U7's win again at Kent Festival 
By Ditch Boultbee
Back Row: James Perry, Angus McGown, Daniel Waugh, Hector
McKimm, Jo Tyndall, Billy Mostyn, Tim Sluman
Front Row: Alex Hargreaves, Daniel Lansbury,
Michael Goodwin, Jack Arnold, Finbar O'Connor
It
didn't look too hopeful as we set out for Aylesford following a damp and dismal
week. It was still cloudy and there were spits of rain in the air. Thankfully it
was to turn out almost the perfect day for playing rugby, the ground not too
hard or soft, the temperature not to hot or too cold and amazingly no rain.
With no Reigate Sevens, Swimming Galas or Macbeth
rehearsals to contend with we had a full squad available to us. The author had
put the pressure on himself by saying he would be disappointed if we didn't win
at Kent. Considering the potential opposition this was perhaps a foolhardy
statement. However far from being disappointed I was in fact once again amazed
at just how good the boys are. There are many challenges in life ahead for them
but I have little doubt that if they face them with the same commitment they put
into their rugby that they will succeed in whatever they try to
do.
Our first game was against Westcombe
Park without doubt the next best team in our group and with our minds
not fully on the job they were able to hold us to a 1-1 draw as our tackling was
not at its best allowing Combe to score an equaliser in the corner having run
around two tacklers on the outside.
By the time we came to
play Tonbridge-Judds in our second game we were all awake and
firing on all cylinders against a useful side that had won its first game.
Running in four tries to two and tackling much better we were starting to show
what we are really capable of.
In our third match against
Folkestone
tries came think and fast. Daniel Lansbury showed
his full range of talents with jinking runs, breakaway tries from opposition
mistakes and leading some ferocious tackling. Indeed so good was the team
discipline that often the opposition were retreating faster when they had the
ball than when we did ! Final score an amazing 6-1.
There is no doubt that we have some very
talented individuals in our side but then so did most of the other teams for me
the difference between us and them showed most in the final match it is of
course our strength in depth. We sadly had to leave at home players from our
squad who would have been welcomed with open arms by some of the other clubs
competing hopefully they will get their chance to shine in the
future.
Our last game was against Edenbridge
who looked a well drilled side turned out to be no match for the Old Alleynians
now playing at their very best everyone in the squad was on the pitch at
sometime during this game and it wasn't noticable when players changed over a
sure sign that something very special is happening. The tackling was phenomenal
as we shut out the opposition the key to winning at rugby is always good
defence! We can nearly always rely on our potent try scoring machine to oblige
so keeping the opposition out is what counts. Our try scoring machine is so
potent because we have so many threats.
A special mention
must go to Finbar O'Connor and Hector McKimm
both really under 6's but their contribution was above and beyond all
expectation and hopefully they will pass on the spirit of this years under 7's
to next years squad.
For the rest, there is little more
one can say about Daniel Lansbury except that when he learns to
run straight then the opposition really are in trouble. Billy
Mostyn has both talent and enthusiasm in abundance two things that will
take him far. Jo Tyndall who has only been playing since
Christmas has a natural sense for the game a real prospect for the future.
Tim Sluman once he woke up after the first game showed what he
is really capable of, especially when helping out Footscray in the last game of
the day where he scored what for me were two of the best tries I saw all day.
Jack Arnold tackled for all he was worth and is an integral
part of the squad playing equally well in any position. Angus
McGown is another utility player equally at home on the wing or in the
centre he too tackled his heart out. Alex Hargreaves has a
phenomenal turn of foot probably second only to Daniel Lansbury
and with a bit of extra coaching next year can become just as fearsome an
opponent. Daniel Waugh is, for me, the lynch pin around which the
team can play. Solid, reliable, dependable; all words that you may not think
normally describe a rugby player, but without someone with those qualities sides
rarely fulfil their potential. He is, if you like, our equivalent of Neil Back,
always in the thick of things. Last but by no means least Michael
Goodwin, good hands, real speed and a tackler par excellence, I
have lost count of the number of almost certain tries Michael has prevented this
season.
It was no mean feat to come top of our
group and score 16 tries in 40 minutes of rugby. I have little doubt that these
boys and girls (we would like more) can go on to become something even more
special, should they show the same spirit, determination, hard work and
willingness to listen and learn that they have this year. I can genuinely say it
has been a pleasure to coach every single member of the squad this season. On
behalf of all boys I would like to extend a big thank you to the rest of our
coaches Barry, Paddy and Daniel and to their parents for getting up early every
sunday and getting them to training and matches.
| U8's Tackle Their Way to Share Plate 
One of Many Last Ditch
Tackles
By Ditch Boultbee & Max
Bellak
As a team there is little doubt that the
Under 8s have considerable potential. However the gap between potential and
results can often be a difficult one to bridge. I am glad to say that the Under
8's exceeded my own personal expections and added another piece of silverware to
our rapidly growing collection. One cannot emphasise enough just how big a feat
this is to win anything at the Kent Festival is never easy even if on paper you
have the best side. The format is something of a lottery and it definately helps
to have an experienced coach who understands the system. As this was our first
Kent festival we cetainly did not have this decided advantage.
