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Gullivers
Minis Tournament - 8th & 9th April'04 |
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Derby
RFC's Minis sides of
the U9s, U10s, U11s and U12s all entered the annual two day Gullivers
Tournament which is held within the
grounds of Nottingham University. Teams from all over the country
attend this Festival with most clubs sending sides in nearly all of
the Minis age groups. Some of the Clubs represented at this years
tournament included: Derby, Richmond, Blackheath, Ormskirk, Braintree,
Doncaster, Hull Ionians, Olney, West Norfolk, York, Twickenham and
Bournemouth.
The weather was really
kind to us over the two days, with the second day being quite a
scorcher looking at all of the red faced spectators !!!
As most people are
probably aware by now, our U9s and U10s managed to get through their
respective age groups to go to Twickenham on May 30th. Our U11s and U12s were oh
so close to going too. I'm sure that there will be opportunities again
in the future and to be privileged to have witnessed the extremely high standard of Rugby played by all of our Derby
sides was in itself an absolute credit to not only the Club, but also
to the boys and their coaches too.
At the end of the
second day, the Derby teams, parents and supporters had a Gig night
lined up back at Haslams with local Rock band, Junction - these guys are
superb, for a 3 piece outfit the sound that they make is magic (if
you're into rock and you ever get a chance to see them play, then do
so, you won't be disappointed).
On this page is the
collective tournament reports from all four Minis age groups along
with a selection of around 150 photos that I took over the 2 days
across all four of our Minis sides. I've also included an additional
three U9s photos that I've received from Phil Eades and four U12s
photos that I've received from Adrian Holmes.
As always with any
photos that I put onto the website, just click on a photo to enlarge
it.
Adrian Summerscales has
asked if I can make everyone aware who's after tickets for the Gullivers
Finals Day at Twickenham that Adrian will be in contact with each of
the Teams coaches once Gullivers have let Adrian know of ticket
allocations etc. Until Gullivers have spoken with Adrian there is no
further info for Adrian to pass on at this moment in time.
Within this webpage, if
you want to go straight to each respective Age Group Tournament report
& photos without having to scroll down the whole page then click
on one of the following age groups links: U9s,
U10s,
U11s,
U12s
Brian Leverington 11th
April'04 |
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Under
9s
Tournament Report
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After a nail-biting roller coaster ride, the Under
9s qualified for the final of the Bowl tournament. This is a
marvellous achievement for the boys and an excellent reward for all
their hard work this season.
It was a real squad effort with everyone playing
his part over the course of the two days. The team spirit was
excellent. The boys not selected for a particular game responded
magnificently, supporting the team on the pitch, encouraging their
team mates and waiting their turn in the next game. |
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The squad for the tournament was David Eades
(captain), Luke McNeilly and Alistair Wolff (vice-captains), Barnaby
Parkes, Alex Tomlinson, Reece Harrison, Thomas Doyle, George Marsdon,
George Tresidder, George Castledine, Tom Kent, Joseph Booth, Jordan
Lees and Max Cook.
But as important as the players on the pitch was
the immense support from the Under 9s Barmy Army who once again turned
out in force to cheer the lads on and help out the coaching team. |
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| Derby's
U9s celebrate with an ice cream after qualifying for the
Twickenham Finals |
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Thanks also to Ollie Cook who was appointed
assistant coach for the tournament and to Kristy Tomlinson and Harriet
Kent who took it on themselves to be official water carriers, ensuring
all the players got a drink at half time. Once again a huge thank you
to all the parents, brothers and sisters who gave up their time for
the team |
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Day 1:
We turned up not really knowing exactly what to
expect and how high the standard would be, but the first game soon
clarified all that. We were paired against a strong and well-drilled
Amersham side who had already played their first game and demonstrated
their considerable ability.
Starting nervously, Derby conceded two tries in the
first five minutes and despite working hard were never able to reduce
the deficit in the light of the most committed defence they had faced
all season (so far!). To their considerable credit however they
refused to let Amersham score again leaving a final score of Derby 0
Amersham 10.
In the second game we faced a powerful side from
West Norfolk and again came under considerable pressure whenever we
had the ball. After a period camped on our line West Norfolk crossed
for the first try from the game but immediately from the restart
George Tresidder weaved his way through the entire opposition team to
equalise leaving the half time score 5-5.
