Saturated Saxons in Sunday Showdown!

Hi Saxons,

Wow, What an interesting day! I would just like to say how proud of you the coaches and manager were yesterday. To arrive, prepare and warm up and then play in those conditions was amazing enough. We had a full turnout of fit Saxons and it was brilliant to see you all.

That is as bad as it gets! To put your minds at ease, that was the worst conditions the Saxons have seen in three seasons. We always encounter bad weather Jan-Feb, before it suddenly eases and we have some glorious tournaments. Last year the ground was frozen solid at this time.

Before I go into the detail of the day, I think it is important to let you know our thought processes when we find our selves playing in bad conditions. If a tournament organiser decides to go ahead, we will attempt to support as forecasts can be fallible and we have players who want to play or at least give it a go. We will provide shelter with our event shelter to try and mitigate the weather in between matches. Player enjoyment and safety is paramount, and we would not want players to be discouraged from playing because of consistently poor weather or the belief that they have to play. Parents should assess their players and decide whether they should play. We fully support that decision, we make it for our own player. There then comes a point when the Coaches and Manager decide that the whole team is being affected, there is no chance of improvement and we withdraw.

This is what happened on Sunday, some players retired after the warm-up, some after one half and others after a match. There remained a hardcore of (mental!) players who wanted to carry on for a third match, but with conditions worsening we decided to call it a day. At that point, other teams did the same and the tournament was abandoned. As I said in the tent, we are proud of all the Saxons and want to see you at the next session.

Turning to the matches, across both teams your commitment was outstanding and you have started playing with structure. The Kings completely rocked Alton in the first match, dominating the first half. Your handling was excellent (better than Englands in the same conditions) and your determination to score was incredible. We were unlucky not to win that game and it finished 2-3, with tries from Will R and Matthew T. Similarly, the Warriors showed similar determination against Alton in their match and were only narrowly beaten. Matthew C scoring the only Saxon try.

The match against Pulborough A was a bit one-sided as we began to succumb to the elements, whereas it was their first match. That said, they had to use the touchline on three occasions to break our attack and we were unlucky not to score.

The final match against Pulborough B was a fantastic game, with some real attacking flair being shown, great supporting play and real teamwork in evidence. Everyone was involved and you deserved the win. Will R scored 2 strong breakaway tries, Liam was untouchable as he darted his way through Pulborough to score, and Matthew C completed his outstanding day with a well deserved try.

Will R received Try of the week for his scintillating hat-trick of tries and Matthew Cwas rewarded for his overall contribution, strong committed tackling and try scoring, with man of the match. Well done to Molly for Pass of the week, showing some real skill and great handling.

Very proud of you Saxons.