A fun day in the Sun

A fine spirited performance from the U14s in the sun at Folkestone saw them reach the Plate Semi-Final before losing to a strong Ashford side.

In a group which included Canterbury, Bromley, Tonbridge Judds C and Old Elthamians, Gs knew it was no guarantee that they would progress from the Group stages.

This looked even less likely after the first game against Canterbury where a lack of composure and some poor tackling saw Canterbury run out 21-7 winners. This though was put into perspective when you saw the other results of Canterbury on the day.

Second up were Bromley and after some tense exchanges G's were once again behind after a fine run by the Bromley centre which saw him go over in the corner despite a valiant chase by Samraj. This proved to be a turning point in the game as inscoring the centre managed to damage his forearm and took no longer part in the match. Whether this change unsettled Bromley or gave G's a confidence boost but from then on it was one way traffic. Having scored 2 tries in the first half to take a 14-7 lead, G's then ran away with another 2 tries to win 28-7.

Qualification was still far from secure and Gs knew they had to beat a Tonbridge Judds side made up largely of forwards so it was no surprise to see Judds take route one at every opportunity. Judds scored first before Gs got to grips with the basics of how to play a bigger less mobile team and spin it out wide. Having pulled a try back before half time Gs were fighting extremely well against a well drilled side. With 3 minutes left Judds once again crossed the line but having missed the conversion Gs still had a window of opportunity. Showing the spirit which stood them in good stead it was no surprise to see Gs come straight back and score. With the conversion slotted and the score at 14-12 Gs then just had to hold on to win and claim a guaranteed 3rd place in the Group stageswhich they duly did.

The final game saw Gs over powered by a large and very good Old Eltahmians side and with a score of 40-0 we could at least take some comfort from the fact that this was their 3rd lowest total on the day !!

Having finished 3rd in the Group Gs ended up facing hosts Folkestone in the Plate QF. With both teams showing a lot of enterprise and spirit scores were 7-7 after 5mins. Gs though then started to realise that if they could secure quick ball they could get it out to their quicker backs and utilise the space to full effect. One such effort saw the ball pass through several pairs of hands before a score wide out. With that Folkestone's effort was dampened somewhat and Gs ran in another 3 tries for a 28-7 win.

In the Semi-Final Gs came up against Ashford and we knew we were in for a fight given that they had beaten Cup Finalists Tonbridge Judds earlier in the competition. With a very quick back line and the bounce of the ball Ashfor ran in two early tries and the fire went out of Gs. That said the boys continued valiantly and ended up without score but against a very good Ashford side who were probably more disappointed being in the Plate that was not disgrace.

This was a fine days rugby for the U14s and every member of the 12 man squad should be rightly proud of themselves. Evry single one contribute wholeheartedly and judging by the smiles afterwards I think all enjoyed themselves out by the coast or should that be train line!!