Sidcup U12s beat Dartfordians U12s

The U12s eagerly anticipated first home game of the season against our old friends from Dartfordians.

It turned out to be a great game, despite the old codger huffing and puffing his way round the field refereeing, with both sides contributing in spells to a highly competitive match.

Sidcup started well, switching the ball from side to side with real skill, pace and power to stretch the Darts defence, upon up the gaps and score some early tries; Tom setting the attacking tempo, with quick ball and accurate passing to set up some great phase play - nothing too fancy but brilliantly effective none the less, and I think we were 15-0 up at the break (although to be fair I am writing this report 2 weeks after the match !!)

The 2nd half threatened to get a bit fractious, with the aggression occasionally spilling over. It's a game based on aggression and physicality, but used in a controlled manner, and with respect for your opponents being paramount. So after a bit of handbags, followed by a stern talking to by yours truly (which also served to give me a 2 minute breather !) we got back to a great rugby match. Darts played some good stuff at points and were rewarded with a try in the corner after a slaloming run down the wing by one of their half time substitutes, but we managed to regain composure and control to score another couple and run out 25-5 winners on the day. We look forward to the reverse fixture later in the season!

As always it was a win built a strong team performance both in the forwards and backs, everyone playing a part in the win and some great rugby played. Learning point - keep a calm head and concentration, let the referee do his job and players concentrate on theirs!

Anyway, great to get our 1st win in "proper grown up rugby" and we left really excited about the potential of this squad, which will only be enhanced with the large number of new players we've had at training recently !!