Hove U10s 2 - Haywards Heath Festival 30 Oct 16

And so to our 5th festival which was a mixed ability festival at Haywards Heath which we complied with so we had c. 4 A players per team and the rest were B players or new players this season.
First up for team 2 were Haywards Heath. The team were quickly into their stride and meant business. A good starting period of pressure saw Hove progress to the try line and from a free play, Archie Holmes powered through for the first try. Great tackling and counter rucking disrupted HH early on and Alex Kirwan sprinted clear for a quick try although HH got one back just before half time. The second half, Hove capitalised on their pressure with another quick try from Alex Kirwan followed by a great team effort sending George Cleary through for a comfortable 4:1 win.

Next up for Hove 2 were Hastings, who are a well drilled and competitive team. Again, the team started strongly and continued where they had left off against HH, with some powerful tackling across the team and some agile running. It was not long before the pressure told and Dillon Moss escaped some tackles, found some space and crossed in the corner. The tackling and rucking was relentless and another turnover was pounced on by Hugh Sarker and fed to Archie Holmes who powered over again for try number 2. A comprehensive performance was capped by another try from Dillon Moss after good support running from a pass from Sammy Trenchard and it finished 3:0 to Hove.

Next up was Chichester, clearly our toughest opponents so far this season and the two clubs are neck and neck in ability and drive. This was a typical match against them. Very tough, very competitive. Chichester bulldozed their way through for the first try but a great team move resulted in Dillon Moss breaking away to equalise by half time. However, Chichester stepped it up in the 2nd half and despite a valiant effort, Hove could not prevent them from scoring again and they ended up scoring two tries that half to win 3:1.

Despite the disappointment of losing to Chichester, spirits were not dampened and the team faced Wallingham for the first time. Wallingham were a well drilled unit but Hove raced into a two try lead at half time with typical tries from Dillon Moss and Archie Holmes. To their credit Wallingham came back at Hove in the second half and got a reply half way through. It needed a resolute and sturdy rearguard effort for the rest of the match as attack after attack from Wallingham was quashed with some terrific tackling and counter rucking and Hove held on for a 2:1 win.

The final match saw the team take on Epsom and Sutton for the first time. Despite the team having shared the pain of defeat of Team 1 against Chichester in the previous match, the team rose to the occasion of their final match with gusto and played really well against a big team with power and pace. It was up and down for a while until George Cleary broke the deadlock with a powerful run and finish for a 1:0 lead at half time. Early in the second half, a charge upfield by Archie Holmes, well supported by Sonny Hudson and Ethan Usherwood led to the ball being fed to Alissio Mandica who crossed in the corner for a well deserved try. Towards the end of the half, as tiredness started to creep in, Epsom scored a consolation try but were never in danger of equalising and it finished 2:1 to Hove.

So in conclusion, a really good performance. 4 out of 5 won and some great teamwork as well as individual performances. Really strong tackling, great running into space and there looks to have been a real improvement in rucking and mauling this week and the scrum is solid with good scrum half release. Still too much lateral and backwards running and still not enough support running and offloading before tackling which other teams are doing better than us, but real encouragement and great to play teams like Epsom and Wallingham as well for a different perspective. Well done to Alex Kirwan, George Cleary, Archie Holmes, Sonny Hudson, Patrick Jordan, Alissio Mandica, Dillon Moss, Hugh Sarker, Sammy Trenchard and Ethan Usherwood.