U8s at the Saracens' Mini Rugby Tournament

Sunday 16th November 2008

By Stuart Monk and Paul Henderson

Where do we start?

An outstanding days work by a great bunch of kids who bounced back from the disappointment of losing a tight first game.

Having made a number of defensive mistakes, they turned out to be one of the outstanding teams of the tournament. If it wasn't for the loss in the first game there is no doubt they could have gone on to win.

The team got better and better as the day went on, showing a maturity in the way they played and organised themselves that left the coaches feeling very proud.

It was wonderful to see them gel as a team and start taking responsibility for their actions (both good and bad!). Proving to the coaches that they do listen (we just hadn't worked that out.).

It was obvious that a lot of the recent work on attack and defence had paid dividends. Despite sprained ankles, cold weather, kicks in the face etc. they kept moving forward and their attitude, commitment and ability could not be faulted.

A grand total of 27 tries - very impressive with all 9 players scoring at least once.

We came away incredibly proud of their display, and discussions with some of the parents after the event, echoed our belief that we have the makings of a great team for the future.

The support provided from the parents during the day was amazing. Their help was much appreciated, during unexpected breaks in activity. They kept the momentum up and provided vociferous encouragement to

both their offspring and the team in general.

So, onwards and upwards. The majority of this team will now take a break from tournament rugby for now.

Our focus moves on the Wallingford event with new teams who have a hard act to follow.

Many thanks to all who made it such a wonderful day.

Kids, you should be very proud of yourselves

You did MRFC proud.