Thurrock Festival
28th October 2012

Squad:
Toby Baker, Adam Barham, Joseph Cooper, Harry Hayes, Jack Hussey, Harry Price, Oliver Price, Oliver Taylor, Ruairi Treacy.

We were a little short on players, with only 9 available for the day and with it being only their second game of the season, no-one really knew what to expect. Rochford were placed into group A, alongside South Woodham, Upminster, Eton Manor and Stanford.

The day got off to a very slow start, with the first games starting some 45 minutes late, and Rochford weren’t playing until game 3! It was also revealed that Stanford Under 8s were not in attendance, so Rochford had only 3 group games to play.

Match 1 – Rochford Vs South Woodham.
Rochford got off to a great start. South Woodham were immediately penalised for their player only having one hand on the ball, which allowed Toby to score Rochford’s first try of the day. The first half saw 3 tries for Rochford and one for South Woodham. The Rochford defence was excellent, with tags from Jack, Toby, Oliver.P and Oliver.T. The passing was superb, with the boys showing all the skills they have been learning at training. Gone was the stop/start of the under 7s, the players passed on the move, often before being tagged. Jack, Harry.P, Oliver.T, Joseph, Toby and Oliver.P all had great runs, with the tries in the first half being scored by Toby, Oliver.P and Jack.
The second half didn’t disappoint, seeing 4 more tries from Rochford and 2 from South Woodham. Rochford’s tight defence forced players into touch, and mistakes by South Woodham were immediately seized on, with the Rochford boys picking up the ball quickly and taking the advantage. Joseph, Harry.H, Oliver.T, Ruairi and Toby all showed off their excellent passing skills, with the tries in this half coming from Joseph (2), Oliver.T and Toby.
Rochford – 7
South Woodham – 3

Match 2 – Rochford Vs Eton Manor
The Eton Manor team seemed a little less experienced and not as willing to run at a defensive line as Rochford. This led to them making a few mistakes, which were seized on by Rochford, with the ball being dropped and players being forced into touch with the relentless defence. In the first half there was great tagging from Jack, Oliver.P and Harry.P, which contributed to Eton Manor being only able to score one try. Tries from Rochford came from Harry.P, Jack and Ruairi, with another try from Jack being disallowed. Once again, the passing was faultless, leading to a swift moving game, with Adam, Jack, Oliver.P, Harry.P, Harry.H and Ruairi all getting a run and contributing to the tries scored – that is the whole side, showing just how well these boys play as a team.
In the second half, Rochford didn’t let up with their great defence. In the first play Harry.P and Jack defended brilliantly, with Jack then picking up a dropped ball and taking it all the way to the try line. Eton Manor again dropped the ball, which was immediately picked up by Toby. This time, Eton Manor’s tagging was more consistent and this is where the passing skills came into play. Oliver.P, Harry.P, Joseph, Toby and Oliver.T all had a run before Joseph scored Rochford’s 5th. The whole team tagged excellently, allowing only one try for Eton Manor in the second half, and with two more tries from Joseph, it was a convincing win for Rochford.
Rochford – 7
Eton Manor -2

Match 3 – Upminster Vs Rochford
This was the last match to be played in the group. Upminster looked like a well drilled side so it looked to be a good game. The first try came from Upminster, who made it through despite tags from Oliver.T, Harry.H, Adam and Ruairi. The Upminster defence was very good, with the ball being passed between Adam, Oliver.P, Harry.P, Oliver.T and Harry.H, before Harry.H made it through for Rochford. There were an impressive 7 passes in this play! The rest of the half saw great play from both sides, with Harry.P and Ruairi scoring for Rochford and two more making the try line for Upminster. The teams went into half time with the score at 3 -3

The game didn’t slow down after half time. Despite determined tagging from Toby and Jack, Upminster went ahead, and then Jack immediately replied for Rochford, after a great pass from Joseph. There was an element of scrappy play from both sides, but then Upminster were penalised for fending off, allowing Rochford to attack. Toby Joseph and Jack all made great runs before Ruairi broke free for another try. Upminster didn’t let up and made it through to score again, despite tags from Toby, Jack, Adam and Joseph. Straight away Jack made a brilliant run from the halfway line, all the way to score again for Rochford. Two more tries came from Adam and Toby and there was one more for Upminster.

After a closely fought game, with great skills shown by both sides, Rochford came away the winners of not only the game but also of the group.

Upminster – 7
Rochford – 8

Cup Final
Rochford Vs Braintree
Both teams were unbeaten in their group so everyone knew this was going to be a tough game.
In the first half both teams showed just how determined they were. After a day in the freezing cold and rain, the sun decided to start shining and neither team wanted to go home empty handed. Both teams scored 3 tries in this half. Toby, Joseph and Jack all made determined efforts with their tagging, with Toby making an amazing 6 consecutive tags! Joseph, Ruairi, Adam, Toby, Jack and Harry.H (once again, the whole team) all made impressive runs and faultless passes. Tries came from Ruairi, Joseph and Adam, with Jack having a fourth disallowed.
Going into the second half with the score equal, both teams had everything to play for, and this showed in their true determination. Braintree scored the first try of the half, with Jack and Oliver.T both being tagged on the try line. Joseph and Oliver.T both forced a turnover, which led to great runs for Harry.P and Toby before Joseph brought the score level for Rochford. Braintree went ahead again, with Toby then being tagged on the try line. Oliver.T and Harry.P tagged brilliantly and a mistake from Upminster gave the ball back to Rochford, in what the referee announced was to be the last play. With Braintree one try in front, it was a tense moment as Joseph made the pass to Toby. Toby was tagged and passed on to Oliver.T who couldn’t make it through the determined Braintree defence. He made an excellent pass to Oliver.P, who saw his gap and went for it, scoring Rochford’s 5th.
Rochford – 5
Braintree – 5

After a draw in the final, countback of tries scored was not possible, as Rochford had played one less game than Braintree, due to Stanford’s no show. Extra time was also not possible as the Braintree players had played the maximum of match time allowed. Under these circumstances, the decision was made for Rochford and Braintree to be declared joint winners of the Thurrock Festival.
What an amazing show from Rochford, having only played their first game of the season one week prior. They played brilliantly as a team, with amazing passing, determined defence, and above all, great attitude and behaviour. They have really come on since last season, and it is great to see how much they value playing as a team. They are no longer worried about who put the ball over the try line or who scored the most tries. They organise themselves effectively on the pitch and listen to eachother, each taking their turn – they certainly don’t seem bothered by the coaches not being on the pitch anymore. It was also lovely to hear coaches from other teams complimenting their passing skills.
Well done Rochford Under 8s!

Rochford Hundred Rugby Club

Thurrock Rugby Club

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