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Within this page are the reports from the
Derby RFC teams that took part in the Lexus Tournament. Todate we have the U13s,
U14s
and U15s
reports, I'm awaiting the reports from the U16s and U17s.
U13s Tournament Report
Derby Vs Waterloo 0-5
The U13’s got off to
their customary start at a festival, asleep for the first 15 minutes. One of
these days they will realise that the games only last for 15 minutes. Never
mind, at least the weather provided some excitement and gave the parents ample
time to utilise our gazebo facilities. Just as well because by the end of the
day they had both been nicked, gazebos not parents.
It’s worth mentioning
that by 10.30am the team manager and 3 parents were overheard, in the beer tent,
cheering themselves up with the thought of an early Sunday roast.
Derby Vs Caldy 14-0
The soothing words spoken
by the coaching team at the end of the first game obviously had the desired
effect. Derby produced a much-improved display culminating in tries from Luke
Frixou and someone else (whoever you were it was a great try!)
Derby Vs Newcastle Staffs
14-0
Third game up and the
boys were getting better and better. Two unanswered tries from Sam Martin and
Kyle Yeomans saw them home.
There followed a tense
wait to discover whether we would qualify as best 2nd placed team.
Eventually the good news filtered through and was greeted enthusiastically by
all but the Sunday lunch brigade.
Semi Final 5-0
Derby Vs Sutton
Coldfield
Two well matched teams
played out a very exciting match. By this stage of the competition Derby were
playing their best rugby and only determined defence from Sutton was keeping
them out. In the end the teams were only separated by a tremendous team try
finished by Luke Frixou, who is a very accomplished player and has obviously
spent no time whatsoever watching his Dad play. Good boy, keep it that way.
Final 5-0
Derby Vs Waterloo
Well wouldn’t you know
it? Our nemesis from the first round.
The final was played on
the second team pitch, which we hoped would give the team space to play some
free flowing rugby.
This certainly proved to
be the case, with Derby applying pressure on the Waterloo line from the start.
This sustained pressure resulted in a Derby scrum on the Waterloo 22. The scrum
held and the number 8, Sam Martin, picked up from the back, went past 4 men and
in the process of placing the ball down startled a small boy who had been
sleeping against a post.
The remainder of the game
was very tight and Derby finally won through, cheered on by numerous Derby teams
and their parents, thank you.
Well played Waterloo and
we’re looking forward to the decider.
This was a fantastic day
with each member of the squad playing their part, well done to each and everyone
of you.
After the first game you
showed tremendous character in pulling it back round and that had nothing to do
with the coaches but everything to do with you. Remember how that felt and you
will enjoy the rest of the season.
Finally, a big thank you
to our loyal band of parents and sorry about the lunch guys, blame the team!
Tournament Report by Glenn Martin
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U14s Tournament Report
Derby Under
14's were hungry for success on home soil in the Lexus 12-a-side tournament.
After an easy win last week against Melton, the boys were confident of doing
well, but in a difficult format of 7 minutes each way, they knew that they had
to be focused from the start. As they took to the pitch for their first game
against a big Altrincham Kersal side, the heavens opened. The ball resembled the
infamous bar of soap and had an effect on the usual slick running game we like
to adopt. It became a struggle up front and some stout defending was called for.
Tackling was however first class and despite the efforts of the Altrincham side,
we came away 10-0 winners thanks to tries at the end of each half. A tough
opening in difficult conditions, but the result was on the board.
Two hours
later and now in bright sunshine, the lads faced Broadstreet in the next pool
game. The forwards were dominant and this allowed the slick running game to
return. The handling through the backs to release wingers Callan Watson and Max
Zammit-Maempel was back to it's best and Broadstreet could not cope with the
pace. The overall team performance was picking up and debutant Ed Wesson had a
great game, rounding off a superb team try after some great handling from Josh
Pearson and Sam Tresidder. A comfortable 27-0 win and before the last pool game,
we were looking good to qualify.