The second half was a feast of running rugby with
five more tries. West Norfolk powered into a four try to one lead but
Derby refused to give up and ended the match on top. Centre George
Castledine ripped the ball off his opposite number and sprinted over
to reduce the deficit and then George Tresidder picked up a loose ball
and broke away to get us back within one score. But time ran out
leaving a final score of Derby 15 West Norfolk 20.
The third match saw our first win with a 15-5
victory over York. In a tense first half Derby took the lead with a
try from a penalty when George Tresidder moved to fly half took the
pass from scrum half Joseph Booth and sprinted the length of the pitch
to score. In the second half two tries in quick succession by George
Castledine and George Tresidder made the game reasonably safe. But
York cut the lead with a good try of their own and it took some
sterling defence from Derby typified by an enormous tackle by Barnaby
Parkes and great cover defence by Tom Kent and Alistair Wolff to
prevent them crossing the line again.
Teddington were the opposition in the final
game. The strongest team in the pool, they prevented us from getting
into our stride and despite hard work in defence the final score was
Derby 0 Teddington 25.
As we adjourned en masse to Pizza Hut (leaving a
trail of mud behind us) the feeling was that we had learned a lot but
that it was all still to play for. |
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| U9s v West
Norfolk on Day 1 |
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Day 2:
Time for a rapid reassessment of tactics. We were
spending too much time in our own half – in fact all our tries had
been scored from moves started in our own half. The emphasis had to
switch to more aggressive defence, pinning the opposition back and
looking to strike from close to their line.
Following an intensive training session including
the creation of the ‘In their faces’ call, we took on Northampton
Old Scouts in a positive and confident mood. Taking their coaches
comments to heart, Derby refused to let Northampton out of their half
for the entire match keeping them pinned back and scoring two tries as
a result of putting immense pressure on their opponents and forcing
handling errors. Once again the George’s were the scorers, but these
were true team tries based on superb driving and mauling by Reece
Harrison, Luke McNeilly and Alex Tomlinson and excellent defence by
all the backs. The final score of Derby 10 Northampton Old Scouts 0
was a fair reflection of a committed performance.
In our penultimate pool match we faced Chelmsford
who were another big and intimidating team. Again based on closing
down space we kept the opposition in their own half and were rewarded
by a try from George Castledine, fed by Joseph Booth. In the second
half Chelmsford came back to equalise but after some rapid totting up
of points it was clear the final score of Derby 5 Chelmsford 5 meant
we had qualified for either the plate or bowl semi-finals.
In the final match against Braintree we played all
the squad players who had been involved the least so far and they went
out determined to show what they could do and held Braintree to a
single score which came direct from the kick-off. The forwards,
Barnaby Parkes, Thomas Doyle and George Mardsen drove hard at the
opponents and scrum half David Eades looked to vary the point of
attack sending Max Cook and Jordan Lees on some exciting runs. However
we spent more time in defence and twice held their opponents up over
the line with Alistair Wolff, Tom Kent and Barnaby Parkes prominent in
an excellent defensive effort which left the final score Derby 0
Braintree 5 and our place in the Bowl competition confirmed.
So it was on to the semis and a sudden death
play-off against London side Richmond and undoubtedly our best
performance of the tournament.
From the kick-off the boys played with outstanding
commitment and determination, driving their opponents back and
tackling ferociously. The forwards led superbly by Luke NcNeilly
repeatedly ripped the ball off the Richmond players and Tom Kent and
Jordan Lees were able to make some strong runs.
The first try came from scrum ball mid-way through
the first half when David Eades fed Alistair Wolff who put George
Tresidder away and he ran the length of the pitch to score. On the
stroke of half time Reece Harrison and Alex Tomlinson put great
pressure on the Richmond centres who dropped the ball and Tresidder
picked up and went over for the second score.
In the second half Richmond came back strongly and
after a long period of pressure managed to force their way over for a
try to get them back in the match and had it not been for a try saving
tackle by Max Cook they could have equalised.
