Sidcup RFC was the destination for the fifth festival of the season. We were hoping that the impressive Edenbridge fireworks on show the night before would be symbolic of what was to come. After a dogged performance of perseverance and defence from England against the Springboks at HQ the day before, which led England to a marginal victory, the attention now turned to the might of the U10’s Edenbridge side. Similar to England, we were missing a few players to injury but a strong team made the trip and we were well set for the four matches ahead.

There was indeed a short delay after the initial toss due to the searching for the coin in the longer than long grass, more akin to Twickenham in the early 90’s or the finishing furlongs at Cheltenham. But now with gumshields in place and socks pulled up; the yellow and black minis were up against Old Colfeians who had won 9-1 in their first game against hosts Sidcup. The opposition team of proven quality kicked off but a hard-hit tackle straight up put them immediately on the back foot. This led to a turnover, a few passes through the cold hands and an early break by the rapid Leo who dodged through their defence to link up with William to open the scoring. What a start! Everything leaned towards this being a high scoring battle but a huge defensive effort bought the first half to a close with the score remaining at 1-0. And with a gritty, determined display of ferocious tackling and ball retention the scoreboard never moved again with Edenbridge grinding out a well-deserved 1-0 Victory.

Next up were Bromley, a team we had lost to a few weeks back, who deserved much respect. A first half we would rather forget. Missed tackles and dropped passes led to them moving ahead and were comfortably sitting in the driving seat come half time. Whatever was said at the break certainly moved Edenbridge out of first gear and power runs from Harry, Finlay and Ollie meant we started to get more possession of the ball edging ever closer to our try line. Finlay at one stage carrying three of them on his back as he strode on! After a scrum and a quick flick out from Sam Innes (our hyena like scrum half always in the face of the opposition), Alistair took the ball, skipped through a few tackles and put the ball down to level the score. Time was ticking but with victory now in sights, Edenbridge stepped up a level again, winning a hard fought turnover, getting the ball to Sam Innes, with some work still to do going over in the corner. Great stuff! A brilliant 3-2 victory and a comeback in the second half that put a smile on the faces of the present parents, coaches and players. Even Jason was lost for words!

After a short break and a change of pitch, we were now up against the unknown quantity of Park House. Never a team to be complacent, we stuck to the same formation excellently steered by our captain of the day, Will. A solid captain’s display with a few dummies thrown in meant we were in control with early tries from speedsters Leo and Thomas (a player new to the squad but fast becoming a key cog in the wheel with good finishing skills). Huge performance from Sam Ward too who made some important breaks and offloads. A knock to the head of Ethan and Harry picking up a hand injury after a diving tackle attempt meant we had to make a few changes in the final minutes. But Rebecca, showing her pace and determination, ran down the line to score in the corner. Great try. The final whistle was blown and another performance we can be proud of. Big mention to Ollie in this game, another player new to the team, stepped up to the plate, ran hard through the middle and got stuck in at the rucks. And to Ethan who always runs hard and gets stuck in at the breakdown more often than not coming away with the ball.

So with the sun coming out and the grass growing in front of us, it was time for the last game of the day – against the well drilled Beccehamians. Possibly leaving the hardest game to last and with tummies now rumbling for lunch, we knew we still had a lot of work ahead of us and one more hurdle to get over. Strong starts by both teams meant it went 1-1 early on, with the big ball carriers splitting defences. Rucking went up a level in this game with the knowledge that to win or create chances you need the ball. The simple message was starting to get through. It was clear that both teams wanted this badly. Supportive words from our ever committed coaches John and Warren at half time gave this bunch all they needed to step up again and start the charge. Harry took a pass at pace and went over the line to score the next try. The thud as Harry ran through their defence turned a few heads from the neighbouring pitch. However the ‘moment of the day’ was when their stocky, blond haired prop (crazy bull in a china shop comes to mind) got the ball five yards out, put his head down and charged for the line…steam coming from his ears. Not allowing this to unsettle us, three of our players put up the wall and sent him back with a tackle only Mickey Skinner would have been proud of. What a munch! That gave us the edge and belief we needed for Leo to dart through and get the winning score. Superb performance and an unbeaten day.

After collecting the festival medals and with a few battle scars on show, we can all be extremely proud of how this team came and conquered. And like the England game the day before, it’s all about small margins and doing the basics right. To hang in there like we did, make the big tackles when they were most needed and play like a team gives us all huge encouragement, enjoyment and belief for the rest of the season.

Ed Way

Match details

Match date

Sun 04 Nov 2018

Kickoff

10:00

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