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SENIOR RUGBY
After the high of cup final joy the previous week, a rather depleted team due to injury and unavailability, made the daunting trip to Weybridge to take on league high fliers, Vandals. The trip was made even more miserable by the unprecedented closure of the M25!! Rising early, the boys set off for what would prove a rather chastening match against a Vandals side that exploited every hole in the G’s defence. It wasn’t until the second half that the boys started to click and play the way we know they can. A first half beaut from Jake, followed by second half scores from Charlie, Stair and Sam ensured that G’s came home with a vital try scoring bonus point which keeps us in the hunt for a top half finish. The game finished 65 - 26 to our hosts, who must be congratulated on a well played game! Also, huge congratulations and thanks to the boys who stepped up from the 2’s to make the game possible.

To see pics of the game, please follow this link: Match pics

Meanwhile, our unbeaten 2’s travelled to Littlehampton in a bid to keep their unblemished record intact. With league success now in the bag, could the boys win on the road again? Read here to find out: Match report

Our Ladies are in a real dogfight, scrapping for every point they can grab at the end of the season, with some rotten luck and unfortunate decisions behind them, they bravely fight on, knowing they can beat any team in the league. Could they do it at Beccehamian on Sunday? Read here for all the action: Match report

Thanks again to Ben for these pics: Match pics

This weekend again sees an action packed schedule once more, as our 1’s host Sussex rivals Hove in their last league home game of this season. It is also Ladies Day at the club to mark the beginning of the Women’s Six Nations. With over 100 guests booked for lunch we are completely sold out for the pre-match meal, but please come and join us to cheer the boys on in this hugely important match. Kick off is at 3pm.

Our 2’s have a well earned rest before their last two games, both against Midhust. The first the last league game, the second their Sussex Cup Final. What a finish to a stellar season!!

On Sunday, our Ladies go again as they host Sutton & Epsom - Lets hope Ladies day is only gently celebrated!!!! Kick off is at 2pm and I know they appreciate all the support they get at HQ to lift them to victory. See you there!

JUNIOR RUGBY
It was a busy weekend of Rugby across the nation with the conclusion of the 6 Nations on ‘Super Saturday’. And it was the same for the EG Junior section.

It all kicked off on Friday with the U9’s and the U10’s travelling down to Brighton for a mini festival 'under the lights'. It was a first for quite a few of the players who thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Being a Friday evening, it was nice for the parents to enjoy a well deserved beer on the touchline whilst cheering their children on and the atmosphere all around the ground was superb. The games were organised into short matches with a quick turnaround and was very well organised. Both EG teams acquitted themselves really well in some close fought games. A big thanks to Brighton RFC for hosting a great event.

Back at the club on Sunday, our St Patrick's Day celebrations saw us hosting teams from U8 through to U11 from Cobham RFC on the home leg of their tour. Once again the heavens opened and we welcomed 100+ players and their parents to a very soggy Saint Hill. Despite the conditions all the sections played out a series of matches between ourselves and the visitors. Again there were some very close games. We witnessed some wonderful play with some fabulous offloading from the visiting teams despite the balls (and players) being like bars of soap! A superb reflection of coaching work that must have gone in. The EG teams did not disappoint either, showing some of the skills they have been learning over the season. All the players were an absolute credit to their clubs and coaches alike.

After the matches, the showers were a merry-go-round of mini Fran Cotton lookalikes trying to look human again but the players were grateful for the chance to warm up and get clean. There would have been some hard working washing machines on Sunday afternoon in the respective enclaves of Surrey and Sussex! I imagine some hard working cleaners at the club too! Nikki Ward and her team once again did us proud laying on hot food for both kids and parents which was very well received after some very cold wet matches. Thanks to the parents who volunteered to help out too.

The clubhouse was buzzing and despite a few parents nursing post Super Saturday fragility, the bar was busy with a few hair of the dogs being poured. It was wonderful to have so many of our visitors staying to enjoy the club despite facing a journey home with a closed M25! Cobham RFC, the coaches and parents were an absolute pleasure to host and we had lots of lovely compliments and feedback. We would love to have a repeat but preferably in a little drier conditions.

Our visitors comments:
"Thank you EGRFC. U8 tour rounded off nicely. Lovely to meet you all. Many thanks - Louise CRFC."

"Massive thanks to EG for hosting us this morning. from Cobham U10’s."

"We had an amazing time despite the conditions! Well done East Grinstead!!! - Cobham U9’s."

Tour lead from Cobham, Alex, on his last minis tour was a true gent and presented us with a lovely shield to mark the occasion which will take pride of place in our Junior Clubhouse. Our thanks to Alex and Tom McCallum for organising everything from the Cobham side.

On behalf of all at EGRFC, our thanks to all at Cobham RFC for making it a very special St Patrick’s day at Saint Hill. You are always welcome here anytime. Slainte!