In the dying seconds Derby made the game safe when
following a maul George Castledine broke clear and put George
Tresidder in for a hat-trick and Derby into the final. Oh – and we’re
going to Twickenham! |
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Overall:
A superb squad effort. The boys showed a
willingness to adopt new tactics halfway through a tournament and as a
result got their just reward. They now know the importance of a sound
defence as the basis for their attacking game. The statistic of 12
tries conceded on day 1 and just 3 on day two tells its own story. |
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| Thanks
to Phil Eades for the above 3 photos |
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Once again a big thank you to all our supporters
and also to the other members of the under 9s who have helped prepare
the Gullivers squad. Roll on May 30th. |
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U9s
Tournament Report by Phil Eades |
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Under
10s Tournament Report |
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Day 1:
Derby 05 - 00 Dursley
(Try: Luke Frixou)
Derby 05 - 05 Hornets
(Try: Luke Frixou)
Derby 25 - 10 York
(Tries: Luke Frixou 4, Sam Martin)
Derby 00 - 10 Romford
& Gidea Park
Day 2:
Derby 10 - 00
Chelmsford (Tries: Josh Miller 2)
Derby 00 - 15 Sandal
Derby 05 - 05 Hull
(Try: Luke Frixou)
Play off Semi-final
Derby 15 - 00 Doncaster
(Tries - Ben Wilkinson 2, Sam Martin)
Some strong sides were
entered for this years Gullivers tournament which saw sixteen Under 10
team split into two pools with each team playing seven games over two
days. Derby’s pool included some teams familiar to us, such as
Sandal and others who were something of unknown quantities.
Thursdays pool matches
against Dursley, Hornets, York and Romford provided something of a
rude awakening for Derby who were slow to start and found it difficult
to get into any sort of rhythm that they had shown in recent matches.
In the first few matches in particular, Derby often found it difficult
to find any consistency and fluidity in their play, often being
stifled by sound defensive play. Convincing wins against Dursley and
York on the first day however provided a sound platform to build on.
Fridays pool matches
saw an all together different, more disciplined set of performances
starting off with a convincing win against Chelmsford that saw some
excellent support and passing play. The second game of the day against
Sandal was always going to be tough against an incredibly well
disciplined and skilful team. Despite losing three tries to nil, Derby
showed some great defensive work often camped out in their own half
holding back strong attacking play. A win against Hull Ionians in the
last pool match would have done much to bolster confidence in
readiness for any play off places that might arise but again Derby
found it difficult to get into their stride despite clawing back a
late try to draw their final pool match. (Tournament report
continued after the following photos).
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| Derby's
U10s celebrate going to Twickenham |
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| U10s v Hornets on
Day 1 |
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Success in the pool
matches saw a place in the semi-final for the Plate competition lined
up against Doncaster, a side that the under 10’s have come across in
previous tournaments / festivals. Both sides looked nervous in the
first few minutes of the game cheered on noisily by both sets of
supporters. Some extremely spirited defending from Doncaster kept out
Derby for the first quarter of the game before two quick tries from
Ben Wilkinson and Sam Martin settled some nerves and helped to open up
play a little. A final try from Ben Wilkinson towards the end of the
match, running flat out up the line, sealed a well-earned victory for
Derby to book their place in the Plate Final at Twickenham.
Just as was the case in
the Notts, Lincs and Derbyshire Festival at Newark two weeks ago,
Derby stepped up a gear, pulling out all the stops just when it was
needed. All in all this was another well-rounded and impressive
performance with everyone in the squad playing their part. As ever,
the support from mums, dads, grandparents and brothers and sisters was
just the ticket helping the lads to achieve what they did. Next stop
is Twickenham, May 30th and a final against Amersham &
Chiltern – it should be yet another great day!
U10s Tournament Report
by Dougie Carr |
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Under
11s Tournament Report |
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Derby U11's - Pool B
squad - Tim Dixon, Max Zammit-Maempel, Shane Purcell, Jim
Wigglesworth, Joshua Pearson,Oliver Walton, Joshua Tizard, Tim
Marshall, Tom Summerscales, Scott Allkins, Liam McNeilly,Michael
Markham, William Braddock,Reece Dallimore, Tom Cornfield, Hayden
Blakemore.
Coaches-- John McNeilly,
Adrian Summerscales, Tim Walton.
Team Manager for
Tournament-- Dave Markham
Honorary Team
Tournament Doctor--Dr Joe Zammit-Maempel.
Team Supporters
Club--'Fantastic !'
Day 1:
| Results
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Derby 05 -
05 Old Albanians (Try scorer O Walton) |
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Derby 10 -
10 Braintree (Try scorers S Purcell and J Wigglesworth) |
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Derby 00 -
05 Bishop's Stortford |
This was the
toughest day's rugby the boys had endured / played since the opening
day of last season's tournament except this time they were absolutely
superb and were very unlucky to have only 2 points out of 6 at the end
of the day, especially after being camped in the Braintree and
Bishop's halves for much of both games.
After a slow
start against Old Albanians we came from behind to equalise with an
Ollie Walton try and the game could have gone either way. The Old
Albanian's coach / mini-junior Chairman congratulated the boys and
felt we were the best team they had played all season.
