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U11 Rugby Tournament @ QUEGS

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U11 Rugby- tough day in frozen Yorkshire
Saturday 14 January

13 of Merchants' finest trekked over the Pennines to Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Wakefield for the Harrison Cup- a ten a side competition involving some of the top teams in the north. When we arrived, however, the pitches were as solid as Yorkshire grit and after some consideration the tournament was put back one hour. Some teams thought that the ground was still unsafe but following brief discussions the remaining nine were happy to go ahead and two groups were drawn.

In our first match with St Olave's from York we dominated possession but tended to get too bunched up in midfield or drift across allowing the defence to keep us out A try at the end of the first half and an interception try at the start of the second gave Olave's a win 14-0, which was disappointing given all the possession we enjoyed.
We regrouped, had a think and came out strongly against next opponents: Ashville College, Tries from Inspirational stand off Poli and the electric Dundar- the second one really slickly worked by the backs- gave us a pleasing win.

There followed a very long wait for our next match, during which time we forgot our defensive organisation and tackling so that next opponents, a very strong home side, punished us with three tries in the first half, a position from which we were not able to recover, although Ben Coulthurst scored a great opportunist try after a strong break by Vernon.

Finally, nearly six hours after our arrival, we met Manchester Grammar who had beaten us narrowly in a match before Christmas. In a tired affair, revenge was indeed sweet with Morris surging over from a tap penalty in the last minute to win the game.
The lads deserve praise for sticking at it and playing some courageous rugby against tough opponents. Special mention goes to Paddy Halpin who played every minute of all four games and never stopped working, tackling , covering, stealing and recycling ball. Dan Couton- Christie was superb in the scrum while Ben Coulthurst got better with every game and made vital cover tackles. Massimo Poli was worth three players and Eren Dundar was 'Mr all-action', popping up all over the place. All the others did their bit and gained in confidence- so well done also to Max Vernon- a great organiser, Harri Morris- never say die, and Michael Booth and Alex Thorpe who had few opportunities on the wing, as well as Dan 'Dynamo' Dunne and Harry Scott who were tireless in the pack. Two year 5 boys also played with distinction and learned a lot:- Alex Powell and Fraser 'where's my shorts' Jones.

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