Manager
 
 
 
Winners
 

Firstly a big thank you from John and me for the continued support of all parents without who are job would be impossible and for making the trip to Wellington RFC, even after losing and hours sleep.  The team spirit and enthusiasm of all the players was fantastic with everyone desperate to be on the field.

There were five teams in the under 9 s tournament with some very strong teams from Wellington, Minehead and Tiverton.

After a slow start in the first game and conceding an early try, Ivel upped the pace of their game. With some great defence and strong running they eventually beat the Wellington Lions  2 -1.

Things then just got better and better as they dominated both their next two games with comfortable wins against Minehead and Tiverton.

In the last game against Wellington Tigers we again gave the opposition a head start but credit to the lads they came back hard and with some great running, good support and some strong tackling turned the game round to win 5 – 2.

There were some very good individual performances but more importantly everyone was involved and it resulted in a great team performance winning all four games and our 1st Tournament!

They should all be very proud of the way they played for each other and for the improvement in their game as a team. It is clear they are becoming a very close unit and despite a few knocks and injuries yesterday they could not wait to get back on the pitch.

Finally thank you to Wellington RFC for putting on a great day’s rugby that was enjoyed by all.
Gary Bishop & John Groves
 
 
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On a beautiful Sunday we travelled to sunny Weymouth to play matches against Weymouth and two sides from Teddington RFC.

With a number of absences due to holidays we welcomed two potential new players James and Oscar. The team spirit and enthusiasm of all the players was again fantastic with everyone desperate to be on the field.  

The pitch was unfortunately so narrow that it reduced the games to a series of mauls and scrums, we were therefore unable to make use of the excellent runners we have in the team.  Despite this we dominated all three games, winning by two tries to nil against Weymouth and were very unlucky to have two tries disallowed in each of the Teddington games, both of which eventually ended in Nil - Nil draws.

The one benefit of the narrow pitch was some great tackling, but there was no room to develop our passing game. There were various knocks and injuries sustained due to the hard ground but everyone quickly recovered and were keen to return to the game.

Congratulations to the lads, apart from one game in the Ivel Tournament, they are unbeaten since October.

Finally, this concludes a very successful season which has seen the U9’s develop into a very strong side. They should all be very proud of the way they are now playing for each other and for the improvement in their game as a unit.

With a big thank you to all the parents, you can enjoy a well earned rest for a few months.

Gary Bishop & John Groves
Under 9 ‘s Coaches