U11Bs at the Saracens' Tournament

Sunday 15th November 2009

The Maidenhead Under 11 B team demonstrated a quality of rugby far ahead of their years on Sunday, put their training into practice and were impressive for so many reasons. Ahead of the first match the 14 strong squad were asked to concentrate on key areas including rucking, close support and communication, strong tackling from the off and getting the ball right down the line using our speed.

Right from the off the team unity was awesome and the belief and desire was all too apparent. Four superb tries from Smith, Birch and two from Curran saw us beat Old Albanians 20-0 in the first match. The pack were so focussed to use their strength and the Birch try in particular was the result of a great scrum, hooked by a highly consistent Hedouin throughout the day, and finely delivered pass from Peberdy down the line to a string of six passes through the backs to the try line which perplexed the opposition.

The next match was against Ruislip, who we beat comfortably just two weeks ago - but they were back stronger and determined for revenge. Down 0-5 at the break, our team showed the maturity to be admired at any age-group - pumped up by an on-fire 'Moose' Green, Smith drew the match level and Banks switching from the backs to the 2nd row used his strength and determination for a match winning try as Captain to clinch the match 10-5. Having turned that match round - the third match against Amersham & Chiltern was a mirror image. 0-5 down at the break, we repeated the resilience to turn the score with another try from Birch and winner from pack-leader Smith to win 10-5 again. Three wins from three - more than any parent and coach could ask and everyone contributed.

Sadly Kingsbridge were next, and from the only team they brought to the event they landed on the Bs shocking us to a 0-35 defeat. As the sun dropped we fell at the final hurdle when a win against the hosts Saracens could have made us runners-up, we succumbed to another strong performance from the opposition to lose 0-20.

Finishing third from six in a strong Saracens tournament was a tremendous result for everyone involved and we left with our heads held high - well done the Bs!

Team: Green, Smith, Holden, Banks, Warner, Birch, Hedouin, Peberdy, Sanders, Curran, Elkins, Morris, Hickey and Price-Blackburn.