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| Rugby Under 8 Team 'Blog' |
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Wednesday 14th November U8 A & B TAG v Cranleigh Slightly rusty after our two week break from rugby the under 8 As took to the field against Cranleigh on Wednesday for our final tag rugby match. After a couple minutes, to find our feet again, we were back to something like our best closing down the spaces on defence, most of the time, and spreading the ball wider and faster than we have before when on attack. Holes in our defence were exposed when some of our players rushed the opposition and then didn’t make the tag but I am sure that next year our players will prefer making the tackles in these situations. On Attack we had our regular fast paced running and great all-round finishing from a number of players. Jack as well as Alex had a few great runs ended by rules only existing in tag rugby! We may have lost but I was very pleased with the performance and need only to think back to our 1st game to see that Wednesdays game was brilliant!! Thank you all for your support, and thank you boys for a great rugby season I am sure you will cope very well with contact next year and look forward to some very positive emails from Mr Barron next year telling me about all your great victories!! Dino Theocharis
With this being our final rugby match, we were keen to end the season on a high! The obvious difficulty was raising our game following 2 weeks of half term and a couple of weeks without matches. However, the B’s took to the field first and showed that time had only improved their handling and running with the ball. We really looked as though we were enjoying our game and with this came the tries. Tatsu was on fire, running in our first try that turned into a hatrick! Max was also flying through tackles with some illusive running and whilst these were the finishers, they were put there with outstanding offloading from Sam, Josef and Henry. In defence we were so much quicker to close the gap and put pressure on the Cranleigh ball carrier; in many cases this led to a turnover which we capitalised upon. The final score was 30 – 15, a good victory that really does reflect how far this team has come. I have thoroughly enjoyed this season and seeing every boy make progress has been a highlight. Well done, let’s take this upbeat end of rugby into football! Tim Calvey Wednesday 17th October U8 A & B TAG v Caldicott Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see the Pappelwick game but apparently (stories from Tim) it was amazing! So when the A’s ran on the field today I was expecting a blistering game!! Straight hard running with ball in hand would put any team in good positions and it’s no difference with the under 8’s! With a great balance of small quick players and big strong boys we proved to be a perfect match for Caldicot in the 1st half holding them to only one score! The defence of both sides must be given a huge mention and all players given a pat on the back with regard their defence. In tag rugby it is normally try for try thrillers with few tags made between tries. Not in this game some accurate tagging from both sides built pressure and created a tight cagey affair played predominantly in the middle of the park. On attack we weren’t as lethal as I would have hoped but great running by Harry and fast close support by Jack and Giles, (both very nuggety players!!), ensured we gained ground when we had the ball! And another very fast run by our cheater like Alex (aka Brian Habana) gave us a score which put us within range of the opposition. However we slipped a couple of tags in key areas of the field which resulted in two scores against us in the second half!! Final score: 10-20 to Caldicott. But a blistering performance all-round!! Many thanks to Tim for helping with the team today (and on Saturday) and to you the parents for you support again, the boys love looking over and seeing a bank of people focused on their game!! Dino Theocharis Well, what a difference a break makes! Today was certainly the turn of the B Team to shine! Having not played a competitive game for some time, we went into the game a touch apprehensively. However, Tatsu Matsumoto decided that running straight and hard was the order of the day…hence he opened his try scoring account with a blistering run down the touch-line. This set quite a precedent and soon we were running with growing confidence, supporting each other and using the 7 TAGS. I would like to mention Daniel Orechoff and Daniel Salter for their excellent support for the ball carrier, they linked well with the rest of the line helping to keep play moving. In defence, Frank Turley and James Gibson had great games, restricting the opposition in both space and time. We have come a very long way since that opening game in September. There is real shape and cohesion to this side. Add to this that everyone played today, and I think everyone will appreciate that all individuals have made marked progress. Congratulations to all, including the Caldicott players who matched us try for try. I believe that 30 – 30 is certainly a fair result for 2 teams who gave heart and soul! Tim Calvey Saturday 13th October U8 A TAG v Papplewick England could learn some lessons from this team! Yes results are important when it comes to the world cup semis and yes they had to put that game to bed…but sometimes…it is about how you play! There are times when everything appears to come together. This was simply the best game of rugby that we have played. The pace at which we attacked was fantastic and the off-loading of the ball was something else! Flat passes at players running onto the ball ensured that the scoring was constant. We traded tries with Papplewick throughout the first half, going into half time 30 points to 25 up. The support of the ball carrier and the intuition of where to run was genuinely spectacular! There were tries that were breath taking in terms of their spontaneity. Make no mistake, Papplewick were here to run the ball back at us and that they did! A final score of 55 – 55 was absolutely fitting and I would like to thank Papplewick for such a good fixture. I suspect that the photos below will speak for themselves. Well done all! Tim Calvey
