Yet again Derby RFC had teams entered into the Gullivers National 2 day Tournament held in Nottingham on the 25th & 26th March'05.

Just as in previous years this Tournament is attended by Clubs from all over the country, over 106 teams were taking part in this years competition with age groups ranging from U9s through to U14s.

Last years tournament weather was a scorcher, this year the weather was a bit cooler (an understatement !!!), so much so that on the second day it bucketed it down. However, this did not dampen the rugby (excuse the pun !!!) and as always it's a real pleasure to watch our younger sides not only take part but to also play some excellent rugby to boot !!!

Considering the atrocious conditions of the second day with the rain seemingly centred on Nottingham and nowhere else in the country !!! - the pitches were extremely muddy and the ball was as slippery as an eel, the standard of rugby even in these conditions was very high.

I'm fortunate that in taking photographs of all of our sides I get the opportunity to walk round and watch at some point all of our age groups play and to see the skills and commitment starting from our U9s right through to our U13s is a real credit to the players and the coaches.

At the end of the two days our U11s and U12s had managed to get through their pool matches and the knockout stages to book their passage to the ultimate prize of playing on the Hallowed Green Turf of Twickenham in the curtain raiser Gullivers Finals Day on the 28th May'05 prior to the England v Barbarians game. This is a tremendous day out and I've been fortunate enough to attend the Gullivers Twickenham Finals Day for the past two years as Derby sides have managed to get through to the Finals Day - in 2002/03 we had 3 teams reach Twickenham and then last season we had 2 Teams make it. Incidently, this will be the 3rd year that the now U11s have made it to Twickenham, they did it as U9s, then as U10s and now as U11s !!!

Well done to all of the Derby sides who took part in the Gullivers Tournament over these past 2 days, in its own right this two day Tournament is a fantastic feast of Rugby where sides come up against the cream of other Clubs and through playing in tournaments such as these players gain valuable experience and meet new friends.

On this page is the collective tournament reports from all of the Derby sides.

You'll also notice that I've listed over 170 photos on this page from all our 5 age groups along with a selection of general photos too. As always with any photos that I put onto the website, just click on a photo to enlarge it.

If anyone would like larger printed copies or larger electronic copies of any of the Photographs that I've taken then please see my Photographic Services page where there's details on how to place an order.  

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, U13s.

Brian Leverington 26th March'05

The U9’s first Gullivers tournament showed what determination these young players have.  They got so close but just missed out on that dream of playing at Twickers.  Although disappointed at coming so close they can be very proud of what they achieved, especially on Saturday with the wet weather conditions.  Coaches and parents were amazed at the effort they put in to each match and look forward to next year’s tournament.  

Team  

Forwards: Tom Taylor, Drew Farquharson, Gabriel Beresford, John Watkins

Scrum Half: Charlie Storr

Fly Half: George Boden

Centres: James Fish, Jack O’Callaghan

Wingers: Jacob Watts, Kit MacDonald, Alex Todd,

Matches: Friday 25^th March  

Doncaster  v  Derby       Won 4 – 0   (Tries all scored by Jack O’Callaghan)  

Teddington  v  Derby     Lost 2 – 1   (Try Jack O’Callaghan)  

Derby  v  Deepings       Won 4 – 1   (Tries by George Boden, Drew Farquharson, Jack O’Callaghan 2)

Matches: Saturday 26^th  

Sandal  v  Derby           Lost 2 –1    (Try Jack O’Callaghan)

Derby  v  Northampton  Lost 1 – 0   

Ormskirk  v  Derby       Won 1 – 0   (Try James Fish)

Semi Final  (3^rd & 4^th place)

Brighton  v  Derby          Draw 0 – 0 Brighton won on points accrued through weekend 8 – 6.

Having just missed out by 2 points we have a squad who have gained a lot of experience and enjoyment from what has been a most enjoyable event.

Thank you to all parents for their continued support.  Derby Rugby Club can be very proud of them all.  Well done!  

It was a case of so near and yet so far for the gallant under 10s at this year’s Gullivers qualifying tournament.  Faced with a difficult group and a challenging fixture schedule, they fought hard but fell at the last hurdle, losing in the semi-finals to a well organised Old Northamptonians side.  

