By arriving at Woodhouse Grove with a full squad of 12 men, the conditions being dry and mild we were already on the front foot in comparison to the difficult day experienced at Durham 7s. Group games were played on a heavy pitch and it took some time to adapt to this and change our defensive alignment to be tighter and more aggressive. We started the day with a workman like victory versus a spirited Mount St Marys side where the bench players made good impact to seal the win. Our next 2 games versus St Peter's York and Birkdale were disappointing affairs and resulted in loses. In both matches tries were conceded due to poor decision making and organisation at restarts which allowed the opposition to hold onto possession for large periods of time. Finishing 3rd in our group we advanced into the Vase competition and our performances improved markedly due to the lessons learnt in previous games. Playing Dame Allan's in the quarter final we made better decisions over where to attack and stayed on our feet in contact. This linked with some excellent decision making and accuracy at the tackle area led to the squad advancing to play Giggleswick in the semi final. The semi final was a one sided affair with the brown and blue dominating possession and scoring tries freely. It was clear our confidence was growing and as we tired the group were pulling together to help each other more on the pitch. In the Vase final we played the unknown Cheadle Hulme school and it was a classic encounter with neither side budging an inch in defence. Both sides had chances to score and we were unlucky not to convert 2 or 3 linebreaks in a highly contested game. The scores remained tied at 7-7 into the final minutes and Cheadle held onto possession well scoring a try from a clever offload to win the final 7-14.

Not the result we had hoped for however, a massive improvement in performance and the boys should hold greater belief in their hearts and important learning in their heads for our next competition. Thanks to Mr Monument for his excellent support and presence amongst the group. We played 7s with smiles on our faces - long may it continue!

Results:

Mount St Mary’s:

Ross / Hewitt

Ward

De Santis

Chuter

Bowerman

Rotor

Rake / Arnold

19-12

Tries: Rake, Ward x2

Cons: Royle x2

St Peter’s:

Hewitt / Josiai

Ward / Ross

De Santis / Brown

Chuter

Royle

Rake / Bowerman

Arnold/ Wheatley

21-34

Trues: Josiai, Wheatley & Ward

Cons: Royle x3

Birkdale:

Joisia

Ross/ Ward

Brown/ Hewitt

Chuter/ Wheatley

Bowerman

Rake/ Arnold

Royle/ Hewitt

14-26

Tries: Ward & Brown

Cons: Brown x2

Dame Allan’s:

Brown

Ward

Josiai

Chuter

Bowerman

Royle

Wheatley

28-14

Tries: Brown, Ross, Ward & Royle

Cons: Royle x4

Giggleswick:

Bowerman

Ross

Josiai

Chuter

Royle

Hewitt

Rake

28-7

Tries: Ward, Royle, Bowerman & Arnold

Cons: Royle x 2, Chuter x1 & Brown x1

Cheadle Hulme:

Bowerman

Ross

Josiai

Chuter

Royle

Hewitt

Rake

7-14

Try: Chuter

Cons: Royle