Lil' Hoppo Hi5's

This years Hi 5’s has proven to be the most successful yet. 15 teams competed with over 180 players taking to the field at some point during the day. We had two female teams, a under 16 team and another two teams of resurrected superstars. The Jackson 5’s including Michael and a team entirely made up of Elvis's.
The 15 teams were split into four groups with each team playing one another to determine which of the semi finals they would compete in once they progressed to the knock out stages.
Each team has the chance of making a final on the day with Cup, Plate, Bowl and Shield competitions.
The standard of rugby this year was extremely high with many teams recruiting players who have played representative Rugby Union and Rugby League. Warrington Wolves and Wales Rugby League star Gavin Williams, Alex Schwartz and Lewis Barker both Wales U18 to name just a few.
Pace setters in the group stages had to be Jopkins scoring over 20 tries. Jopkins made up of members of Pauls family desperate to win this year having been beaten Cup Finalist in the first two tournaments.
The teams progressing to the Semi Finals were:

Shield – Brentwood Barbarians v Panthers, Firebirds Bye to Final
Bowl – Under 15’s v Hawaii 5 0’s, Traffic lights v Bring It!
Plate – Inbetweeners v Ginger Warriors, Titans v Wizards
Cup – Jackson 5’s v Red Devils, Super 5’s v Jopkins

Once the semi finals started it was obvious that each team came to win with some enthusiastic blocking and the tempo of the games stepping up a notch.
In the Shield Semi Panthers made up of members of Birkenhead Park RFC ladies team were unfortunate not to progress to the Shield final with Brentwood Barbarians having to put in a massive effort to defeat them in the closing moments of the game.
In the Bowl Semis the stand out performance has to go the Under 15’s side who refused to be intimidated by the size and age of there opponents Hawaii 5 0's won through to the final.
The Plate semi between Titans and Wizards proved to be a busy one for match referee Ed Kiley in this bruising encounter. If this was touch rugby we may have to check the rules for next year.
Both Cup finals showed what touch rugby is all about with great play from all teams. As well as fast flowing attacking rugby the communication in defence shown by the teams highlight the class of the players involved.

For the tournament Finals all games moved to the Main Pitch out side the Clubhouse with an expect crowd looking forward to seeing some great rugby. They were not to be disappointed.

The Shield Final brought together Brentwood Barbarians who had travelled up over night to compete, against previous Shield Finalists Firebirds. Some excellent rugby played in great spirit set the standard for the remaining finals with the Barbarians easing through to take the spoils.

In the Bowl Final young contenders the Under 15’s faced previous finalists Bring It!. Once again the young side showed that they had the ability to take the game to their more experience opposition. That experience paid off for Bring It! With them controlling the pace of the game and eventually build a lead in the second half of the game that lasted through to the final whistle.

It was battle of the brothers in the Plate Final with the three Hughes brothers Patty, Eddie and Rich competing against each other. Eddie showed he still has the magic with a skillfull performance playing for the Wizards. Played in great spirit this game produced some exciting and humorous play from both sides. The Wizards had their opposition spellbound winning the game by 6 tries to 2.

Finally the game everyone had been waiting to see with a crowd of around the 200/300 mark Jopkins and Red Devils entered the arena. Red Devils out to prove their class with 2 Welsh Internationals in the ranks and Jopkins desperate to win the Cup at the 3rd time of asking.
The game was as expected fast and exciting with players using every inch of grass to try and find a way through. The pace of the game was such that Match referee Aubrey Evans asked for Touch Judges to be in place for the second half to ensure no mistakes were made in a thrilling encounter. The class of the Red Devils showed through in the end beating a devastated Jopkins team to lift the Cup.

As usual the day ran like clockwork and event organiser Mike Roberts thanked his employers SSE at Fiddler Ferry Power Station for allowing him the time off on the day previously to carry out final preparations.
In his third and final year of organising the event Mike would like to thank his wife Clare for her support and also the volunteers who helped in this and previous events most notably the Referees led previously by Elfyd Hughes and this year by Aubrey Evans without whom the event could not take place and a special mention to Helen Kirby and Sian Griffiths who’s support was greatly appreciated.
Mike said “I hope the event can continue to grow each year allowing us not only to remember a great brother and friend in Paul but also to raise essential funds for the British heart Foundation. Including this years event we have raised over £5000 which is a testament to the people that come along and play/support the event. THANK YOU!!!”