Although disappointed not to qualify, the players can hold their heads high and be immensely proud of their efforts.  We as coaches could ask no more of the players as they tried their hearts out in appalling conditions, never letting their heads drop, accepting selection decisions and always encouraging their teammates.  I know the many parents and supporters were amazed at the dedication and commitment of all 14 squad members and all at Derby RFC should be proud to have these young players as members of the club.  The over –riding emotion of the two days is:  

Performance – all the players worked to perform to their highest level and all left the tournament better players than when they arrived .

Respect – they displayed outstanding sportsmanship, respecting their opponents and the match officials and always trying to play the game in the right spirit.  

Individual skills – every player applied their skills to the best of their ability.  

Determination – despite appalling conditions the determination of the players was outstanding.  Even at the end of the semi-finals they were covering across to tackle the opposition wingers while the work rate was exceptional.  

The forwards (Peter Horton, William Skeates, Reece Harrison, Luke McNeilly, Barnaby Parkes and Alex Tomlinson) showed a thirst for the physical side of the game and matched their opponents in all aspects, working hard to cover the ground to ruck and maul and always competing.  

The backs (George Groom, George Tresidder, Tom Kent, George Castledine, Myles Costello, Alistair Wolff, Joseph Wright and David Eades) looked to run the ball whenever possible and were rewarded with some excellent tries and were inches away from several others.  Despite the conditions they stuck to their expansive attacking game plan.  When the opposition had the ball they defended well and tackled like demons.  One crunching tackle by George Tresidder in the game with Kesteven will be remembered by all who saw it for quite a while.  

The draw saw us in the same group as tournament favourites Sandal and Teddington along with powerful Wellingborough and Braintree teams.  

The opening game saw Derby receive a lesson in aggressive forward play, direct running and close support as Sandal ran out winners 30-0.  In the second game two momentary lapses in concentration allowed Wellingborough to score twice and despite a much improved second half performance, Derby were unable to reverse the score line.  

With a long break to our third game, some spirit building was needed but the team received a boost when captain George Tresidder declared himself fit having been troubled by a thigh strain.  They proceeded to put in an excellent performance, totally dominating Northampton Old Scouts to win 25-0.  

Tresidder settled the team by scoring direct from the kick off and scored a second following a determined blind side break by George Groom and some speedy recycling by the forwards.  Groom scored the third himself when, fed by scrum half David Eades he broke through three tackles with a determined run.  Shortly before half time Tresidder completed his hat trick to put the result out of doubt.  

In the second half, derby continued to dominate and scored a fifth try through George Castledine.  

The team headed home at the end of day one knowing they still faced a major challenge with potentially five games on the second day.  

In the opening match opponents Maidstone came up against a Derby team in determined mood.  Once again George Tresidder gave his team the lead before Tom Kent scored a sublime individual try.  Taking the ball close to the touchline in his own half, he threw an outrageous dummy before out sprinting three defenders to score.  The third try came following a powerful run by George Castledine.  Held up short of the line he showed real strength to stay on his feet before offloading to the supporting Tresidder who scored.  

The final score came from Myles Costello following a series of three rucks close to the Maidstone line.  

With two wins and a positive try difference the squad now faced two stern tests against Teddington (last seasons cup winners) and Braintree .  Against Teddington, in torrential rain, the side showed enormous determination in defence and held their opponents to just 4 tries (Teddington had wanted at least six to improve their try difference).  To a man the Derby squad tackles and drove in to the loose, forcing their skilful opponents back.  

Against Braintree it was much of the same on a pitch now resembling a mud bath.  Despite stern defence, Braintree managed to take a two try lead but Derby refused to give in and were rewarded with an excellent Tresidder try.  

The final pool game against Kesteven was another close encounter.  Two lapses of concentration on an energy sapping pitch meant the Derby boys had to chase the game.  David Eades twice came close to scoring and by the time George Groom burst over for a try it was too late to save the game.  

Nevertheless we were through to the semi-finals against an Old Northamptonians side who had only played three matches on day 2 and their higher energy levels were a crucial factor in the match.  Perhaps, this was one match too many and Derby spent the whole game mounting a determined defensive action.  They almost held out until half time but conceded a try in the last play of the half.  

Forced to chase the game and despite a slippery ball, Derby still tried to get the ball wide into space but too often ran into a well organised defence.  Two tries were conceded in the last minute, making a final score line of 0-15 which flattered the opponents, although on the day they were worthy winners.  

