Minis' Match Reports

Sun 16 Nov 08: Old Colfeians

U8s: It was good to welcome both our old friends from Old Colfes, as well as making new friends from Old Cats. All three squads were very well attended; there must have been nearly 60 children there. It was quite a daunting prospect to have so many exuberant rugby players lined up braying for my blood and that of the other coaches when we started with a game of bulldog. It became apparent early on that our time would be better served going straight into matches rather than to attempt any plans we may have had for drills.

All three squads fielded two teams each and we marked out a second pitch so the players were not forced to sit around for too long. All games seemed to be played in good spirit and I hope the competition was enjoyed by all. We reverted to our policy of mixing all the players up rather than having an A & B side and I firmly believe this was the right thing to do as all our players seemed to raise their game. Our score keeper got a little confused towards the end but out of the nine matches that Sidcup were involved in, we definitely won three and drew two. I am going to claim victory in the last game as she lost count. The try count through the day was extremely impressive, with 31 tries for Sidcup recorded. My apologies if any tries have been missed, as I say I think the prospect of the bar opening became too much of a distraction for our score keeper. I have seen a photo of Mason scoring which has been overlooked.

I was very impressed with the performances of all. Silky running and elegant tries are no longer the preserve of Matt Garvey, it is becoming infectious with great tries from Dash, Campbell and I was pleased to see Benjamin get off the mark with a great run. Dogman’s silky running master class has obviously really paid off. One of our smallest players, Melvin had several runs with great confidence and was unlucky not to score himself. There were great individual tagging performances from Fergus and Jack Sefer that lead to forced errors by our opponents. Both Sidcup teams in general tagged much better with several turn over balls being won due to our persistence. Passing has also improved tremendously and was pleased to see our players having the confidence to pass before getting tagged; this was particularly true of James, Henry and Jonathon. The other great thing was that in all the games that I saw, there were no forward passes - at last!!! There were solid performances from Chris and Ryan both of whom are growing into formidable players. I was pleased to see both Alex & Archie get on the score sheet and again they are both players growing in stature week by week. I am always impressed with Isaac’s great speed and jinking lines and he was unlucky not to convert his skill into a try. Lily played well, did some great support work and defended resolutely.

I have to give a special mention to Yasin who had a sleepless and painful night on Sunday, followed by a trip to Queen Mary’s on Monday. His fingers are now in splints, but his mum says he is determined to be back for Beckenham. He is a true Sidcup Warrior! We all hope you make a speedy recovery and tell your mum to let you off your homework as you need to rest your fingers for Sunday!!

Game one
Sidcup 3 - Colfes 3                   Jonathan Cain 1, Dash 2
Game two
Sidcup 5 - Caterham 1                Benjamin Colman 1, Matthew Garvey 2, Fergus James 1
Game three
Sidcup 4 - Caterham 6                Yasin Dourmoush 1, Archie Langley 1, Jack Sefer 1, Dash 1
Game four
Sidcup 4 - Colfes 8                  Henry Chamberlain 1, Campbell Crouser 1, Matthew Garvey 1, Fergus James 1
Game five
Sidcup 3 - Colfes 5               Henry Chamberlain 1, Campbell Crouser 1, Fergus James 1
Game six
Sidcup 2 - Caterham 2                Alex Bailey 1, Christopher Paddle 1
Game seven
Sidcup 5 - Caterham 2                Henry Chamberlain 2, Matthew Garvey 1, Fergus James 2
Game eight
Sidcup 7 - Sidcup ???             Alex Bailey 2, Jonathan Cain 1, Yasin Dourmoush 2, Christopher Paddle 1, Jack Sefer 1.
Game nine
Sidcup 2 - ?????????????      Jonathan Cain 1, Jack Sefer 1

Gluke - 18 Nov 08

Sun 2 Nov 08: Gravesend

U8s: Although we travelled through the fog, the welcome from our hosts was bright when we arrived at Gravesend. We had the bonus of being joined by surprise guests from Medway. We trained well together and I was impressed with our comparatively very high levels of fitness and ability. We fought hard in all of our matches and I was delighted by everyone's effort. We had mixed results, but I personally took great satisfaction from the win against Medway "A" team; fair play and good team spirit is uppermost to the Warriors and I was pleased to see that this gave us the result we deserved.