Braintree
appear to have become our 'bogey side' and we were 2 tries down with
only 2 minutes remaining despite the lads playing hard and fast
rugby.However, willed on by the large Derby following and most of
Braintree's local rivals we stormed back in the dying minutes with 2
superb individual tries to level the game. The Braintree Coaches
congratulated the boys on their performance and said they really
''liked our aggressive style of play''.
Bishop's
Stortford looked to be a big, fast, powerful, talented and strong side
and so they proved to be at least for the first half when they ran in
a looping running try which was a soft give-away for our usually
strong defence. The second half was one way traffic and we were more
or less camped on the Bishop's try line. Unfortunately, we couldn't
breach their line of defence and all credit to the Bishoip's boys who
held out against a battering, especially from Shane Purcell, up to the
final whistle. The Bishop's coach congratulated the boys on their
performance and said we were the best team that they had played
against all year--there is a recurring theme here ! |
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U11s
v Braintree on Day 1 |
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Day 2:
Derby 30 - 00 Ellingham & Ringwood (Try Scorers: S Purcell 2, O
Walton, M Zammit-Maempel, J Wigglesworth 2)
Derby 25 - 00
Peterborough (Try scorers: S Purcell, J Wigglesworth, J Pearson, M
Markham, T Cornfield
Friday followed the same pattern as last year with the boys setting
off like a house on fire and destroying the opposition with fast,
strong, running rugby. It was very pleasing for us to be able to get
all the boys more involved and contributing equally to the team effort
which propelled us up into 3rd place and into the Plate Quarter
Finals. |
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Plate
Quarter Final
Derby 10 - 00 Olney (Try scorers: J Wigglesworth, S Purcell)
The 2 hour+ gap leading up to the Q/Finals didn't help the boys' cause
and they were very slow off the mark against a smaller, less powerful
but highly skilled Olney side who ran and passed the ball beautifully.
An unfortunate neck injury to the Olney 'star' back , however' caused
a long delay in play and deflated the Olney team though they still
took the game to Derby up until half-time. A ''serious'' half-time
talk managed to get the boys on their toes and we ran in a couple of
tries in the second half without seriously being troubled by Olney
again. And so into the Semi-final. !
Plate Semi-Final
Derby 05 - 15 Braintree (Try Scorer: S Purcell)
The coaches
conclusion is that this was perhaps one game too many with tiredness
and fatigue causing lapses in technique and concentration. Braintree
scored early on when we failed to clear a ball out of defence but we
stormed back with a Shane Purcell try to make the score even at
half-time and could have been 3 tries to 1 up if the ball had been
moved out to the wings. With only 12 minutes to play we only needed to
stay equal as we had scored by far more tries than Braintree on
count-back and we were playing downhill in the second half. However,
it all fell apart with Braintree playing fast, powerful, determined
rugby and scoring 2 tries from an intercepted pass and a defensive
slip when tiredness had well and truly set in.
I am writing
this summary with a lump in my throat and tears down my cheeks ( not
all doctors from Yorkshire are tough you know ! ), not for me or my
fellow coaches but for the boys and their great efforts over 2 days.
Our final huddle at the end of the game was one of the most moving
experiences I have been involved in or witnessed with 16 distraught
boys and 3 coaches trying to settle them but dissolving at the same
time. This tournament and getting to play at Twickenham meant so much
to them and they had given their all in the most sporting of manners
to try and achieve this for themselves and Derby Rugby Club .... (summary
continued below after the Derby v Braintree Plate semi final photos). |
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U11s
v Braintree on Day 2 |
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continued
from the previous section .... BUT ! --we can go away from this
tournament holding our heads high for we have achieved so much. We
have finished 3rd in our pool and so ended up playing for a chance to
win The Plate, a higher prize than The Bowl which we won last season.
We have outplayed or played equally against all the teams and no-one
has looked superior to us in any way which is a big improvement on
last season--remember the Blackheath game?. We have earned rich praise
from all of our opponents who now realise that Derby U11's are up
there with the top U11's in the country. And, we have made some good
friends notably with Bishop's, Old Albanians and Braintree who are all
'dead keen' to play us in games home or away next season and to
maintain contacts and links.
Finally, it
goes without saying that you played as per usual in the spirit in
which rugby is supposed to be played in and were once again a great
credit to Derby Rugby Club.You should be very proud of your
achievements this year,not only at Gullivers but throughout the whole
season--remember the Matlock game,Tour,Sandal Tournament,3-Counties
etc.