But you can’t change what has happened.  However there are positives.  We left with 14 better players than we went with, areas we know we need to improve and a huge determination to make up for this year’s disappointments at next year’s tournament.  The hard work starts on Sunday!  

Finally can I say an enormous thank you to the parents for their unstinting support for the team, helping to keep them fed watered and dry.  Thanks also to the other members of the coaching team for all their efforts

Day 1 of Qualifying:  

Derby 20 – 05 Hull Ionians

Derby 10 – 05 Sleaford

Derby 05 – 00 Old Northamptonians  

The game against Sleaford brought more of the same with some excellent tries (with the ball being moved mercilessly through the backs).  The last game of the day saw us up against Old Northamptonians who we have played before in a couple of close games.  Northamptonians looked a fairly big squad but (as was the watchword for the whole weekend) our lads were not fazed by anything that was placed before them.  In a close game our lads confidently set the pace eventually running out winners by one try.  

At the end of the first day of the tournament we were placed in an ideal position, three wins out of three.  On reflection the day’s games were characterised by some incredibly solid work by the forwards (my men of the day!) in retaining the ball from loose play and always winning the ball from scrums.  The backs played their part wonderfully well, dovetailing with the forwards to do their bit in retaining and moving and handling the ball extremely well.     

Day 2 of Qualifying:  

Derby 30 - 00 Wellingborough

Derby 30 - 00 Paviors

Day two of qualifying saw conditions a bit on the chilly side with dark ominous clouds looming and looking as if they were there for the day.  Sure enough the weather did change and we were treated to some horrendous and persistent rain leaving everyone drained.  Our games really couldn’t come quick enough so that we could capitalise on the previous day’s performance.  What followed was the most convincing and emphatic couple of games we’ve seen in a long time.  Running in six tries in each of the games against Wellingborough and Paviours was convincing in the extreme.  What was probably more important was the confidence in keeping to the task in hand and not relenting in the face of anything.  If day 1 was set by great unit play from both the backs and the forwards then the last of the two group games was just more of the same.   

Results from both days could have not been any better – emphatic wins, some great tries and some (this isn’t any casual use of superlatives here!) fantastic unit interplay between forwards and backs. Having kept something of a close eye on the potential outcome of the other group that could affect us, a quarter final loomed against some stiff opposition.  In winning the group we should have had something of an edge in playing the second placed team from the other group linked to us.  The three possible contenders to play us had all beaten us this year but in the end we kind of felt that it didn’t really matter who we played in the quarter final.  

A well drilled Hornets side (from Weston Super Mare) took to the pitch in the quarter final which would decide who went to Twickenham to play in the cup semi’s and final.  By this time in the day we’d had a good few hours of relentless rain which seemed to have sapped everyone, except the lads who were more than up for a last match – do or die stuff or what!  

Straight from the off we were at them and putting them under some significant pressure with some great forward play (again!) getting extremely useful ball out to the backs.  Despite the atrocious conditions the conditions didn’t affect our ability to run at the opposition and still move the ball as if it was perfect underfoot and a bright sunny day!  Derby opened the scoring with a great try in the corner by Luke Frixou early in the first half from some solid play in midfield.  Keeping the pressure up and holding off pressure from Hornets, keeping focused and being calm in the face of pressure was clearly going to be a key factor in winning this game.  After half time the lads got back into a nice rhythm pressurising Hornets all over the park and relentlessly pushing them back on the few occasions when we were camped on our own line.  With the lads still leading by one try, the final whistle seemed a long time coming.  Hornets again put some pressure on eventually scoring a try in the corner, right on the final whistle.  

In getting the lads in once full time had been blown I have to say how composed everybody was, despite the fact of being unsure what would happen next.  I think it kind of sunk in for the coaches when the Hornets coach said “I think you’ve got it in count back”. A few nervous moments ensued until the Gulliver’s rep gave us the nod and that they say - was that!     

Result from the quarter final:  

Derby 05 - 05 Hornets ( Derby win on try count back from qualifying games)  

An awesome effort over the two days was down to some real dedication by the lads in sticking to the task in hand; being focused on what needed to be done and above all, some outstanding skills.  The day wouldn’t have been the sort of day it was without the tremendous support and dedication of parents, sisters and brothers and grandparents and everyone who did more than their fare share in helping to make it a memorable day. 