After
another two hour break, the final pool fixture saw us up against Sutton
Coldfield, who still had something to play for. However, the Derby team put on a
fantastic display of running rugby. Sutton could not match the pace of our
forwards to the break down, although they did well in the set piece, and the
backs were ruthless in their finishing, orchestrated well from the half back
partnership of Josh Tizard and Jim Wigglesworth. The final score of 34-0 saw us
comfortably win the group without conceding a point, but nothing was won yet.
The semi
final was against group 'B' winners Waterloo. They were a big side who decided
to warm up in full view of our boys to try and play a bit of mind games. Simply
a mistake !!!! I think if their coaches had their time again, this is one tactic
they would not employ. The best display we have seen from our lads for sometime.
Everything clicked for the first 7 minutes and the watching supporters and other
teams could do no more than applaud the standard of rugby. Four tries and a
conversion saw us 22-0 up at half-time and players could be rested for the
final. One more try in the second half saw the final score of 27-0 and a final
to look forward to against the winners of Caldy and Newcastle (Staffs).
Caldy just
edged the other semi and after a break of half an hour or so, took to the field
determined to cause an upset. They started well and for reasons only known to
our boys, we looked nervous. We looked second best for the opening minutes,
during which time Caldy went ahead with a penalty which they decided to kick
instead of run ?? Towards the end of the half, Tom (Reaper) Memmory picked up a
loose ball at the edge of a ruck and went two thirds the length of the pitch to
score in the corner. If only he had looked round, he could have walked in under
the posts to give the easy drop kick conversion, but chose to leave Shane
Purcell a 'chance' from the touchline. Half time score of 5-3 and some strong
words from The Chief during the break. The second half saw Caldy come at us
again, but we soon put another score on the board and began to relax. The
running game returned and the pressure was off. The final score of 27-3 was
probably a little unjust to Caldy, but nevertheless, they were very deserving
runners up.
Congratulations to the squad who all played their part in the victory. No tries
conceded during the tournament speaks volumes and the standard of attacking
rugby was an absolute joy to watch. We look forward to the finals day at Old
Albanians.
Squad -
Michael Markham, Reece Dallimore, Scott Allkins, Tom Summerscales (C), Tom
Memmory, James Groom, Josh Pearson, Tim Marshall, Ed Wesson, Steve Borondy, Josh
Tizard, Jim Wigglesworth, Shane Purcell, Sam Tresidder, Max Zammit-Maempel and
Callan Watson.
Tournament Report by
John McNeilly
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U15s Tournament Report
Four games - four
results, a semi-final won - and sadly, a final lost.
This was the story
of Sunday at Haslams for the Under 15s who came so close to winning their home
tournament. In the end just one try settled the issue, Derby losing a final
which they dominated by a single score to a dogged Newcastle team who made the
best of their one real chance.
The day started with
an fairly unmemorable 00-00 draw against Droitwich, then a rousing four try fest
against a bruising Broad Street side which saw Derby come out as 25 - 00
winners; later a hard earned win against Wolverhampton
10 - 00, followed by
a thrilling semi final which went to extra time. Winger Vlod Surma settled that
one with a well taken try to put Derby winners at 12-07.
To the final against
Newcastle : Early pressure from Derby should have given them at least two tries,
but dogged defence kept them out. The Derby pack, who had performed so well all
day, went on the rampage again, thundering to the Newcastle line but failing to
get over. Then out of the blue, a breakaway from Newcastle feeding on a Derby
mistake gave them seven precious points.
Try as they might in
the second half, and Derby gave the visitors a real test, final passes didn't go
to hand and Newcastle took the spoils. Disappointment for Derby, but some real
guts and determination from the home side where all the players gave their
utmost for their team.
There were some fine
performances to savour during the tournament: Joe Pass and Josh Harvey in the
pack are now real forces to be reckoned with, and scrum half Tom Rusga grows
with every game. There will be the sweet taste of victory to come this season
I’m sure.
Tournament Report by
Peter Gallimore |
