U8's A knocked out in quarter final for the cup

The standard of opposition was up a notch (or two) on previous years with a number of teams visiting from the hot bed of tag rugby that seems to exist within the M25.

First up for the boys was the hosts, Vectis. The boys' explosive attack coupled with tenacious defence meant the best possible start - a comprehensive 6-3 win. The performance should be noted for some quite breathtaking phases of play involving the entire squad.

Next up was Cobham. This was a titanic match worthy of the final itself between two very evenly matched teams. All nine trys were very well earned with ferocious defence countering each free flowing attack. But in the end Cobham won 5-4 having scored the decisive try with the last play of the game. There was nothing at all between the two teams and the ref commented at the final whistle that Bracknell were very unlucky to lose one of the best tag rugby matches he'd ever seen.

The disappointment on the boys' faces was clear for all to see as we gathered for our usual post match huddle. But captain for the day, Jed, kindly put things into perspective for us, reminding everybody that the U7s had lost their very first game on route to winning the title two years ago. This breathed new life into the boys who realised the importance of bouncing straight back and winning their next game. Poor old Chichester felt the full force of the boys' disappointment. The game finished 7-3 to Bracknell. The boys' relentless defence led by Tom, Ellis and Josh forced several turnovers which led to a number of outstanding solo trys - one in particular from Spencer had both sets of supporters applauding.

So to the final group match against US Portsmouth. A comfortable 5-3 win for the boys. Again rock-solid defence and sweeping attacks from one end of the pitch to the other were the order of the day. And the boys ended-up finishing runners-up of their pool.

There was some confusion as to whether or not the next game would be a semi-final or quarter-final. I don't think we ever found out the answer. But one thing was clear though. The opposition would be Dorking.

Now having slept on it, I'm going to be very kind and say the boys were desperately unlucky to lose 6-4. On another day, several decisions that went against the boys would have gone their way. For example, the fourth Dorking try just before half-time should have been ruled out because the try scorer avoided being tagged several times by illegally fending off with the ball - a practice we actively discourage. But the reality is that the boys had enough chances to win the game. The ref actually apologised to me at the end of the game for being human and making a couple of mistakes! I sympathised with him because the referee always has the most difficult job of all. It just irritates me because the boys put their hearts and souls into the game and were upset by the nature of the defeat - several cried at the final whistle.

At the end of the day, the boys can be immensely proud of themselves. They played great rugby in glorious conditions. They were also well behaved and very sensible - sitting quietly in the shade and drinking lots of water in between matches. The support and encouragement from all the parents, grandparents etc was fantastic and really made a big difference. And all the coaches (especially Mark Riles) did a great job before, during and after each game.

Two awards were given out at the end of the day - I think these were for "player of the day" and "effort of the day". The very worthy winners of these awards were Lawrence and Jack respectively. Well done boys!

Finally, i've included some stats below because I know some of you like to keep a personal record of these:

1st game v Vectis - win 6-3

Aden (Elliot assist)
Sam (Toby assist)
Sam solo
Tom (Sam assist)
Aden (Jed assist) or it might have been the other way round - sorry, I can't read my note
Sam solo

2nd game v Cobham - loss 4-5

Elliot (Toby assist)
Sam (Tom assist)
Toby (Tom assist)
Sam solo

3rd game v Chichester - win 7-3

Jed (Toby assist)
Elliott (Sam assist)
Jed solo
Aden solo
Spencer solo
Jed (Sam assist)
Elliott Tom assist)

4th game v US Portsmouth - win 5-3

Toby (Jed assist)
Jed (Elliott assist)
Aden (Spencer assist)
Sam solo
Toby (Jed assist)

5th game v Dorking - loss 4-6

Aden solo
Toby (Sam assist)
Sam solo
Sam (Elliott assist)