Year 7 Rugby Tournament @ Hereford Rugby Club

The following tournament report was kindly written by Max Gunther from Year 7:-

On 29^th November 2013, the year 7 rugby team entered a tournament in Hereford. The first match of the day was against Bromyard. Theo Houchin (scrum-half) tapped the ball to begin the game, which was 10 minutes long. He passed it into the path of Toby Whitney (No. 8), who continued at full speed. However, Tenbury only gained a few metres, until the frenzied rucking of Bromyard overcame the forwards. Having tackled Luke Robson (prop), the Bromyard backs broke through Tenbury’s defence with their sheer pace to score the first try of the match. From the restart, the ball come to Matty O’hagan (outside centre), after a brilliant pass from Luke Bufton (left wing). After the Bromyard tackle, the backs were in disarray and Bromyard charged through the middle to score their second try. During Bromyard’s next two tries, poor rucking after Dylan Turrell’s (prop), and Ben Hackney’s (second row) rackles, made sure that Tenbury were completely outclassed. With one more minute remaining, Tenbury’s best combination so far,Zac Francis (right wing) scrambled the ball across the line. Final score was 4 tries to 1.

The second match of the tournament was against Bishops D. The strong forwards repeatedly gained ground, forcing Tenbury deep. Even the substitutes, among them William Slater (left wing), could not prevent Bishops’ first two tries. After the restart, Tenbury gained some ground, but a forward pass and their tough forwards ended the attack. Slightly unfocussed, the backs allowed Bishops to score their third try. Again at the restart, Toby Whitney charged forward, leading Tenbury. A series of excellent phases allowed the team to progress. The final blow came from the captain: Toby Whitney, who smashed through their defence. The final score was 3 tries to 1.

After these two defeats, Tenbury pulled themselves together for the final group game. St Marys had a lot of powerful players, but they weren’t too fast. At the beginning they simply had a greater desire to win. They kept on harrying the defence, until they finally managed to score a try. However, Tenbury were now really pushing. Some brilliant hooking from Dylan Turrell and great support from Callum Collins fired the team on. After a superb run and offload from Harry Morgan, Toby Whitney got the ball and scored his second try, to level the scores. Playing mainly through the centre, Tenbury was often repelled by the beefy forwards. After Daniel Coupland’s pass into space which Matty O’hagan ran onto, the team finally marshalled itself into something that resembled a straight line and scored again. This time Ben Hackney! The final score was 2 tries to 1.

Having come third in the group of four, Tenbury continued on to the plate, not the cup. The next game was against Whitecross, in the semi-final of the plate. The match started quickly, with many rucks and counter attacks. Tenbury played some great rugby with quick offloads from the rucks. Then there was a blow against the hard work because Whitecross scored against the tide of the game. Tenbury hadn’t tackled hard enough. Now Whitecross were missing more tackles and Tenbury equalised with a clear, undisputed try by Ben Hackney. Whitecross came extremely close to scoring, but a tackle just before the try line and a double manoeuvre saved Tenbury. It was a Whitecross scrum. Immediately, it seemed as if Whitecross would keep possession but Dylan Turell managed to hook the ball back towards Theo Houchin. He played the ball to Finley Houchin, who strated to run, with Max Gunther at his side. He got past three players, but the fourth stopped his progress, so he passed to Max Gunther, centimetres from the try-line, he scored. Final score 2 tries to 1.

Tenbury were in the plate final. After waiting for the other semi-final to finish, the game finally began. It was very even. Both sides tackled well and kept the ball for long times. Matty O’hagan and Zac Francis had some great runs, although they led to nothing because of the lack of support. Both teams were steady and let no-one through. At last, the breakthrough came. Max Gunther was close to the try line when a massive maul ensued. He fell to the floor and rolled the ball back to Theo Houchin. The ball went to Daniel Coupland, who did a full turn and then passed to Matty O’hagan, who also did a full turn. The ball went on to Luke Bufton. The ball was touched down behind the try-line. The time on the stopwatch said 9:50. Tenbury had won the plate with ten seconds to spare.