Try Scorers:
Christopher Paddle 1
Matthew Garvey 3
Fergus James 1
Ryan Powell 1
Issac 1
Dash 3
Tom MacAllan 2

Gluke - 2 Nov 08

Sun 26 Oct 08: Old Alleynians

U12s: I would just like to say well done to all the team for their excellent performance against Old A's today. Turning up this morning at the club, with grey skies, rainy weather and muddy conditions and with Old A's bringing their 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams, it was plain to see that all of you were up for the challenge. Still confident after defeating Ashford (East Kent cup runners up!) last week in two games 5-1 and 4-1 respectively, Old Alleynians were in for a shock.

First up was Sidcup v Old Alleynians 2nd team. The first 15 mins saw Sidcup taking on OA's 2nd team and straight from the start Sidcup were fired up and played fantastic rugby. Keeping it simple and sticking to basics, OA's were unable to touch us, in the scrum we were in charge from the begining and this continued throughout the game. The pack was awsome today getting to the breakdowns and causing chaos, giving the opposition no ball to work with. The backs also looked good today with some excellent breaks being made in mid-field and Scott Baker kicking with authority! With both packs getting to work Sidcup were now begining to dominate, when suddenly Joe McLynn seized the ball from a ruck and after spotting a gap crashed through to score the first try to put Sidcup in front. Sidcup were riding high.

2nd half: Sidcup v Old Alleynians 3rd team. The start of the second half and OA's were still finding it difficult to make an impression, with confidence soaring Taylor Eiffert went on a one man wrecking spree, crashing through the oppositions' defences with OA's players hanging off of him to put down a great try. Old Alleynians continued to battle on but it was clear in this half they were no match for Sidcup with players like Chaz and James Gorey stepping up their games with some direct running and superb handling skills (it was great to watch). OA's continued to suffer and were punished again when a determined, rampant Chris Aitchinson ran through the oppsition like a runnaway train to score. With Sidcup now clearly in charge up front, in the ruck and in the scrum the try fest continued when Jacob Morris managed to rip a ball from a maul and burst over the line, ending up on the floor under a heap scoring for Sidcup again. Next up was Ben Carter who took a lovely floating ball from George Keepax (todays skipper-good job well done George) who with pure grit etched on his face, ran through to put down another try. The final blow to Old Alleynians came from Scott Baker, who after running in from deep took the ball, sidestepping and jinking all the way carving up OA's defences to put down a great try. Final score 6-0

2nd Game Sidcup v Old Alleynians 2nd team. The second game saw the return of Old Alleynians 2nd team and this time they seemed more focused than before, they came out running at us hard from the start. Sidcup were now begining to look tired after playing non-stop rugby without the luxury of a fifteen minute break like our opponents, however no one in Sidcup gave up, instead they took a deep breath and rallied themselves for the onslaught of OA's, who came at them wave after wave and full credit to Sidcup who continued to battle and tackle but conceded 3 tries in the first half.

2nd half Sidcup v Old Alleynians 3rd team. Sidcup came out fighting in this half after a 5 minute break and after getting a second wind the team were back on top, once again dominating in the scrums, rucks and mauls with OA's struggling to find form and answer back, our back line was also looking good both defensively and in the attack. It wasn't long before Sidcup started scoring again with a great run by Chris Aitchison smashing into the opposing pack and supported by Jacob Morris who managed to pick the ball up and plough into OA's forwards pushing them back to score our first try in this half. Play continued to rumble on in our favour when Ben Carter came flying through on the attack after receiving a good ball from Aidan Sheriff, after shrugging off two or three attempts to tackle him, he put down another try. Time was begining to run out yet Sidcup refused to give up and once again, back almost on our own try line Scott made a tremendous run the to OA's try line and put down the final try of the game. Final score 3-3

Todays game was excellent boys and it shows that at last, all the hard work you put in at training is paying off, not only today but last week at Ashford as well, when we won both games there. I am very pleased with the progress we are making, after a bit of shaky start to the season.We have now set a standard of rugby which we must continue, so keep up with your training and I think we will have an exciting and successful season.Cheers.

Mark - 27 Oct 08

U8s: Another great day in the history of the Sidcup Warriors!