Wednesday 26th September U8 A & B TAG v The Oratory What a difference a fortnight makes! Mrs Baldock turned up on time...she wanted that to be expressed early in this blog as many would dispute this! The supporters were certainly in fine form and from the comments after the game, it sounds as though you've read your tag rule books and are a much more savvy bunch! Our B team took to the field and from that first pass looked like a well oiled fighting machine. We held our shape beautifully, making passes to oncoming express trains that hit the gap and made ground. There were moments of genuinely breath-taking skill. The tries that we scored were real team efforts based upon 4th, 5th and 6th phase ball. At half time we led 4 - 1 which reflects some great defence when Oratory had the ball. However, in the second half we did flag a little, letting them back into a final score of 7 - 6 to us. I want to congratulate the whole team for displaying some wonderful rugby. Max and Ru linked especially well putting away most of the tries. However, Sam and Daniel Salter made some great runs to create the initial space. Josef, Blair and Alex were key defenders, tagging anything that moved. The team has come a very long way in a short space of time. Tim Calvey
I would like to echo the statement made by Tim...WHAT A DIFFERENCE A FORTNIGHT MAKES! In both the performance of the partents and the rugby players, everything from loud-calling to beautiful support from start to finish! And as for the kids they were brillient as well! When the A team arrived at The Oratory we had our minds firmly set on performing well and executing all the different drills we have learnt in the past two weeks, we certainly succeeded in what we set out to do! The support play and running off the ball carrier's shoulder was of the highest quality from our first touch of the ball! This was helped hugely by the straight running and quick thinking by the man in possesion. All of the team often 'punched' holes in the opponents defensive lines and offloaded with calm sympathetic passes once tagged, allowing the team to gain momentum and continuity, both basic needs for enjoyable rugby! This fast flowing style of play by both teams meant that the game was very much end-to-end, with both teams using the majority of their 6 tags on many occations which was a great imprtovement from our first game! All our tries came from expansive wide rugby which simply streched the defence too thin! Our downfall was a simple one, a lack of tags made on The Oratory players! On more than one occation a Oratory player was able to jink his way through most of our team before being tagged, which is something that we will be working hard on in the coming practice sessions! The overall score was 5-6 to The Oratory, but by my count the score for the As is:7-0 in terms of talented players, 7-0 in terms of depth with our B team performing amazingly, 1-0 in terms of our great parental support , 2-0 in terms of 2 great games so far, and 2-0 in terms of two very pleased (and great) coaches, so 19-0 to Eagle House! I would like to thank Tim for driving us ALL that way, and for eventually stopping to ask for directions! Dino Theocharis
Wednesday 12th September U8 A & B TAG v Aldro (Training Game) We started the game with a pep talk involving the parents, just to ensure that everyone was aware of the apparent chaos that would ensue...both sides have had to take in so much over the last week from tying shoe laces to running and presenting the ball in the tackle! Enough said...we got stuck in! Aldro ran hard and straight at us and this certainly unnerved us! Our defensive line did not hold its shape with everyone charging at the ball carrier. However, as the game went on, we did manage to make more progress on tagging their players before they got into their stride and this appeared to build confidence. With the ball we made some good early runs but failed to link with other players. Panic set in and initially we lost the ball to knock-ons and forward passes. Having been tagged, we must turn and look for support, rather than throwing wild passes. Tatsuhito Matsumoto, Josef Spurway-Ash and Blair Becker made some great runs, with Tatsu putting in our first try of the season! Although this was a training game, the A team had watched from the sidelines as the B's had played and pent up energy was bursting to be unleashed! We held our shape well in attack, supporting the ball carrier. Most importantly, we did not panic when tagged, with players turning to present the ball to the oncoming support. As we get into the season, hopefully this support will really accelerate through the holes created by the first runner. I really got the impression that a number of players in this team have already bonded as they were working well together. Jack Surral, Alexander McClelland and Harry Waters made wonderfully elusive runs that culminated in some really good rugby. On the defensive side we had a tendency to all rush the ball carrier! However, Ruairidh Whelan and Henry South provided good stability in the line. Despite this being a training match, I really do feel that it was a great display from both teams, especially considering the complexity of the game and the time available prior to this afternoon. Roll on the next match! I would like to thank Dino Theocharis, our Southern Hemisphere referee brought in for the game...not an easy task or one to be undertaken by the faint-hearted! Dino, you did a great job! PS Thanks for the great support from the touchline...the atmosphere was electric. Although I suspect that some of you were left wondering how the game works...handbooks are available for those who want to learn more...it can look a little chaotic! Tim Calvey
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