In addition to the busy home schedule we also had some away fixtures. Our U9’s had one away team at the Hove festival. As it was at home, the Recreation Ground on the South Coast was also very wet, very muddy and very windy too! Once again the G's did well against their opposition. It is becoming a theme for the U9’s that their defence is a huge strong suit with a number of the opposition coaches commenting on the strength of our tackling. Coach Georgie Knight also commented, " They were tackle machines. Amazing defence. Accurate passing in very challenging conditions. The teamwork and support for each other was exemplary"

Festival awards went to the following:
Coaches’ pick - Erikas Jonusas
Parents’ pick - Jude Pullen

As always, a big thanks to the parents who come to support their children in the most hideous conditions. You are always helpful to the coaches and make a big difference to us. We know you thank us for coaching but we would like to reciprocate as we couldn't do it without you.
Our thanks to Hove RFC too for organising a great tournament in very challenging circumstances.

Our U7’s were away at Pulborough. Like Hove (and the rest of the country) it was also wet and muddy. The U7's again played some great rugby in only their 2nd competitive outing. The mud and the wet made everything more difficult and the players did exceptionally well to hold on to both the ball and their opponents tags! For the second time running there were more Ws than Ls for this group of players who are shaping up well.

Next week, the club has the honour of hosting the U9’s on behalf of Sussex Rugby for the annual minis festival. All our other sections are on the road around the county to represent the G’s elsewhere. Good luck to all the players wherever you are. Go well and do us proud.

INTERMEDIATE RUGBY
U12’s RED TEAM
This weekend saw another great performance from our developing EG Reds.

The pitch conditions were appalling and, having won the toss, we opted to kick-off and play uphill for the first half. We started strongly as the first kick landed, stopped dead in the mud, was won back by Reds and carried over the line to score by Cameron Wayt. The remainder of the half, however, didn’t go as smoothly after Edenbridge adjusted to the conditions and we struggled throughout the remainder of the first half,
going into the break 1-5 (5-25) behind.

Following our halftime team talk, the boys went into the second half reinvigorated and really turned the game around in style, finishing 5-7 (25-35) at full time even though, at times, it became difficult to work out which team had the ball (or where the ball was) due to the mud!

This was another great Red team effort against a strong Edenbridge side which arrived with only 11 players on the day due to illness and, having combined age groups at the start of the season, fielded 5 players who would otherwise have been playing at U13! The team were ably captained by Thomas Floodgate who worked hard to keep the team motivated in difficult conditions and we saw stunning performances from pretty much everyone who turned out for Reds.

We had two new players, MJ Turner and Sidney Shaw, who put in their first appearances for the club this week and welcomed back Haydn Harding and Tommy Peaty who were both available for their first games in the second half of this season.

Thanks again to all the parents and players for turning out on what started out as a horribly wet day.

U12’s BLUE TEAM
The U12 Blue team played, what felt like, a rare home match against Hove, a side they drew with 15-15, earlier in the season. On an absolute ‘bog fest’ of a pitch it was the G’s who scored first before Hove replied. Despite little separating the teams, Hove scored two more tries to lead at the break.

When play restarted, Hove initially extended their lead before East Grinstead started their magnificent comeback, bringing the game back to five tries each. Alas, this was not to last as a slippery ball got stuck in the mud & Hove capitalised with a quick break shortly before the end. Final score 25-30.

Try scorers were George, Jack, William & Kylan (although it was really getting too muddy to identify anyone by the end! This was a magnificent team effort on the back of a chastening defeat the previous week. Brilliant tries, incredible tackling & real team unity. They should all be very proud, although their parents are probably still washing the mud from their kits.

U13’s
What a cracking game to end the season! 45-0 to the Geeees against Burgess Hill.
3 trys from Sid harris, 2 for Leighton Langridge, 2 for Tommy Webster, and 2 for Ashton Gwynn. Once again, our defence against Burgess Hill was amazing, which is highlighted by the score! The whole team worked hard, and our support play was on form. Some great charge downs by Leighton and Oliver. Ashton Gwynn’s interception was amazing and led to one of his trys. The ball was well passed along the backs, to my surprise given the awful condition. This gave Tommy Webster the opportunity for his amazing runs down the wing!

Sid Harris was giving players player by Burgess Hill. All players put in some amazing work and should be proud. We are becoming an amazing team! Coaches player today is Tommy Webster. Well done team!!!!

Our U14’s match against Haywards Heath was postponed due to the weather, and our Colts played a thriller against Hove, but eventually ran out of steam, losing 26 - 40.

FELIX BATEMAN-CHAMPAIN
We are delighted to update you on Felix’s news, having posted a couple of weeks ago about his amazing call up to the England U17 training camp.

After attending the England U17 training camp in early March, he was invited to the England U18 training camp over the weekend 15-17 March. After a successful weekend he has been included in the 26 man England squad for the U18 6 Nations Festival. The 6 Nations Festival is being held in Parma, Italy, from 30 March to 7 April. Felix travels on 26 March to join the England U18 squad at Bisham Abbey, before heading out to Italy.

The games will be streamed live. You can find them here: https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/en/u6n/u18-mens/matches/2024

To view the whole squad, follow this link: https://www.englandrugby.com/news/article/england-u18-men-squad-announced-for-six-nations-festival

You have the whole of EGRFC behind you Felix!!

COACH TO DOVER
Don’t miss out! Click here for all the info and to book your seat: Coach seats

OTHER NEWS
If you have any news about any aspect of our rugby family here at East Grinstead, get involved and email m.marriott@btconnect.com. See you next week!!