U11 Rugby Triangular event between Brooke Priory & Grantham Prep 16/09/15

The squad of ten players performed very well throughout the tournament.  Their attitude and sportsmanship were impeccable.  Freddie Gwinnett captained the team, ably supported by Toby Dalrymple as vice-captain.

Our first match against Brooke Priory saw a positive start and Gabe Rudman, focusing on straight running scored two excellent tries.  At half-time it was 2-2 and all to play for.  Unfortunately, in the second half the Copthill players stopped looking at where the opposition defence was and gave away three interception tries for a final score of 5-2 to Brooke.

In the second game against Grantham Prep, Copthill focussed on direct running and this produced some surging runs by several players.  Our tackling held up the opposition, though was often high up rather than around the legs.  This was a good all-round team performance and resulted in fine tries from Max Kettlewell, Felix Clayton and Luke Harriss.  At the end of the game, Copthill had won 3-0.

This was a promising start for our Rugby season and the commitment was excellent.  Felix Clayton was awarded Man of the Tournament for his strong running, effective passing and hard tackling.  With work on tackling, passing and organisation of defence and attack at breakdowns the team will undoubtedly get better and better.