Another day, another venue, and this time, a tournament!
The micros appeared to have great fun and produced some good running rugby towards the end of their day.
P4/5 A Team played three sides from; Huntly ‘B’, Ellon and the homeside, Banff, and again proved to be unbeatable in the group stages. This was despite players experiencing different problems, e.g. illness and sleep deprivation, and injury, and their coach becoming seconded to refereeing duties on another pitch!
They progressed through to a semi final against Huntly ‘A’. During this game they tested, their coaches’ patience to the limit, at one stage, being three nil down, aswell as the match coach/referee, with some ‘very dodgy tackles’ and allegedly infringing on the defensive line!!! But, finally the A team returned to their true form, completing a nail biting win 5-4, which Huntly graciously accepted. Daniel Cotton again led the line with Ewan Allan making his A team debut with several strong tackles.
The triumphant semi finalist marched onto a final, repeating the achievement of their predecessors from last year. But, on this occasion, this was a step to far. Ellon proved to have too much guile, despite a spirited fight back by the A team, losing 3-5.
P4/5 B Team, played the teams; Huntly, Wanderers & Kinloss.
Again, they had mixed fortunes, but this time achieved a win over Kinloss. The team continued to show commitment and an improving attacking force. Jake Devlin took over the captain’s responsibility, which gave him confidence to lead from the front. Cara Robinson showed speed in possession, and Andrew Grant continued to be a strong influence on the B team.
A weakened P6/7 team turned out, to take on the opposition and, “produced some excellent rugby, with good support and straight running, to get to the semi finals of their group. Unfortunately, Kinloss were too strong on the day and their excellent rucking produced plenty of opportunities for them score; and they moved on, to lose to Huntly in the final”. Improving the rucking was “something we can work on for next time!”
The obvious disappointment of losing can only enhance our players resolve for the future, and build character for future performances. Despite the defeats our players played well, and semi final and final appearances can not be ignored as ‘good outcomes’ from the day.
So, “well done to all those who took part in the tournament at Banff. There was some excellent rugby and hard fought games and we were lucky to have good weather to play in!”
“Many thanks to all the supporters who added to a great atmosphere and were extremely well behaved!!”
Phil Kelly & Nigel Tiddy
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