U12 Tour 2011

First up, was Chesham and thanks to Josh’s early try, nerves soon disappeared. A clever move to get the ball to James Dias at the back ensured that he could use his considerable pace to slice through the Chesham defence. A final try originally down to Josh on closer inspection was awarded to Ben K.

Ensians were up against the home team next (Weymouth). An early scare saw, James Dias stopped a certain early try with a last gasp tackle. Vicky then took the ball just before the half way line and scored a great individual try from one of Ensians most unselfish of players.

Ensians were now doing what every good rugby team should be doing and placing pressure on the opposition and Kit grabbed a fantastic opportunist try. Next it was James Kirker’s opportunity to get on the score sheet with a lung-busting run that forced an error from Weymouth and another try. Keane capped an outstanding performance with the 4th try, once again thanks to great pressure.

The next game was the big test against Salisbury A team and Ensians saved their best performance for this. John and Ryan put in awesome performances in the line-outs. Strong scrums from the front and a strong back line kept the ball consistently in the opposition half. Rory put in his usual quality tackles and a run which many would have not bothered with resulted in yet another Josh try in the dying seconds.

With three wins on the bounce there was only a short break before the next game against Salisbury B, who oddly looked stronger than the A team. After early pressure, once again everyone put in a shift and although no try was scored, the clean sheet was maintained and a final score of 0-0.

After such a strong performance there was always a risk that the team could stall against Royston. However once again Josh was the pocket rocket and scored the important first try. John came through and scored the important second try and Royston’s heads started to drop and their tempers flared. It was a measure of the Ensians maturity that the team were not provoked.

For everyone this was a fantastic first day of rugby, which delighted coaches and parents. However with another day to go, Ensians know that everyone will be looking for revenge.

On this Royal Wedding Bank Holiday weekend it wasn’t just Kate Middleton that was looking forward to a new title as Ensians went into the second day of Weymouth tournament.

After such a successful previous day, there was concern that the previous night’s celebrations would affect the team’s performance. The coaching team, did a sterling job of getting heads into gear and within 30 seconds of the start of the first game, John put the team 1-0 up. Two minutes later Josh took the score to 2-0. However with 2 minutes to go Chesham pulled one back, and Ensians looked like they may have switched off. A last minute try from Chesham was disallowed by the ref and Ensians blushes were spared.

Next up was Weymouth and normal service was resumed. Josh scored the first and Tom the second. Keane gave the Weymouth defence the slip and gave Ensians the important third try. Dan was unlucky not to score a fourth thanks to a screaming run down the wing however the pass was marginally forward.

Everyone knew the next game against Salisbury A, would be tough after we beat them 1-0 the day before. Everyone fought hard, but Salisbury A got their revenge and Ensians unbeaten run came to end. Suddenly the silverware looked like it could be slipping away.

Ensians knew that the next game against Salisbury B would be a decider. This was a fierce game and everyone knew they had been in a battle. Josh got the all important try, however this was a complete team performance.

With the other results going the right way, the final game against Royston was a dead rubber, however reputations were at stake and after going one down, James Kirker scored a sensational last seconds try to bring the scores back to 1-1.

The Final

After a formal complaint that Salisbury A & B had been switching players, both teams lined up and had their registration checked by officials. This only added to the sense of drama. In the game every inch was fought over and nothing given up by each side. Ensians have been used to fighting rearguard actions in previous festivals and they needed every ounce of concentration, determination and team work to check Salisbury in their own half.

With the final score 0-0, and the two games between the two sides 1-0 to each side, dust was being blown off the rule books to check what the ruling was. After what seemed like a lifetime, it was decided that Ensians had the superior performance across the two days. We had WON!

It was fitting that the performance over the two days made the difference reflecting the importance that everyone played. Many of those not mentioned by name in the reports did all the ground work which made the winning tries possible. Only three tries were conceded across the 11 games which underlines this point.

For the main coaches (Andy, Sam, Alan, Richard), plus all those that assisted them this was repayment for all their hard work and perseverance. For Nigel, Mo and Shelley, it was reward for all their hard work in putting the tour together to see the Cup being lifted by Josh.

This was the high that everyone wanted to finish Mini’s with and Vicky’s enforced departure to all women’s rugby next season.

Well done Ensians.