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Sun 22 Apr 2012
U11s (Year 6)Southport
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Under 11’s International Mini Rugby Festival – Windermere
Ian Jones24 Apr 2012 - 11:09
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So Very Very Close. PASSION, PRIDE & POWER
Rossendale Under 11’s Ended Up Third in pile after an exhausting two days of Rugby.
The commitment shown by the team was immense and the margins of defeat could not have been any smaller.
First up were the Irish second string for the team and a half time lead finished the game as a draw against an extremely good Belfast Harlequins Team.
The second game was against the Belfast Harlequins main team who showed levels of skill in the ruck department that an under 16 team would have been proud of Rossendale were again drawing at half time but the skill level of the opposition in the second half was immense and the Belfast team won the game
The third game of the day the Rossendale team face the Scottish Opponents but were tiring from a late night. We seemed to be up for when the Selkirk side entered the field of play led by a young lad on the Bagpipes playing “Flower of Scotland”. Our forward power in the early exchanges was too much for the Selkirk side and we soon went into a two try half time lead. The second half was different we tired to the point of almost not playing any Rugby but ended up scrapping to get a draw 3-3.
End of the first day three Top sides from our own area to play on Sunday it wasn’t going to get much easier.
Day Two
Day 2 started as tough as day one had finished and Blackburn was our first opposition. It was a tough fierce local derby no more than was expected. In a fairly open game it was surprising it wasn’t higher scoring. The tackling and rucking was so fierce from both sides that it kept the score low. A one all draw was possibly the fair result on the day.
The second game of the day was against a big Liverpool Collegiate side. Rossendale kept up the momentum from the Blackburn game and outplayed the opposition to win two – nil to set up a runner up spot game in a winner takes all against Southport.
This was our final and it was a shame that it was probably one game to many with our small squad. I think every player in our squad had now taken part in every game at some point and were now battered and bruised. But this great little team managed again to pick themselves up with the thought of the runner’s up spot beckoning. It was a fierce game tackles a plenty although Southport were marginally the better side they were not sure of the win until that whistle went.
During the first half the Southport players after one passage off play were littered in all areas of the field receiving treatment. This actually started to work against us as the referee was starting to feel we were being over robust in some areas of our game and at one stage gave five penalties in a ten minute period against us partially due to the vociferous Southport crowd. With the half time score at 1-1 and the Rossendale side having the better of most of the exchanges the second half was always going to a tough one.
Unfortunately Southport got the all-important next score and ran out winners.
THE TEAM
Shaun Smallridge, Derek Bulling, Kieron Pearson, Joe Simpson, Ben Flanangan, Jude Ferrie, Aiden Hopkinson, George Allen, Will Gledhill, Oliver Molloy, Ciaran Campbell, Sean Campbell,Peter-Jon Butler, Ellis Murray, Nathan Tattersall, Natasha Smallridge & Calum Whelan.
There will be more detailed Match Reports on Facebook when I can get them done.
I cannot tell you how proud I was to have been part of this festival, the dedication you all have shown in your attitude and play. When you hear the coaches of the winning team of the festival praising us and saying “you were the best side we have played this season and the way we played against them was amazing to see with such a small squad. Also he invited over to Belfast any time we want and even invited us to their Haven site for the evening was a measure of how good you were.
Also a big thanks to all the parents who supported us all weekend next time there is a festival we will all be wearing the same coats with the |Rossendale Logo on it and I am sure we will be more imposing than the Southport Supporters.
Also a big thanks to Gary Wilkinson and his wife for making this weekend possible.
Ian & Dizzy
The commitment shown by the team was immense and the margins of defeat could not have been any smaller.
First up were the Irish second string for the team and a half time lead finished the game as a draw against an extremely good Belfast Harlequins Team.
The second game was against the Belfast Harlequins main team who showed levels of skill in the ruck department that an under 16 team would have been proud of Rossendale were again drawing at half time but the skill level of the opposition in the second half was immense and the Belfast team won the game
The third game of the day the Rossendale team face the Scottish Opponents but were tiring from a late night. We seemed to be up for when the Selkirk side entered the field of play led by a young lad on the Bagpipes playing “Flower of Scotland”. Our forward power in the early exchanges was too much for the Selkirk side and we soon went into a two try half time lead. The second half was different we tired to the point of almost not playing any Rugby but ended up scrapping to get a draw 3-3.
End of the first day three Top sides from our own area to play on Sunday it wasn’t going to get much easier.
Day Two
Day 2 started as tough as day one had finished and Blackburn was our first opposition. It was a tough fierce local derby no more than was expected. In a fairly open game it was surprising it wasn’t higher scoring. The tackling and rucking was so fierce from both sides that it kept the score low. A one all draw was possibly the fair result on the day.
The second game of the day was against a big Liverpool Collegiate side. Rossendale kept up the momentum from the Blackburn game and outplayed the opposition to win two – nil to set up a runner up spot game in a winner takes all against Southport.
This was our final and it was a shame that it was probably one game to many with our small squad. I think every player in our squad had now taken part in every game at some point and were now battered and bruised. But this great little team managed again to pick themselves up with the thought of the runner’s up spot beckoning. It was a fierce game tackles a plenty although Southport were marginally the better side they were not sure of the win until that whistle went.
During the first half the Southport players after one passage off play were littered in all areas of the field receiving treatment. This actually started to work against us as the referee was starting to feel we were being over robust in some areas of our game and at one stage gave five penalties in a ten minute period against us partially due to the vociferous Southport crowd. With the half time score at 1-1 and the Rossendale side having the better of most of the exchanges the second half was always going to a tough one.
Unfortunately Southport got the all-important next score and ran out winners.
THE TEAM
Shaun Smallridge, Derek Bulling, Kieron Pearson, Joe Simpson, Ben Flanangan, Jude Ferrie, Aiden Hopkinson, George Allen, Will Gledhill, Oliver Molloy, Ciaran Campbell, Sean Campbell,Peter-Jon Butler, Ellis Murray, Nathan Tattersall, Natasha Smallridge & Calum Whelan.
There will be more detailed Match Reports on Facebook when I can get them done.
I cannot tell you how proud I was to have been part of this festival, the dedication you all have shown in your attitude and play. When you hear the coaches of the winning team of the festival praising us and saying “you were the best side we have played this season and the way we played against them was amazing to see with such a small squad. Also he invited over to Belfast any time we want and even invited us to their Haven site for the evening was a measure of how good you were.
Also a big thanks to all the parents who supported us all weekend next time there is a festival we will all be wearing the same coats with the |Rossendale Logo on it and I am sure we will be more imposing than the Southport Supporters.
Also a big thanks to Gary Wilkinson and his wife for making this weekend possible.
Ian & Dizzy
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