U10 As clean up the plate

Festival Report – Charlie Cochrane

Players
Max Campbell Harris, Charlie Cochrane, Ben Cregeen, Max Foskett, George Guy, Hamish Hudson, Dylan Milner, Christopher Ratcliffe, James Robinson, Joel Westerman, Ben Walters, Hamish Watson, Thomas Welsh

Following some good performances in the Camberley Festival last week the boys were keen to build momentum as they entered the Guildford Festival. Farnham were drawn in Pool B with Battersea Ironsides, Haslemere and Warlingham.

Match 1
Battersea Ironsides 3 – Farnham 1
In atrocious conditions the boys stuck to the task really well in the first half only conceding 1 try via an interception from a skilful opposition centre. As the second half continued Battersea started to exert pressure but Farnham worked hard in defence and were unlucky to concede a couple of further scores from very swift wingers on either side of the field. With only a couple of minutes left on the clock Farnham started to match the opposition tackle for tackle and pass for pass and worked their way up field for Ben Cregeen to go over to grab a well deserved score at the end of the game. Always tough to have to play the Cup Finalists in their first game but Farnham acquitted themselves well and it is heartening to see significant improvements for all the boys both in defensive and attacking play against high quality opposition

Match 2
Farnham 4 – Haslemere 0
The rain held off for the second game and Farnham were able to play their normal expansive game which proved too much for Haslemere. Right from the start Farnham exerted good pressure up front with the forwards working hard to provide good ball for the backs. Dylan Milner went over for the first try followed closely by Ben Cregeen and 2 great scores from Joel Westerman in only his second ‘A’ tournament.

Match 3
Farnham 7 – Warlingham 1
By match 3 the boys were really purring and, unluckily for Warlingham, managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over throughout the game. There was another try for Dylan Milner and a brace for James Robinson, Joel Westerman and Ben Cregeen as they tried to out do each other to see who could top the scoring for the day.

Having finished second in Pool B, Farnham were drawn against Upminster who had travelled all the way from Essex for the Plate Final.

Plate Final
Upminster 1 – Farnham 1
In conditions that can only be described as ‘biblical’ with the heavens opening as the ref blew his whistle to start proceedings this was not going to be a free flowing beautiful display! Upminster were well drilled with some big lads and pace out wide so Farnham had to work hard to stay in the game but as the first half wore on and under intense pressure they finally yielded to go in at half time 0 – 1. Whatever magic the coaches spun during the half time talk the boys emerged for the second half with a renewed focus and after a tough first few minutes began to link passes and ground their way up the park for Thomas Welsh to bulldozer his way over the line for a fully deserved equalizer. The crowd sensed a clinching try which unfortunately did not come but when all was said and done a 1-1 draw was a fair result for the final with honours shared and a rousing three cheers for all the boys on a pitch that now resembled something from another planet!

13 tries scored and 5 conceded in 4 matches was an excellent haul with great performances from every single boy. Apologies for only mentioning the try scorers by name as we all know that it is only possible to score when the whole team works for each other and provides the opportunity. Let’s hope we can continue to build from here and that the rain abates next weekend so the Coaches and Mums & Dads can continue to motivate and support Farnham U10’s to further glories. Very well done to everyone.