Scouts March Holted In Final

U12s @ Holt Festival 12/4/14

For the second consecutive festival the U12s reached the final having won all their pool matches. Unfortunately the Wellingborough winning experience was not to be repeated. The long break between the final pool match and the final itself counted against Scouts when the request to “have a rest” was taken quite literally by certain members of the team who fell asleep in the by now warm sunshine due to the lack of sleep experienced during the tour. They were then unable to rouse themselves for the final showdown. However, this cannot take away another from exceptional performance by the squad who now hopefully have the winning habit.

Match 1 vs Ampthill. Won 15-5
The tournament started in the best possible way when straight from the kick-off Ampthill were penalised and Lawrenze caught them asleep to open the scoring. Scouts doubled their lead following a solid scrummage near the opponents line, from which Lawrenze scored again.
Sustained second half pressure resulted in a further score for Scouts through Sam. There was, however time for a consolation score from Ampthill but this was an encouraging start.

Match 2 vs Wisbech. Won 14-5
Scouts started this game slowly, but gradually got into the game. They were held up over the line, but following a series of penalties conceded by Wisbech, Lawrenze again touched down. With Sam converting, this gave Scouts a 7-0 half-time lead.
Scouts continued to make hard work of what should have been a straightforward win, but the same combination of Lawrenze & Sam gave them a 14-0 cushion. Wisbech briefly threatened to ruin all the good work when they scored a try of their own, but Scouts held on for a 14-5 victory.

Match 3 vs Holt. Won 7-0
This was a very even contest with neither side able to break down the other’s defence with no score coming in the first half. This trend continued in the 2nd half and it appeared as though the game would be drawn. However, with literally seconds left on the clock, Rhys finally managed to break through and make the winning score that Sam duly converted.

Match 4 vs Oadby Wygstonians. Won 7-0
Another tough and even contest. Scouts started brightly and were the better side early on, but were unable to turn the pressure into points resulting in a pointless first half.
Scouts continued to pose problems for their East Midlands rivals in the 2nd half and they were held up over the line. From the ensuing scrum, Lucas finally broke the deadlock with Sam again converting to give Scouts a 100% record in the pool.

Final vs Oadby Wygstonians. Lost 35-0
Unfortunately Scouts were never in the hunt for this having failed to rouse themselves from their slumbers and despite losing 2 and drawing another pool match, OWs ran out deserved winners. Scouts cause wasn’t helped in losing both Sam & George through injury in the final.

Despite an ultimately disappointing finale, this was a great performance to round off an excellent tour. Congratulations to Jacob Tansley for being awarded Player of The Tournament for his tireless running and tenacious defence.

Having spoken to a number of the players and coaches they all appeared to have had a wonderful tour experience. Thanks to everyone who helped out with the organisation of the tour and the coaches who gave up their time to give the players a valuable experience. Thanks also to the parents for their encouragement & support.

Just the Don White to go!