Saxons finish season in style!

Well done for a great performance last weekend and for hosting Portsmouth and Cranleigh so well. Both teams were looking for good competition and fun and you delivered that and they both left in good spirits, thank you.

Portsmouth have had a tough season and are still a developing side, but they showed they can play rugby and it was a reminder for us that you have to tackle and compete for the ball or we can be beaten. They rucked better than us, made breaks and stepped through our tackles in the first half and scored twice. Will and Ashley kept us in the game at that point and we were level at half-time. What was good to see was that we learned from the first half, listened to the coaches and stepped up our game, improved our defence and went on the attack. We were then back to being strong Saxons and Portsmouth didn’t get a look in. Jake, Rob, Ben and Ollie all scored and it finished 35-10. Portsmouth were rightly delighted with their two tries against us and the parents celebrated wildly, they were so pleased for their team and I was too. They were a good side and we will see them again.

We then played Cranleigh after they beat Portsmouth in a close game, and we were back to our dynamic selves, playing great rugby and we were just too strong for them. To be fair they had played two hard games the previous day, but you can only play the team in front of you and you did not go easy, you just played the Saxon way. I recorded scores for Jack, Ben and Rob before looking after the injured Cranleigh PLayer. I would like to thank Paul, Jo and Aden Lewis for caring for the player, fetching blankets and meeting ambulances. Our emergency response was swift, smooth and caring and Cranleigh appreciated it. The player got out of the ambulance after being checked and was ok. The game continued and we finished 55-0.

The Saxons now play with commitment and aggression and are competetive because of it. What is so good for me to see is how players new to the sport commit so much, work hard in training and then deliver on the pitch. Andrew Gamble has worked hard all season and is now tearing it up the wing and through midfield. He is making breaks, positioning well as a support player and always takes the ball forwards and is tackling aggressively as well. He played really well on Sunday and was the deserved Player of the Match, well done Andrew!