take the next opposition down.

Heads lifted in the second pool match with a 2-2 draw against Old Albanians. However, the Lions were so rampant, after tries from MacLean and Payne, the enemy ran out of numbers as they fell to the ground, and when recruiting extra players from another pack - the rules of the jungle were broken - so a 2-1 win was awarded to the Lions. We had our first taste of blood, but we had only just begun. Next, the Old Rutlishians, and the Lions carried on where they left off, and with a hard fought 2-1 victory and two well crafted tries from Jenkins. Finally Cwmbran arrived to find out what the noise was about but their Rhinos proved too powerful for the Lions, beating us 5-1 despite a try from MacLean.

Our Saturday wounds proved just to be scratches. Early Sunday rain didn't dampen the Lions' ambitions and our cats were not afraid of water. First up, Hertford Kittens, and if there was ever an inappropriately named intruder in our camp, it was them. A notable try of style from Jenkins, and a snatch and sprint try from Rushton, saw us pick up the pace with a 2-0 win. Another big victory over Michinhampton, with the prey taken down by tries from Payne, Jenkins and two from McGregor, set up a place in the tournament Plate Final. In our toughest duel of the weekend our Lions fought with valour in their glorious finale against Hinckley. After McGregor struck first, the mighty Lions, the Kings of the Jungle, couldn't hold the advantage and Hinckley responded to share the spoils. So the final battle was shared, and so to the Runners Up Plate. The Lions retreated until next year.

Lions: Jake Holden, Marc Hedouin, Saul Payne, Moose Green, Gregor Peberdy, Jake Jenkins, Rory Adamcsik, Olie McGregor, Thomas MacLean, Louis Rushton, & Zac Sanders