U14s unbeaten for a year

The sun was out and there was very little wind which meant it would be perfect conditions for flowing rugby and we set out to play with width and pace.

East Grinstead kicked off and set about regaining possession. A couple of strong tackles by Jon Jon Smith and aggressive counter-rucking from Elliott Vincent turned the ball over. A sequence of powerful phases gained territory and quick passing through the backs put Colm Geraghty into space for the opening score.

We asked Harry Walden to drift into midfield whenever we had good numbers at the breakdown and his quick pace put Eastbourne under pressure. Great hands from Harry put Colm away for a second try which he duly converted for 12-0

The East Grinstead forwards were controlling the game and possession was truly in our favour. A sequence of direct runs and offloads took us close to the Eastbourne try line and Cameron MacInnes dived over from scrum half to put us 17-0 ahead.

This was quickly followed by a tap and go penalty by Jon Jon which caught Eastbourne napping for 24-0.

Eoin O’Donoghue wrapped up the 1st half with the fifth try and East Grinstead had put the result beyond doubt at 31-0.

At Half Time the coaches asked the team what they wanted to achieve during the second half and some good responses were put forward: Better teamwork, flowing rugby, no tries conceded.

So, with the subs brought on for the second half, we set out to play with good continuity however, some inexperienced refereeing made this task difficult. It felt as though every breakdown resulted in a penalty being conceded and we had to keep the ball moving to gain any momentum.

However, a strong East Grinstead defence prevented Eastbourne from getting back into the game and further tries from Colm, Cameron Beeney, Kris Milder and Eoin took our tally to 55-0.

The biggest cheer of the day from the parents erupted for Toby Hawes who chased down a breakaway from one of the Eastbourne backs and Toby made a great textbook tackle thus preserving the nil score-line.

Man of the Match was Vincent Turner, a new joiner this season from Sackville, who made numerous tackles and was strong in the ruck.

The coaches and parents are extremely proud of the achievements of this group of players over this 12 month period.

The reward will be some tougher games over the next couple of months as we move towards playing the very top sides in the county.

Well done lads.