The day started well as
Cranbrook were
dispatched 4-1. From here though things were
never easy the next two matches won by just one try, Ash 5-4 and Dartfordians 3-2. Then came the real crunch
but Ashford
were too strong as we went down 0-3.
Having missed the cut we had a long nail biting wait to see if we had made
the plate.
Results went our way and so we lined up against the might of
Bromley
in the Semi of the Plate. I have rarely seen a
better display of last ditch defending as the opposition besieged our try line
for minutes at at time. As the full time whistle went the sides were locked at
2-2. A further 5 mins were spent as both sides looked for an elusive golden try.
Then up stepped coach Mark Northwood for the coin toss that would see if we went
to the final. Luckily for us Mark is considerably better with a coin than Nasser
Hussain his astute call of tails proving correct.
The Plate
Final against Tonbridge Juddians
was virtually a replay of the semi-final same score same tackling and
even the same referee. This time thankfully no coin toss and we shared the
spoils.
Congratulations to all the squad including
those we were forced to leave behind you never win at rugby without teamwork !!
A big thank you to all the Coaches and Parents for your fantastic efforts and
support.
| U11's Rev Up after slow start 
By Chris Sluman & Paul Stapleton
U11
Coaches Team: (L to R, standing) Andrew
Sluman, Freddie Sheahan, Liam Scannell, Christy Moen, Felix Odutolu-Olusanya,
Alex Cross, Paulo Ventura, Thomas Bath, Thomas Eadon, Edward Simkin-Byrne,
(L to R, kneeling) Chris & Sean Carlisle, Jack Goulston, Michael
Oliver, Patrick McGown, Jamie Thornton.
A day of mixed fortunes for the team. True
to form, we started slowly against a solid Beckenham side and
were fortunate to only be 2 tries down at half time. They were strong up-front
and our tackling at the back was quite woeful. A third try in the second half
sealed the OA’s fate.
The second game, against
Westcombe Park was a complete reversal. Some excellent work at
the front had Edward Simkin-Byrne making a number of splendid
runs out of the maul and, with Freddie Sheahan backing up,
meant that most of the first half was spent camped on the opposition line. A
couple of disallowed tries failed to dampen the spirits and the team ended the
half one try up. It was only a dreadful refereeing decision (a quick penalty
taken while the ref was talking to our scrum, followed by the opposition
dropping the ball forward for an OA to touch down in goal – the ref awarded a
try to Westcombe – despite the opposition protesting to him that he’d got it
wrong). The ref later admitted that he had confused the colours of the shirts!
So the game finished with the points shared.
The final
game (as Sheppy had scratched) was against Old Gravesendians
and we saw what the OAs are capable of. Huge work up front, coupled with quick
ball out of the set and loose situations with some amazing play in the backs set
up a comfortable 2-0 victory. Again, a couple of tries disallowed, but a superb
performance all round by the team.
Of particular note was
the excellent support the team had from a good number of parents who were
extremely vocal and really boosted the team’s morale and drive. Thanks a lot to
everyone who supported!
All in all, the festival was well
organised and a major event for the team. They acquitted themselves well and
everyone had a good time. For next season, we have to do as well from the moment
we play our first game as we generally do in our last!
|
U10's Show Their Mettle
By Don
McGown
Squad: James Bentley, Charlie
Bottomley, Edward Coe, Tom Davies, George Ewen, Nathan Gawin, Claire Harrison,
Sam Heaney, Edward Monteith, Sam Northcote-Green, Tom Saunders, Jacques
Seneschall, Harry Williams, James Wright, William Wynter.
Despite the sad loss of Sam Rowe
to flu on the eve of the tournament, our squad acquitted itself extremely well
in winning two and losing two of its group matches at the Festival. Our opening match against Bexley saw OA's into a four try to nil
lead at half time as a result of strong running from our backs and excellent
battling for the ball by our forwards.
The second half saw virtually our whole squad in action with no further
scores on either side. We then
played Blackheath A's, the strongest
side in the tournament. Despite
tenacious tackling and tremendous commitment by OA's there was nothing that
could be done to prevent some excellent rolling mauls and strong running by
their backs and three tries were conceded despite strong pressure in the second
half which saw the OA's camped for long periods in their twenty five. It was certainly no disgrace to lose to
Blackheath and after the match the referee commented that it was the best
performance he had seen by any side against Blackheath and even the coach of
Blackheath commented on how far the team had come on this year.
We next played Tunbridge Wells, another strong and
well organised side, losing by two tries to nil without quite recapturing the
fire of the performance against Blackheath. In the last match against Thanet, the first half was closely
fought with OA's one try to the good at half time. In the second half OA's gradually pulled
away with two late tries to win by three tries to nil with again the full squad
participating.
Overall,
the team can be delighted that it ended up in credit (in terms of number of
tries scored) and for the commitment and enthusiasm displayed by all the squad
on the pitch. Many thanks to the
excellent support shown by parents and in particular to Ian Rowe, John
Seneschall and Luke Gawin for their coaching on the day. The squad has really come on within the
last three months and well done to all for their
contributions.
|
RFU.com 
Club Search