Our only no-shows were those so selfish as to take advantage of the half term holiday; everyone else was there, despite the appalling weather forecast. Unfortunately, our friends from North Kent were unable to get their caravans through the width barriers at Foots Cray, but we were blessed with a visit from our more illustrious guests from the Brixton catchment. We were very thankful of the coaching masterclass from our guests and it really paid dividends; our kids grew from the experience and rose to the challenge. We performed well through the training and excelled in the two ensuing matches. What impressed me more than anything was how well the newcomers this season have assimilated into the greater squad, with many of them ending up on the score sheet. Today, more so than ever, I was impressed by the Warriors' support, every time a white shirt was tagged, there was a sea of white in support. Well done!! I am never one to single anyone out, but I have to say a big Warroirs' "Hurrah!" to Issac for scoring a try on the first ever time he turned out for what he probably thought was just training for Sidcup.
Gravsend next week.... 1-2-3... Are we ready?

Sidcup try scorers:
Henry Chamberlain 2
Matthew Garvey 1
Dash 1
Issac 1

Gluke - 26 Oct 08

Sun 19 Oct 08: Ashford

U8s: I was delighted to see another full turn out for the Sidcup Warriors; it seemed an awfully long way to travel but we had better attendance than our hosts. A good training session was followed by a series of matches with us fielding two teams. There were excellent performances from everyone and it was reassuring to hear many parents echoing the same sentiment of "they really seem to be getting it". And get it, they did in bucket loads, with everyone tasting victory at some point in the course of the morning. Well done to all!

Sidcup try scorers:
Campbell Crouser 4
Fergus James 2
Archie Langley 4
Jack Sefer 5
Yasin Dourmoush 2
Christopher Paddle 4
Alex Bailey 1
Jonathan Cain 1
Matthew Garvey 10
Jack "Dash" Smith 2
Jonathan Cain 1

Gluke - 21 Oct 08

Sun 5 Oct 08: Foxbury Festival

U9s: Sunday saw the Under 9s first contact game of the season, and the team were very nervous and unsure of what to expect. As the first to play in the tournament, they went out onto the pitch a little wary but by the second half were playing with a little more confidence. They game ended 4-0 to Bromley but the players were feeling a little more confident. In our next game we went out stronger and with a little less unease and scored our first try of the season which was celebrated by all; we lost this game to Cranbrook 4-1, the confidence gained throughout the game was enough to go on to win the next two.

At 12.20 the rain was teaming down but the penny dropped and all of a sudden each member of the team knew exactly what they were doing and finished the game 6-1. With all the excitement of winning the weather was forgotten, all the parents were cheering on the line as we went on to win against Tonbridge Judds 5-0 and although we didn't make either of the finals, we finished 3rd in the group; we had a great day and some fantastic tries were scored.

Alfie Wood Mclaughlin - 2
Lee White - 2
Angus Gunn - 1
Harrison Britton - 2
Harry Donavan - 2
Harry Collins - 2

Laura - 7 Oct 08

U8s: I was pleased to see a relatively full turn out for our first fixture of the season, despite the appalling weather. I was even more delighted that the rain did not dampen the team's enthusiasm.The player's commitment could not be brought into question in any way; no one gave up at any point. Considering that for nearly half them, this is their first season of rugby and this, their first ever fixture, everyone did the Club proud.

There were excellent performances both individually and as a team. Running and passing has improved beyond any expectation from last season and some excellent team tries were scored due to the fantastic support the players gave each other. We were also very good at watching the opposition run with the ball and perhaps need to think a little bit more about tagging rather than just spectating. I was pleased to see the team play in good spirits and in a sporting manner; we certainly got a lot of practice at applauding the opposition's tries, which all did faultlessly. As I say, I was very proud of them all; everyone seemed to have a great time. They most definitely are my "Sidcup Warriors".

Tries scored:
Match 1 Jonathan Cain 2 Christopher Paddle 1 Jack Smith 1
Match 2 Henry Chamberlain 1 James Innes 1
Match 3 Tom Macallen 2
Match 4 Henry Chamberlain 1 Christopher Paddle 1 Jack Sefer 1

Gluke - 6 Oct 08

U7s results:
Old Elthamians Gold v Sidcup 2-6
Cranbrook v Sidcup 3-1
Beckenham v Sidcup 1-6
Tonbridge Judds v Sidcup 3-1

Try Scorers:
Samuel Timson 4
James Stock 3
Joseph Timson 2
Nathaniel Ticehurst 2
Mason Sullivan 2
Elliot Alger 1

Linda - 9 Oct 08