Old Elthamians vs Sidcup Under 13's

Well, Sidcup fans, another cold morning on the touchline and, although we didn't win, the lads tried their very best and we are proud of them for their hard work and effort. In both matches Sidcup tackled like demons, with Sidcup narrowly losing the first match 3 - 0. Indeed, in the first half Old Elthamians appeared quite shocked at the ferocity of the attacks by the Sidcup lads and it took the home team almost the whole first half before they scored! In the second match Sidcup rung the changes with an entirely different backline and a few changes in the pack. The boy's worked really hard and had to step up to stop the mostly unchanged OE's team whose constant attacks were rewarded with four tries in each half. Despite the result our boys worked tirelessly until the final whistle and looked to have enjoyed themselves, which is all you can ask!!

There were some really amazing moments of Rugby during the matches, including:
our latest recruit, Alfie, making his Sidcup debut and putting in some amazing ring-of-steel tackles, showing great courage and enthusiasm!
our lads showed great teamwork as they team-tackled a giant of an opponent twice - like a pride of lions taking down a hippo!
Ted's tackling was amazing, at one point he made three tackles one after the other and then juggled with the ball as he launched an attack on the right wing.
Jamie worked hard all game, made some great tackles, some good runs and won several rucks
Billy (now fully recovered) really gave it his all with some big tackles in the centre
Luke was back playing after a break of a few weeks and showed his stamina as he made three tackles in quick succession out on the left wing
Harry W tried his best out on the wing making a few darting runs in attack - good effort.
Matthew slotted in at fly-half an produced another great performance with good attacks well weighted passes and his usual thumping tackles.
James F made some excllent tackles and was narrowly out-sprinted as he almost connected during a flying tackle on an OE's winger, unfortunately a hand injury forced an early shower.
Harry L took on and won the ball from some huge opponents and rucked hard before an injury to his neck meant that he retired early.
Jack's work rate was incredible as ever, he led many attacks and made many-try saving tackles on the wings (coaches MoM - well done!!)
Ollie continues to grow in confidence each week, he made several attacks and his rucking was very good
Daniel put in a couple of huge tackles before retiring after a bang to the head
Sam i'A had a couple of good runs and made some key passes during the match
Jake provided a great service to Matthew with his well timed and accurate passes from the scrums, he kept the phases going and defended well too.
Louis made a couple of cracking runs on the wing and a couple of good tackles.
Tom (the Tominator) playing out of position at No. 8 put in some huge tackles on an opponent who was at least three time his width and probably three times his weight - like a leopard seizing a rhino on the plains of the serengeti.
Charlie put in some big tackles and he rucked over well
Both Aaron and Frank had a great game, tirelessly defending and their tackles saved many tries and then they were both quick to go on the offensive when opportunities arose - well done lads, great fullbacks!!
Aiden played well at scrum half, getting the ball away quickly on many occasions before a stray boot to the face during an aggressive ruck on the left wing resulted in him retiring early too.
Sam W worked hard in the scrums and the loose.
After the final whistle, the Sidcup team showed respect to their hosts with a cheer at the end of the game, before retiring for a well earned hotdog and hot drink to warm up in the pavilion together.

We wish the injured lads well and hope that they recover soon in time for the match against Gravesend on Sunday 19 Feb 2017. We also wish Jack the best of luck in his match for Kent on Sunday too.