Wharfedale Festival

A great day all in all.

I didn't see all the games so I have sumerised based on what I watched - so sorry if your little Jonny Wilkinson scored a world class try and I haven't referred to it below.

Team 1 George, Sams Conroy and Parry, Luka, Wilson, Ben and Dominic started with the usual high tempo and made great tackles by the usual suspects Ben, Sam C, Dominic and George but a special comment for sterling tackling work from Sam P, once again some great support play from all players. Passing the ball is still our achilles heel and Jon and I will work on this with the boys. We were out played by teams who made better use of the width and the available space so didn't progress to the finals but a great effort the boys should be proud of.

Team 2 Thomas, Nate, Adam, Rohan, Seth and Tom Deacon enjoyed having lots of the ball and all performed well, notably from those who otherwise may be overshadowed by the stronger/faster players. Thomas found his form and we saw flashes of the pace and confidence from last season, Adam made some great runs cutting through much bigger defensive lines to set up at least one try making him a strong contender for man of the Match but the trophy was well deserved by the eventual winner (Super) Tom Deacon who ran in 2 tries in the final game and has made his mark firmly on the team. Rohan showed strength in the tackle and was awarded the top tackler trophy ( the look on his face when we handed it to him made all the cold mornings worth it).

The decision to split the teams into A and B Teams on reflection was very successful and the boys had a chance to shine on a field with teammates of similar experience and ability. I would like to thank all the parents who took a positive attitude to the format as I am sure this helped the boys get the most out of the day. Thanks also to all the parents who came to offer thank Jon and I after the matches, your support is appreciated.

Well done boys - let's put it all together at Skipton next week.