Stroud Rugby Club Under 8’s – Cheltenham Tournament 14th October 2007

Stroud U8’s travelled to Cheltenham this week and produced a series of gutsy performances against tough opposition.

The first opponents were Berry Hill, who took the early initiative with a quick try. But Stroud replied with string of good passes and accurate tagging, particularly from Angus McDowell and Harry Adams – followed by a strong run from Harry McNeil to set up Toby Fielder for the team’s first try.

And this committed team-approach paid off soon after, with good passes from Liberty Travis and Sam Hanahoe to put Toby Fielder in for his second try. Half-time 2-1.

The second half again saw good defence from both Stroud and Berry Hill, but an individual run from halfway by Harry Lightfoot secured the win for Stroud. 3-1 at the whistle.

The next game was against Cheltenham, who hit the ground running with an early opener, only for Stroud to reply through Paddy Shipton almost immediately after. However, the hosts came back strongly with two more scores, as well as thwarting good runs from Harry Ireland, William Frusher, Matthew Cullimore, Chris Lusty and Spencer Hill – all close to the opponents’ try line. Straight after the break Paddy Shipton reduced the lead to 3-2, but then the floodgates opened and Cheltenham ran in three more tries despite good tagging from Stroud. Final score 6-2.

Droitwich were next and Stroud started well, with a straight run from Harry McNeil opening the scoring – but the West Midlanders hit back quickly with two scores to put the blue and whites on the back foot. Undeterred, an attack from Angus McDowell and Toby Fielder ended with Harry Lightfoot drawing the scores level in the last quarter, only to see the victory snatched away at the end with a third Droitwich score. Final score 2-3.

In the last pool game, Stroud faced a well-drilled Hucclecote team, who went four tries up in the first half. Stroud rallied with a try from Harry Lightfoot after the break and put some good passing play together – only to be caught with a bunched defensive line that allowed Hucclecote to run in two more tries before the finish. 1-6 Final score.

In the play-off’s Stroud were able to split the squad into two teams to face both Minchinhampton and Berry Hill. In the first game, Stroud came out on top, winning 4-2 in a close contest that saw three tries from Harry Lightfoot and one from Harry McNeil. However, Berry Hill proved a stronger team second time round, winning 3-5, despite well-worked tries from Jared Usher, Spencer Hill and William Frusher.

Overall, the highlights for the Stroud team were its strong tagging game and some good individual skills - with the coach’s award for player of the week going to Toby Fielder for his support play and finishing skills close to the try-line.