U9's

International mini rugby series Chichester, 2011 - U9s
This was the first appearance of this particular squad at the Chichester festival and they were looking forward to it immensely. However, the excitement of being 'on tour' seemed initially to overwhelm them and the first day of the tournament saw them lose one game and draw three. By day two they had rested, re-grouped and re-focused and they managed to win both of their remaining games. As there were only 4 teams in the U9s age group this meant the teams they defeated on Sunday they had already played and lost to or drawn with on Saturday. So, it was testament to Big Rich's skill and motivational techniques that he managed to reverse the previous day's slump and get the team back into the groove. Full match reports are below but suffice to say that the whole squad enjoyed themselves. The weather was great and the team made full use of the camp site facilities, in particular the swimming pool and the arcade! At the Sunday evening Awards' ceremony Paul Wilkinson was a deserving winner of the player's player award and Nick Stoner, who had really put himself on the line for his team mates in Sunday's crucial victories, picked up the Coach's award for best player.
Day 1
Warriors 1 v Chippenham 2
The team was a little slow off the mark and in spite of some good tackling from Iacopo and Ben, Chippenham managed to run free early on and go 1-0 up. Louis then made a good run and was well supported by Jack Toon at the break down but Chippenham applied a lot of pressure and scored again to make it 2-0 at the half time break. In the second half the Warriors looked more like the team they can be and most of the attacking play was directed by us. Nick Stoner made a strong run and was well supported by Ben, winning a scrum. The ball came out from the scrum to Vikram who was put under immediate pressure. Paul Wilkinson made another strong run and Louis Ackland picked it up and drove on when Paul was tackled, nearly getting over the line. Eventually the ball made it out to Ben Sproston who ran it in to make the final score 2-1 to Chippenham.
Warriors 2 v Chippenham A 2
Warriors finally got off the mark, securing a draw against Chippenham A. Having finished their first game strongly the team came out fired up and went 1-0 up. A great phase of play involving Jack Burke, Jack Toon and Sam Dawe saw Louis Ackland get over the try line to score. Disappointingly the Warriors allowed Chippenham A to score straight from the restart, letting one of their opponents run straight through without challenge. This was to be a recurring feature on Day 1! In the second half Chippenham A dominated and in spite of some great running from Joseph Waymouth in particular, Warriors found themselves 2-1 down, once again allowing a runner to come through unchallenged. Thankfully Paul Wilkinson put in a fantastic run, picking it up again after the play broke down and driving over the line to score just before the final whistle and secure the draw.
Warriors 2 v Old Colfeians 7
Warriors went down to a surprising and crushing defeat against these SE London rivals. The first half didn't presage what was to come. Warriors got off to a good start going 1-0 up with another try from Paul. They then conceded but at half time the score was still 1-1. In the second half once again the team failed to even challenge an opposition runner and quickly found itself 2-1 down. A surprising lack of concentration then saw Old Colfeians stretch their lead to 4-1. Encouragingly the Warriors didn't give up and Louis made it 4-2 after a great run from Jack Burke. But after that the team once again seemed to switch off, conceding three more tries before the final whistle. A game that had started so promisingly ended as a 7-2 defeat.
Warriors 2 v Old Colfeians 7
The final game of day 1 saw the Warriors suffer a third defeat. Still shell shocked from the previous game the team went 1-0 down almost immediately and a repeated failure to put in tackles meant that by half time the score was 3-0 in favour of Chippenham. In the second half Warriors did much better, Paul once again scoring to make it 3-1. Disappointingly the team however once again conceded almost immediately from the restart and found itself 4-1 down. Pleasingly the squad didn't give up and ended on a high, Ben scoring to make the final score 4-2 after some great work from Sam Dawe and Paul Wilkinson.
Day 2
Warriors 2 v Chippenham A 1
A more focused and determined Warriors side took to the field of play on the second day of play. Facing Chippenham A, with whom they'd drawn the previous day, the Warriors were keen to get a win on the board. The first half saw some great play with much better organisation and communication. The squad was finally playing as a 'team' with Nick Stoner, Paul, Iacopo and Sam putting in great tackles and supporting the rest of the players. The Warriors first try came just before half time. With a scrum just before the Chippenham try line Paul was given the put in. He tried to drive over himself and was then ably supported by Jack Burke who nipped through the defensive lines before cleverly offloading to Ben who scored.
In the second half the Warriors went 2-0 up with Paul Wilkinson scoring a fantastic try that he made for himself by throwing an exquisite dummy. Chippenham A fought well to get back into it but could only make it 2-1 by the final whistle. Warriors had that all important first win!
Warriors 3 v Old Colfeians 2
The final game of the tournament was against the team that only the day before had beaten the team 7-2. Could the Warriors expunge that memory and restore their pride? Of course they could!
The game didn't get off to a great start with the team going 1-0 down almost from the off but the boys bounced back quickly, with Paul making yet another strong run before Jack Burke picked it up and got over the line to get the team back on level terms. In the second half Joseph Waymouth ran in a try to make it 2-1, which was then added to by Ben to make it 3-1. Just to make everyone on the touchline nervous Old Colfeians were then allowed back into it to make the score 3-2 but some great teamwork and tackling from everyone on the pitch meant the team held on to reverse the previous days defeat. It was a sweet way to finish off the tournament and secure a third place finish.
Author: Nick Toon