Walsall made the trip over to Old Halesonians and the crowd were treated to some excellent and strong running rugby.

On a chilly morning and a boggy pitch some may have thought the players would be reluctant to get stuck in and commit themselves fully to the tackle. Well, both sides threw caution to the wind and the commitment shown was most impressive.

Playing on a full size pitch for the first time meant Walsall's strong runners had plenty of space to work with and crossed the line a total of twenty times over both games.

Old Halesonians also made good use of the space available and this tested the Walsall defence. Walsall were organised, committed and strong limiting Old Halesonians to 5 tries over both games. Lewis, Gurdit and Pippa worked really hard and this helped the whole team raise their game and it was a delight to see the side collectively working together,driving the opposition back and forcing mistakes which Walsall capitalised on. Excellent performance.

Match 1 - Old Halesonians 3 - Walsall 12

An early try by Old Halesonians caught Walsall by surprise but it was the catalyst to a great team effort which saw Walsall score 12 tries! Joe Dickson scored 4 and one of Teddy Broadhurst's tries was a length of the pitch effort and was simply wonderful.

It was great to see Joseph Coleman in support of his teammates all the way to the line. If you dont make the effort to support you will never be able to receive the pass that may lead to a try, never.

Scorers:

Hansen Christofferson- 2
Joseph Coleman - 2
Teddy Broadhurst - 3
Lewis Wassall - 1
Joe Dickson - 4

Match 2 - Old Halesonians 4 - Walsall 8

A much closer match and Old Halesonians improved dramatically. Walsall's defence also had to improve and it did. Lewis Wassall and Pippa McCluney were outstanding, well done to both.

The team work on display was fantastic and to have 6 different scorers for a match in which we only score 8 is very pleasing. Brandon Hurd's powerful running meant he shared top scorer with Teddy Broadhurst.

Hansen Christofferson showed patience and maturity when being tackled after the whistle had blown. An excellent example to everyone of the behaviour we want to see on a rugby pitch, well done Hansen.


Scorers:

Byron Halford - 1
Brandon Hurd - 2
Joseph Coleman -1
Lewis Wassall - 1
Hansen Christofferson- 1
Teddy Broadhurst - 2

A very pleasing day for Walsall Under 9's. The whole side worked really hard, especially during training when Dan Poston organised those players not involved in the match.

The defence was outstanding, the organisation improved and the communication better.

Well done all of you.