Country Wide Festival

Storming performance...& not a single try conceded!

A windy but sunny Sunday found us in deepest, darkest Somerset at Wells RFC a new venue for us. Despite the bad weather leading up to the Festival, pitch conditions were good, however the fierce wind blowing directly long the length of the pitch and narrow side lines would ultimately play a part in what was to follow.
The Festival offered the opportunity for us to play clubs we rarely or never see, so was always going to be interesting facing unknown opposition. First game immediately showed how much the pitch and weather would affect outcomes; kicking into wind almost always resulting in the ball blowing back to where kicked from or centre scrum from it going wind-assisted beyond the dead ball area, but pitch width significantly stifled our open passing play. The boys however quickly realised that it would be more about strong forward play and good basic ruck & tackling skills, with those hours on the training pitch really paying off. First game resulted in a war of attrition with us camped somewhere between their 5yrd and centre lines with the opposition rarely entering Chip's half. Fantastic ruck and scrumming by all boys, particularly Riley & Issac, kept the pressure on, but ultimately the decisive try came from a rare passage of open play resulting in Tommy forcing his way over in the corner. 1-0, great start, all still to play for.
Second match was our hardest. Really tough opposition, with outstanding defensive performances across the board keeping them firmly pegged back close the centre line. Great strong runs from the likes of George, Nick, Ethan C and Ollie P kept getting us close to scoring, but they just held out. Final plays showed some real opportunism from Logan harassing their scrum half into making mistakes that almost gave use the opportunity we needed to break the stalemate, but it wasn't to be an ended in 0-0.
Our third and final group match really saw us break loose with a plethora of tries, the most memorable being George's 'hot ball' score that literally left the opposition for dead as he carved through them from 10yds out.
With us tying for top spot, it was down to Coach Chris to decide our fate with the toss of a coin to decide who went through as top & 2nd - typical of the Welsh though, when you actually want them to do us a favour they struggle to deliver and, unlike the Welsh 6-Nations side, managed to fluff it, consequently we went into the 2nd slot pool.
Following this minor setback, what ensued put a smile on all our faces with once again a fantastic team performance across the board with the lads rarely ever having to play in their own half, winning most scrums against the head or from Logan harassing his opposite number immediately as he touched the ball, tenacious defensive regularly turning the ball over and just simple fantastic play from the likes of Ollie M, Ollie P, Freddie, Sam, Fynn and Ronan. End result, a further 3 deceive wins leaving us clear group winners, but more importantly not a single try conceded...oh and 17 scored!
So all in all a great day out, definitely one of (if not arguably the best) team there and a side we should all be rightly proud of for some fantastic team rugby that will send shudders through a number of other clubs as they remember the ferocity of the mighty Chip!