Worthing 10s Shield for Letchworth Saracens U18s

The Worthing 10s once again proved to be an eventful day for Letchworth Saracens U18s but nothing like last year .......

In 2009, the weather was hot and sunny and the pitches were very hard so - apart from the opposition - the main problems were staying cool, avoiding sunburn and treating the inevitable array of bumps, bruises and concussions. Believe me, this year was absolutely nothing like that! I suppose we should have realised what to expect when an enterprising local asked us on the way in if we had any ark-building experience. The RNLI lifeguards stationed by every pitch was another clue, I suppose. But, really, the weather was only marginally damp at that stage. Of course, I know now that it was only waiting for the rugby to start before it poured down .......

The U18s were drawn in a group with Folkestone, H3 and Tavistock and the group kicked off with Folkestone v. Tavistock followed by H3 v. Letchworth Saracens. The game against H3 was well balanced with both sides playing well and was a good first test. Letchworth Saracens put in a solid performance with the game decided by a try in each half; the first being created by a looping backs move by Claire and Nikki which gave Nikki the space to go over on the left wing and the second being a break by Chloe who rounded the defence to score near the posts. The result was a reasonably comfortable 12-0 win to Letchworth Saracens.

Although tournaments are great fun, the main drawback is if the team has to spend a long time waiting for it's next match. On a day like Sunday, this is particularly difficult as the weather was extremely wet and quite windy and there is a real danger of players getting very cold indeed waiting around. Incidentally, it's still a mystery to me why so few teenage players think to bring adequate warm and waterproof clothing with them even though many have been to events like this more than once before ... !

Anyway, we were now subjected to one of those really annoying waits where we are told we will be playing soon so we have the girls all ready to go but then we hang around for an age (well, 45 minutes at least I would say) in the pouring rain when they could be inside staying warm.

The reason for the delay was that a couple of clubs in another group had failed to turn up and a re-organisation of the tournament, which moved our next opponents, Folkestone, into another group, had to be made. H3 and ourselves being awarded 4 points for the 'win' over Folkestone.

Eventually, the game against Tavistock got underway. This was another game that Letchworth Saracens quickly had under control having taken the lead with a try by Claire and successfully contained the Tavistock attack. However, in the final 3 minutes of the second half, a couple of lapses of concentration allowed Tavistock in to score two well taken tries and win the game by 14-5.

So, at the end of the group stage, Letchworth Saracens had lost one game, won one game and been awarded the 4 points for the cancelled match against Folkestone giving them 8 league points in total. However, as H3 had beaten Tavistock in their game, both those clubs also had 8 points and the table was decided on points difference. In a 3 club table, the positive points difference (+3) that Letchworth Saracens had should guarantee at least second place but, because the first Folkestone game had been played, this was a 4 club table and it was enough for only 3rd place and the Shield competition. So close was this group that conceding one less try would have seen Letchworth Saracens at the top of the table!

As for the U15s, the semi-final opponents were the home side, Worthing. However, Worthing U18s were struggling for numbers and had to combine with Solent Sirens who had won through to the Shield final from the other half of the draw. Letchworth Saracens, therefore, moved straight onto the Shield final against Solent Sirens/Worthing.

Right from the kick-off, Letchworth Saracens took the game to the home side and maintained the pressure throughout, playing their best rugby of the day. At the end, Letchworth had run in 5 tries and were deserving winners by 31-0.

What a very long day that was! Seven hours of competition but only 3 games for the U18s who could definately have done with more, particularly on such a cold, wet day. It's just the way it goes sometimes - I equally remember tournaments when it's been very hot and there seemed to be no rest time at all between matches!

Anyway, with the Plate won by the U15s and the Shield won by the U18s this must go down as a very successful, if soaking, day. In fact it was only at the end that the sun finally came out prompting calls of "To the beach!" as this picture of the successful Letchworth Saracens squads were taken!

Scores :

Letchworth Saracens U18s 12 v. 0 H3

Letchworth Saracens U18s 5 v. 14 Tavistock

Shield final : Solent Sirens/Worthing 0 v. 31 Letchworth Saracens U18s

Scorers :

Tries : Claire (3), Chloe (2), Jess, Natalie, Nikki