The U8 Kent Festival held at Beckenham RFC was the first time many of NAG’s U8 team had played competitive rugby as for many it was their first season.
We all headed up to Beckenham with no expectations only wanting our young players to enjoy themselves, plus come away with some real match experience.
Their first match was against a very quick Southwark Tigers side and after conceding two early tries we were beginning to think it was going to be a tough learning curve, but our young players started to hold a firmer defensive line, which caused the Tigers problems. In the end with some great break through runs and passing the ball through hands, NAG U8’s won an impressive 6-2 victory.
The second match was against a very strong and well-drilled Westcombe Park side, who also had won their first match. It started with both teams scoring one after another, but with a couple of errors with the ball being knocked on and running into touch, Westcombe Park won a couple of turnovers and edged into the lead. The final score was still quite close with NAG losing 2-4.
This left the third and final match of the day to be played against Maidstone, with both sides on one win and one loss, so all to play for. It turned into a ten try thriller with both teams running in five tries, with just as many try scorers. Maidstone were a very strong well rounded team with great defensive abilities and with a good attacking formation. NAG played with determination and dug deep to hold Maidstone to a 5-5 draw.
All the players said that they really enjoyed the festival and their parents were pleasantly surprised at how well the team played as a unit.
As their coach I was pleased with all the player’s performances. It was heart warming to see the many months of training that the players put in through all sorts of weather conditions paying dividends on the day.
Well done to all the NAG U8’s players.

Have a look at the pics here:
https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/newashgreenrfc/photos/new-ash-green-u8s-kent-fe-571980.html