Casuals U8's @ Ilkeston Festival

Casual Under 8’s attended the Ilkeston Festival on Sunday, and gave a very good account of themselves against four teams that we have not played before. There were some great individual and team performances; we gave player of the week to the whole team, because all ten of our players had a stand out performance or moment across the tournament!

We were in a pool with Ashbourne, Chesterfield (Derby.), Mansfield (Notts.) and Mosborough (S. Yorks), which was a good, varied test for the players. Our first game against a well drilled Ashbourne team resulted in + 1 win, with some great attacking play, including ties from George and Oliver, and a diving try from Rex! Next up was Chesterfield and some really good defence was on display from the whole team, this provided a platform for players like Aggie to run straight and punch a hole through the Chesterfield defence, ultimately allowing for some excellent long run-in tries by the likes of Isaac. This game also included a really brave run to the corner for a score from Bryce. Casuals also won this game by a +1 score.

As the team collectively tired, playing their games in quick succession, we had to defend with increasing determination and our line speed was certainly put to the test. A really good game against Mosborough ended in a draw, but there was some excellent passing by Jack, organisation to turn defence into attack by Charlie, and another brave try in the corner from Amayah.

The final game against a well drilled Mansfield, employing the tag equivalent of the ‘blitz’ defence, was just a step too far, and we lost by -1; but only just! (If the referee had not ended the game when he did, we were in a good position to at least snatch a draw). In some ways this game was the most heroic performance, and it was so great to see the team so determined and playing for the shirt. This was embodied by Jonah who showed great leadership to turn a -2/-3 position into a much closer game, with a couple of brilliant scores from a deep position. Equally, our defence was inspirational at times in a long second half; a standout moment was when Amayah continued to chase and chase, and almost went through an entire cycle of Mansfield tags on her own. Sometimes you learn more about the character of your team in defeat.
All in all, the festival was a great experience for the team. It was very well organized with a nice atmosphere and we would like to thank the hosts, Ilkeston for that.

With only two more games to go until the end of the season, including a tour match to York next week, the coaches are immensely proud of how far this team has evolved over the last 2 seasons. The communication, attack and defence all shows what a great team the U8s are, who work and play hard for each other.