John, Tim and myself are extremely proud of you all and are proud to
say that we are your coaches. I think your parents,family and friends
feel the same way too !!
Bring on the
Derby Festival. Tim Dixon--get fit soon (he fractured his foot in the
final game). And BRING ON NEXT YEARS GULLIVERS TOURNAMENT !--are you
ready for us because we'll be ready for you !
U11s
Tournament Report by Adrian Summerscales |
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Under
12s
Tournament Report |
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The Team: Rory Gallimore, Samuel
Hallam-Gray, Bradley Haywood, Ryan Holmes, Jordan Hughes, Ryan Jones,
Enan Kenyon, Aaron Moorcroft, Jonathan Murney, Callum Proctor, Robert
Rainbow, Oliver Ruddock, Christopher Ruggins, Jack Smith, Giles Whitta
(Captain), Joseph Wilkinson.
Derby had been drawn to play in Pool
B against what proved to be very good competition; over the two days
they would play York, Bournemouth, Richmond, Ormskirk, and Twickenham
before they could get through to the quarter finals. |
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Day One:
The first pool game of the day saw
Derby play York. Our lads went straight into the game meaning business
and their determination paid off with a try from Joe Wilkinson five
minutes into the game. York came back and just three minutes before
the half time whistle they succeeded in getting a try. The second half
found the two teams battling it out, nether side giving ground until
Enan Kenyon scored the final try of the game only four minutes from
the end. Final score: Derby 2, York 1.
After half an hours rest, the next
team Derby played was Bournemouth. Bournemouth came in very strong and
within two minutes had scored their first try. They kept up the
pressure and very nearly scored a second try but for Derby’s defence
who managed to keep the ball up, the Derby camp was worried! Derby,
with the bit between their teeth, started the second half as if
transformed. Within two minutes Ryan Holmes had scored a try, very
soon after Giles Whitta scored a second and Ryan scored his second of
the game only minutes after that. Just before the final whistle
Bournemouth squeezed in their second try of the game. Final score:
Derby 3, Bournemouth 2.
The third and final game of the day
came after a long break (two and a half hours); it would prove to be
too long a break! Three minutes into the game, Richmond scored their
first try and their defence proved too good for Derby to break through
in reply. Derby didn’t let Richmond have an easy time, they were
held at bay until in the final minute of the second half when Richmond
broke through and scored their second try. Final score: Derby 0,
Richmond 2. |
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More
photos of the U12s
v Richmond on Day 1 |
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Day Two:
The first game of the day for Derby
was not until midday and was against Ormskirk. They were evenly
matched and it was well into the first half before the first try was
scored, unfortunately it was by Ormskirk. The second half was looking
like being a repeat of the first when, after eight minutes of play,
Sam Hallam-Gray burst through Ormskirk’s defences to score a try.
Only a couple of minutes after, Chris Ruggins scored a second try.
Ormskirk had not been beaten all season, until they had played Derby
that is! Final score: Derby 2, Ormskirk 1.
The final game of the pool came
after half an hours rest, against Twickenham. Straight into the game
and after only one minute of play, Sam Hallam-Gray scored his second
try of the festival. Twickenham evened the score halfway though the
first half. The sides kept each other in check during the second half
when, with only a minute to go, Sam managed to get the winning try. Final
score: Derby 2, Twickenham 1.
The Quarter Finals:
Derby had finished second in their
pool, which meant they played the winner of Pool A (Blackheath), and
had an hour and a half of waiting before doing so. There is not a lot
to say about the game except that Blackheath played a hard and
ruthless game, scoring six tries, enough to knock Derby out of the
festival.
The ludicrous set up of the
Gullivers Festival quarter final playoffs meant that only one team
from the pool, Bournemouth (who finished fifth) got through to play at
Twickenham. Even Richmond, who finished first, were knocked out at the
quarters and therefore deprived of what must be any rugby players
dream.
I would like to thank all of the
parents for supporting the boys so enthusiastically along with Paul
Wilkinson and the rest of his coaching team for all their hard work
and dedication - without whom none of this would have been possible.
Finally, I would like to name the
man of the festival, but I can’t. Every one of the boys gave 200%
over the two days and to single out anyone would be wrong in such a
superb team effort. Well-done boys!
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| Thanks to Adrian
Holmes for these 4 photos of the U12s |
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U12s Tournament report by
Adrian Holmes |
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All
Photographs by Brian Leverington (unless otherwise mentioned) |
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