Due to new RFU regulations a new festival format meant Celts were seeded in the top tier group of teams. Set to play Alton, WInchester, New Milton, Petersfield, Farnborough & Romsey the Celts were able to play against the top sides in the county. First up was Winchester and I think it was the best match of the day in terms of competition. A hard fought match saw Winchester win 2-1 after a breakaway try in the second half. Harrison Bennett scored for the Celts.
The next couple of matches against Alton and Romsey saw the Celts defence put to the sword by some very good attacks. Unfortunately Celts lost those two but put up a great performance against old foes New Milton in a very evenly fought game. Fine Margins again cost the Celts and it was back to basics v Petersfield.
Celts were doing lots of things well; great rucking, good passing, nice set plays. However our flat line defence let us down and oppositions found the way through.
The last two games of the day were against Petersfield and Farnborough and Celts ended the day on a high undefeated in those two. Much better all round and I'm sure all the parents are very proud of their performance. Their heads could have gone down at the end but they fought hard to grind out some good results in the toughest group by far.
The fact that the Celts were seeded in that group is testament to how far the team has come on over the last few years and to play against quality opposition will only make us better. We go to Vectis next week where I hope we'll travel in force and build on this week. Please keep an eye on Facebook for travel details before you book ferries.
Thanks again to our sponsors Solent Fire Protection Services - the boys looked great in their kit today. http://www.solentfire.co.uk/index.php
We should be proud of the commitment and effort the boys put in today. They, as well as the parents represented G&FRFC extremely well today - well done all!