Camps put Warriors to the Sword

But on the pitch it was all about the rugby and we put in a performance to be really proud of.

Worcester had at least three teams to throw against us (apparently they have 30+ players), so it was agreed we would play an A team game and a B team game with experienced and less experienced players respectively.

The A team game got off to a furiously fast start and Worcester immediately showed their intention to play an expansive passing game. Tries came thick and fast from both sides but it was Joe’s long striding runs that saw him go in for a first half hat-trick, and Camps take a 6-4 lead at the break. The second half was more of the same with some excellent play from both teams. Abbie was constantly in the thick of it, adding another try to her first half effort, and by the final whistle the visitors had managed to stretch their lead and secure a thumping 9-6 opening victory.

The B team game was an opportunity for some of Camp Hill’s up and coming talent to show what they can do and they didn’t let us down. Cian, Niall and Ben ran well with ball in hand and there was plenty of hard work from Dylan and Josh in defence. Tyler, Byron and Owen all crossed the line to register their first tries for the club - well done to them, but it wasn’t quite enough in the end as a well drilled Worcester side took the spoils. Some areas to work on but overall a very good perfomance, especially from our year 2's who are really having to learn fast!

At one a piece we agreed to play a third game, and it was much to our surprise when Worcester asked us to play against their 1st team. Apparently the opening game, which we thought HAD been their 1st team, was only their ‘development’ A side - a development squad in the U8’s no less!!!

So the elite squad arrived from their secret training ground and it was with much trepidation that we took to the field for the deciding match. As in the opening encounter, Worcester impressed with their passing game and put our defence under a sustained period of pressure. To their great credit Camps didn’t crumble and even managed a couple of counter punches to level the score at 2 tries all. It was at this point that the game was to take a decisive turn – Ben ran in a superb try straight from a kick-off and the referee activated a hither-to unknown rule whereby if no tag is taken, the scoring side start again at the kick-off. This time the ball went to Jobe and he repeated Ben’s feat by twinkle toeing his way up the touch line and scoring another try, again with no tag being taken. Next up Alex – strong run down the right side, same route as Jobe and clear for the line when a touch judge appeared from nowhere and declared foot in touch!! But no matter, as the half time whistle went and we huddled round for a team talk, we were 4-2 up and looking the stronger side.

The opening salvos of the second half saw Camps extend their lead to 6-3 with two lovely tries from Jobe to complete his hat-trick. Worcester then attacked the Camp Hill line relentlessly, scoring 2 tries on the bounce before a knock-on in the dying seconds handed possession to Camps and the referee declared the last play of the game. If tactics were to be employed at this point in an U8’s game (and had I been thinking a bit quicker!) we’d have run the ball straight off the park, but as luck would have it that’s the way it happened anyway. The loudest shout of TOUCH came from the Camp Hill coaches as Dan stepped out of play and the game was over. Final score 6-5 and nothing less than the team deserved in their finest performance to date.

And to put a tin lid on the victory, we shouldn't forget that we beat a full U8's squad with a mixed 7's and 8's! So well done to the year 2's, particularly Toby and Jobe who were outstanding in the A team.

Results
Worcester A 6 – 9 Camp Hill A (Try scorers: Joe 4, Abbie 2, Will 1, Dan 1, Jobe 1)
Worcester B 7 – 3 Camp Hill B (Try scorers: Tyler 1, Byron 1, Owen 1)
Worcester 1’s 5 – 6 Camp Hill A (Try scorers: Jobe 3, Ben 1, Will 1, Joe 1)

Squad
Joe, Toby, Dan, Abbie, Alex(C1), Tyler, Owen, Byron, Ben(C3), Jobe, Will, Niall(C2), Cian, Benjamin, Dylan, Josh

Player of the Week
Joe – for some great defence, scoring 5 tries, and being a very considerate team player!

Also a notable performance from Will who scored in both of his games and defended like a Trojan throughout.

A few other mentions:-
Number 1 committed family goes to the Eades for driving Ben all the way back from a fancy dress do in Liverpool!!

And it was great to have so much family support - mums, dads, grandads, little brothers & sisters - always offering to help out with washing kit, filling water bottles, keeping kids happy etc… so many thanks to you all.

Next week there’s a newly arranged fixture at home against Woodrush – Sam will send out details later in the week.

See you in two weeks - Warrens back next week and I'll be putting him under no pressure at all to extend our winning run:)

Ali

p.s. keep an eye out for the Solihull Observer