A fantastic day was had by all who made the long and foggy trip into the sun at Hastings last Sunday.
Hove U10's won all their group games, thus topping their pool. This set them up for a final with Heathfield, which Hove went on to win 2-1 thus winning the tournament and picking up their first Silverware of the season!
The team spirit and discipline was at a level that has not been seen before - everone looking out for each other, and at times stringing several passes together to craft some fantastic tries. The forwards were immense, winning around 80% of all scrums, and beasting all the rucks and mauls. Two of the opposition teams hardly got out of their halves for the entire games.
The team worked harder than ever to earn their victory, with every one of them putting in their best performances so far. With this spirit, discipline and support for each other they will be a very hard team to beat.
The final table looked as follows;
Hove were the only team to win 100% of their games.Hove scored more tries than anyone else, and had a vastly superior try difference.
Hove scored more tries in their Pool, than the other 3 teams combined.
Hove vs Sevenoaks - final score 20-5
Sevenoaks won the toss, and advanced just 5 metres into Hove's half before a crunching tackle spilled the ball forward. The first scrum of the day and the Hove pack drove Sevenoaks back with ease, and soon the ball was back into the Sevenoaks half, where it stayed for the entire first half.
A long pass from the base of the next scrum - which was won against the head - was followed by 3 swift passes out to the wing and a an effortless try in the corner. Hove then scored two more to no reply in the first half following total dominance of the play. 3-0 up at half time.The second half saw more of the same, but the eagerness for all to be involved at the breakdown saw a gap left open, and a break through for a score from Sevenoaks against the run of play. Hove then scored a fantastic try following a long maul to seal the victory. Fantastic teamwork from all!
Tries: Sam 2, James H 2.
Crunching Tackles: George K, Sam, James H and Freddie P
Scrums 7, won 5, 3 against head
Hove vs Thurrock - final score 15-5
Fresh players were put on from the start against a totally unknown Thurrock. Hove were quick to dominate, keeping them penned in their own half for much of the first 6 mins, and not allowing any offensive play from Thurrock. A quick try from Hove following a fantastic string of drives opened the account. Following the restart, a massive tackle from Mikey saw the possession return to Hove, with Sam stealing the ball. A long run was tracked all the way by George K, who took the pass from Sam at great pace to find the corner with ease. This was for sure the best try of the day.
The second half saw more impressive play from the forwards, and intelligent play from Scrum and Fly Half combinations. The ball was well distributed, and possession was again mainly Hove's. A trademark Tiger baffled Thurrock, creating a gap leading to Hove's third try.
Thurrock replied following an unusual lapse in the defence, but this was to little too late, and the result was never in doubt.
Everyone played the ball in this match, and the support play for every team member was the best we have ever seen.
Tries: George K, Sam, Luke
Crunching Tackles: Freddie P
Try Saving Tackle: Mikey
Scrums 4, won 4, 3 against head
Hove vs Uckfiled - final score 15-5
This was the final game of the group, and the previous results had all gone our way, so the pressure was off. The first try came from a huge drive after a line out, and the second from a audaciously stolen ball from the back of their scrum.Once again great support in both attacking play and defence, saw Hove strolling this game. The score could easily have been more, but energy was being conserved for the final.
Tries: George K, James H, Davis
Great Tackles: Mikey, Freddie G, George O
Scrums 6, won 4, 2 against head
FINAL - Hove vs Heathfiled - final score 10-5
Hove took an early lead after penetrating deep into Heathfield territory. Then came under great pressure. Everyone defended superbly, with huge tackles coming from everyone. Eventually, the brave defence was broken, and Heathfield leveled the score just before half time.Coming out for the second half, it looked as if Heathfield had changed their entire team for their U12's - some big lads had been brought on, and their tactics were clearly to try and batter their way to out try line. Cue the Hove defensive machine - with some of the smallest lads putting in Huge tackles against the Heathfield giants. Fearless defending kept Heathfield at bay for 4 minutes until George O latched onto a ball at pace, perfectly spun out by Luke. George focused on the corner, and the try was his. He then hobbled off having been splatted in the process!
Hove then locked the doors, and when the Ref called last play, Sam cheekily plucked the ball from the back of the scrum and ran straight into touch - Heathfield looked on bemused as the Ref blew his whistle for full time!
Hove were the deserved Winners!!
Well Done to all!
Lewes Triangular...
The Hurricanes travelled to Lewes to play full strength teams from both Lewes and Burgess Hill. This was our first outing of the season as a team, and we found ourselves playing against tough opposition in two matches.
The first match was against Lewes - their best team. We struggled to cope with the pace in the first half, missing a number of tackles, and conceding 3 tries in quick succession. But as the half progressed we began to play a little harder, and started to win some ball. The second half was far better as we fought hard in the forwards and made some telling tackles in the backs. the final score was 5-0 to Lewes.
In the second match against Burgess Hill, we again started slowly, conceding a try quickly after losing possession following missing a couple of tackles. this seemed to be the wake up call the team needed as slowly but surely we began our fight back. After a few minutes of sustained pressure and excellent forward work we scored our first try. Working together in an excellent example of mauling our 3 forwards drove about 6 Burgess hill players back over their line for a try. Driving in low and flat gave the power that was needed. that try boosted confidence and the forwards began to dominate.
In the second half, another excellent forward drive gave us the ball which was quickly passed along the line for an almost unopposed try in the corner. A few minutes later and we were in again when a loose ball was swooped upon by our winger who side-stepped a couple of defenders for our third try. Final score 3-1 to Hove.
Well played to everyone. This was the first time we had played together, and some players were experimenting with positions that were new to them. We showed real potential.
