HRFU

Season 2008/2009

Under 10 End of Season Report

This season for the Under 10s started with great optimism in September, and despite a number of weeks and matches rained off was overall a very successful and thoroughly enjoyable one. Our first tournament due to the New Milton one having been cancelled was actually our own at the end of October, where despite some awful weather (as seems always to be the case!) we managed to give all our squad an opportunity to play as we fielded two teams.  Everyone played with great spirit and enthusiasm, and the “A” squad actual reached the final only to be beaten for the second year running by Basingstoke in a very close and hard fought match. The development squad did exactly that, develop as the tournament went on, with a number of players showing the potential for an “A” team place which they realised by the end of the season. The next few months were very much disrupted by the weather, but the players continued to train hard and develop into a closely knit unit, this showed that throughout the season we only lost 2 friendly fixtures – against New Milton 10-0 and Andover 5-0. 

This gave us all a great amount of confidence as we approached the end of season tournaments: first of all we sent our Development squad to Havant where they all raised their game again and managed to reach the semi-final of the main competition, only to lose to Cobham (a much bigger club) who would have beaten many main sides. As we said to the Cobham coach at the end of the semi-final “I think your players have emerged”. The tournament was a great success for the squad because as a result of the game time against other development squads  two of the team came through to claim end of season awards.  The next tournament was the Hampshire County, this year held on a lovely day at Andover.  The RFU regulations in terms of playing times per individual meant our squad was stretched to its limits, but did mean we were able to give a number of players not normally associated with tournaments an opportunity to play alongside and against some very good teams.  These new players played their part admirably as they contributed in nearly every group game to ensure we progressed in second place through to the main cup, having lost only game to New Milton.  This meant we were now able to select a fresher, and stronger side for the knockout stages, which proved to be a real bonus, but if the debutants had not played so well in the group we would not have been in that position anyway.  We then progressed through to the final beating Winchester in the quarters and drawing with Ellingham and Ringwood in the semi – only to go through on the toss of a coin.  The final was a rematch of the group game against New Milton, this time a lot closer, but we still came up just short and lost 5-0, a great performance from all 14 players.

Overton Festival on Easter Monday provided another opportunity to give other squad members an opportunity, and once again we played well, only to lose out to Salisbury in the semi-final of the main competition.  Havant tournament, traditionally a very hard one followed where we did not start very well, and had visions of an early exit until our last group, when we beat the previously unbeaten group leaders in a fantastic game of open and fast running rugby.  However we were once again to fall at the semi-final stage, this time on count-back as we drew the game 5-5.

The season finale was as has become tradition a weekend away on the Isle of Wight, culminating for all those that are awake with a very tough tournament on the Sunday.  This proved again a very successful day, with all the squad once again there and playing their part.  The Development side were very unlucky in their first game, not to come away with a victory, which unfortunately ended up being their best chance of success, as they came up against some good organised teams.  The main side on the other hand had a very tough group, comprising Chichester, Stevenage, US Portsmouth and Basingstoke.  We played our best rugby of the season, not conceding a try throughout and playing some great attacking rugby, probably the most satisfying was beating Basingstoke 30-0.  We progressed through again to the semi-final, but by now the weekend activities were taking their toll, and we came up against Bracknell, a very big, efficient and fast team, and lost valiantly 10-0.

During the day we presented our season awards to all squad members, but then also our main trophies:

• Players Player – as voted by all other squad members – this went to Aiden Taylor

• Most Improved Player – decided by the coaches was David Marsh

• Coaches Player – Finn Hills

For the first time we also had a perpetual shield to present, which we described as “Trojan” of the year, and we asked all parents on the day to vote for their first and second choices, and this year the clear winner was Phoebe Murray.

Our season has also been tinged with sadness, due to one of our team contracting Leukaemia. The team have followed the progress of their team mate and friend Ollie, and are now pleased to have seen him on several visits to training on a Sunday, and are so very chuffed to hear that he is now in remission. The squad this year gave Ollie the choice on their tour t shirts, as he could not be with them. He chose a bright purple, with a luminous green name on the back, which all the U10 squad and other age ranges loved. We do hope to see him back soon!

We are all looking forward already to another season, but we must thank all the players and their parents for their dedication and efforts this year, which makes our lives as coaches both easy and most enjoyable.

E-Mail  web@trojansrugby.co.uk or phone the Club on 023 8061 2400 (Bar) 023 8061 3068 (Admin)      

This page last updated:  01 December, 2011