A season finale in the sun!

Vectis Festival 2016 was a highlight for me when 2 mixed teams got through to the Plate Final to face each other. Could the players possibly improve on a great effort after an even more tiring season.......?

Again, the Celts were split into two mixed teams based on Bournemouth and Poole squad selection and barring a few absences had a good turn out. The weather was sunny and dry and we had some great touring sides from across the country to play along with soome of the usuals.

First up were the Rhinos to play Trojans RFC who raced into a 3-0 lead at half time after tries from Oliver Smith (2) and Hugh Campbell-Baldwin. The sign of things to come...? No. Trojans flew out of the blocks at the restart and their tails were up! A very close game ended with Trojans winning with the final play of the game. A hard pill to swallow after such a strong start and the coaches tried to keep the boys chins up ready for the next game.

No such dramas for the Bears in their first game against hosts Vectis RFC as they ran out 5-0 winners with tries from Harrison Bennett (3), William May and William Breeze. Great stuff and the perfect start! Next up for the Bears was Romsey RFC who we narrowly lost to earlier in the season. A try apiece (William Breeze) ended a very close game 1-1. Unbeaten after two...

The Rhinos faced H&W Spitfires from Sussex next determined not to fall fowl of the comeback team again. Lessons learned maybe as Rhinos won 4-0 with no real troubles, Tries coming in from both Cromie brothers Harry Cromie and Michael Cromie, Charlie Fisher and Oliver Smith. Peter Headley turned in a man-of-the-match performance with some excellent rucking and countless turnovers won. A quick turnaround to face Reigate RFC who had some big players who played aggressively. The Rhinos were having none of it and ground out a 3-2 victory with tries from Charlie Fisher, Jake Hoare and Oliver Smith. A great team performance yet again!

The Bears faced the other Trojans team with a commanding 5-0 victory with tries from Harrison Bennett (3), Joshua Fernandes and William Breeze. Tackler of the match was Henry Shaw although they were coming in all over the park...Jayden Ryan finishing up with a super tackle to turnover the ball for the final try - well done! Great Defence!

Next up for the Rhinos was a strong, unbeaten side from Henley RFC who, despite having a small squad were very well drilled. The boys played amazingly well with Oliver Smith capping a fine day with our try but unfortunately the team lost 2-1 and finished joint second in the group. A very positive outcome after such a difficult start.

Unbeaten going into the final game v Alton RFC, it was set up to be a cracker for the Bears! Their super defence got even better and with Alton struggling to execute their usually so lethal attack, a fine day was crowned with a magnificent 2-1 victory to finish unbeaten and top of the group. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-! Our tries were scored by William Breeze and Henry Shaw. Well done Bears!!

I'm sorry I can't mention everyones performance as it was a very busy day and there was so much to mention: Sam Beeching showed great Sportsmanship by playing a full game for Henley when they needed an extra man. Aidan Bones took three men out of the game v H&W with a great "Show and Go" before passing out wide for Oliver Smith to pass the ball wide for Harry Cromie to finish the move - perfection! Sam Last used the space well and made great metres down the line. Henry Moran used the space well and presented many opportunities to spread the ball wide. Thomas Hutchinson was excellent at the breakdown (obviously following in his fathers footsteps!). Unsung heros Kai Williams and Jamie Arnold made many assists by driving upfield and making numerous turnovers - what. a. team.

A bonus game was available for players on the later ferries as Vectis wanted an opportunity to put things right. With spirits running high a hybrid team of Bears and Rhinos ran out 3-1 winners with Morgan Clayton having his performance of the day scoring twice.

A great effort from our mixed ability teams against some excellent teams from across the country. You all made the coaches very proud and certainly topped last years performance despite the change in format. The best thing to take from today for me was our resilience even when the chips were down. Our strength in depth is really showing at this stage of the season. The key to this is G&FRFC's approach to playing Inclusive Rugby and providing equal opportunities for players of all abilities and experience. This will pay dividends in years to come for the Celts if the wonderful parents keep the players coming back.

Thanks to all the coaches and manager for contributing to a wonderful day and a perfect finale to another cracking season.

Thanks to our sponsors Solent Fire Protection Services - the boys looked amazing as usual.

Next week we will be training at home and taking a sneaky peak at the rules for U11s....

Well done everyone!