U10 Bulls at the Beaconsfield Tournament

Sunday 7th March 2010

In a stark contrast to the awful weather of the previous Sunday, the U10 Bulls arrived at Beaconsfield in brilliant sunshine on a beautiful spring morning.

After warming up, the boys kicked off at 10.45 against Windsor. The Bulls got off to a great start, driving down the centre of the field to score almost immediately. However, it wasn't long before Windsor came back and equalled the score at 5-5. However, this just served to inflame the boys up front and after some strong resistance from Windsor, the Bulls broke through to make it 10-5 and a second try for Philip Wells. In the second half, the Bulls pressed their advantage and scored a third from Thomas Osborne who drove his way over the line. With nearly the last play of the match, Windsor were allowed to break and score, but the Bulls held firm to end the match 15-10 winners.

The second match was against the unknown quantity Chess Valley. However, it was apparent almost from the start that the Bulls were too good for Chess Valley. After quick scores from Charlie Laing and William Manning, the Bulls were very soon 10-0 up followed by a second try for Charlie just before half time. In the second half, the boys seemed to take their foot off the gas but were never troubled and finished the opposition off with a try from Thomas Moore to make the final score 20-0.

The third match, just before lunch, was against Richmond who we suspected would be tough opponents. Richmond were indeed a tough, well drilled and organised team, but the Bulls were asleep for the first few minutes of the game and allowed Richmond to score 2 easy tries where normally they would have resolutely defended. After a few shouts of encouragement, the boys did indeed wake up and whilst they were unable to cross the line, put Richmond under severe pressure. Although they lost the game 10-0, they fought back magnificently and the Richmond coach commented that we had given them their toughest game for a long time.

The final game, and final game of the day, was against Henley. The Henley boys were pumped up for this game and seemed desperate to win. It did make, therefore, for an incredibly tight and competitive match which frankly was the most exciting of the day. Each side fought very hard to win and retain ball which served to add mistakes to an already tired bunch of boys. With the game going from end to end without score, it was difficult to tell who would win. With 2 minutes to go, and after sustained pressure on our line, the concentration lapsed and Henley broke through to score. They celebrated like they had won the match, but we were not beaten yet. The kick off was the last play of the game and the boys brilliantly moved the ball up field retaining possession and keeping the game alive. That pressure paid off with Oliver Jones crashing through Henley's defensive line to score and finish the game a 5-5 draw which was a thoroughly deserved outcome for both sides.

Player of the Day: Peter Marshall.

Bulls Squad: Charlie Laing, Jack Peycke, Joe Thompson, Oliver Jones, Peter Marshall, Philip Wells, Sean Franks, Thomas Moore, Thomas Osborne, Tom Moreland, William Manning.

Try Scorers: Philip Wells (2), Charlie Laing (2), Thomas Osborne, William Manning, Thomas Moore, Oliver Jones.