On Saturday night I went to the club armed with my trusty notebook eager to ask the lads who scored so I could write it up for this report and to be honest I gave up because nobody could really remember, or even seemed to care, who scored the tries. At first I thought this was perhaps not very useful for me in putting together a record of the event, but in the end it sort of typifies the whole attitude for the weekend.  In the end I came to the conclusion that its amazing what can be achieved when nobody knows or cares who scores.  Roll on Twickenham!  

Squad:  George CAMPBELL; Bobby CARR; Alex EARLEY; Ben EDMUNDSON; Luke FRIXOU; Callum HAY; Scott HAYWARD; Bradley HOPKINS; Lewis MADELEY; Sam MARTIN; Josh McCALLION; Josh MILLAR; Haydn MORRIS; Jake ROOME; Harry RUDKIN; Will SHEVLIN; Josh WATTS; Ben WILKINSON.

The Derby Under 12 squad returned to Notiingham for the third year, and, after suffering the heartbreak of last seasons plate semi final defeat to Braintree were in determined mood to make it back to Twickenham. This year we took a squad of 20 players and were determined to give all players plenty of game time. Let me say from the outset that each and every one of the lads was a credit to Derby Rugby Club, their team mates and families over the two days. Every player gave their all in what proved to be fierce competition.   

So to Fridays action.

Derby 05 - 00 Paviors 

Our first pool game against a team which over the last season or so have improved beyond all recognition. Paviors have some big strong runners, but as happened in a recent game against them, they were allowed little time to run and strong tackling meant that they were unable to get into their stride. As in all the pool games, we played the whole squad (unless injury prevented this) making lots of changes at half time.

Derby 00 - 05 Kesteven 

Our second game saw us up against Kesteven. We knew this would be a hard game. They have some excellent quick backs and had apparently been looking forward to this fixture after we just edged them in last seasons NLD final. In a closely fought game, Kesteven edged home this time with a first half try. Kesteven went on to win the pool, which is a credit to their players and coaches. I think we can look forward to some great battles with them over the next few years. 

Derby 10 - 00 New Milton  

Our final pool game of the day saw us give a good solid performance against a hard working New Milton side. Shane Purcell got the first try with a typical bursting run through the centre and our second was scored by the find of the season, Callan Watson, who was on the end of a move involving several phases and great work by the forwards winning quick ruck ball. Tom Cornfield had a good game at scrum half, distributing the ball well throughout. 

So on to Saturday, and by the close of play we would know whether we would fulfil our dream of returning to Twickenham.

Derby 05 - 00 Old Albanians     

Derby 00 - 00 Romford & Gidea Park   

In our final pool game we had another tough game against a hard tackling Romford team who on the previous day had drawn with Kesteven. This was another good game and the tackling from both sides was excellent. Both teams tried to play rugby on what was now becoming a mud bath. Handling errors were beginning to creep into the game which is inevitable when playing with a bar of soap, but the lads all showed great heart and determination. Support play was good, the forwards never stopped working and the backs were trying to still play some entertaining rugby despite the conditions.

This result left us tied with Old Albanians on points in the pool, having played 5, won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1. Although we had beaten them in the pool, they took second spot on the number of tries scored. This meant that we went on to play for the plate and not the cup, but depending on how you view it, this was not a bad thing as Old Albanians went on to play a very strong Havant team in the cup quarter final. 

Plate Quarter Final - Derby 05 - 00 Rugby   

On to the games that really matter. We were glad to welcome back Tom Summerscales to the second row who we had rested for the last two pool games with a knee injury. Rugby were a HUGE side. Despite this we had the better of them in the scrums, with Mikey Markham, Liam Darby and Scott Alkins causing their front row problems, Callan Watson still winning some great line out ball and when he wasn't doing that he was spoiling theirs, causing a change in tactics to the front where Mikey Markham spoiled and disrupted superbly. The pitch had really cut up now, but Derby played some good attacking rugby, running the ball well. From one such move, fly half Olly Walton made a break blindside, and showed the ball outside before cutting in to score a good individual try. After half time Derby continued to apply pressure. Rugby were camped on their line for most of the half and Derby should have scored two more tries but for the ball slipping out of hands.