Cobham Festival - 5/11/2006

Squad: James Bentley-Fox, Thomas Bywater, Jonathan Carpenter, Oliver Cruddas, James Doyle, Alexander Field, Greiogair Hogg, Aaron Patel, Elliot Proudhon-Smith, Stephen Rac, Thomas Smith, Matthew Timms

Report from Nick Timms:

On a fine day for playing rugby the TRFC Commandos were so nearly victorious, but thwarted on two occasions by the superior ball stealing abilities of a committed and talented Old Reedonians team.

Game 1
Vs Cobham Score: 20-5 Win
Our first pool game against the host team started the day with a superlative display of long range try scoring, with some phases of play reaching double figures! Some committed tackling by Aaron Patel and Stephen Rac and the magical dummy pass of Greiogair Hogg led to all of the play going the way of the Commandos and a final score of 4 tries to 1.
Tries: Hogg (2), Bentley-Fox (1) and Proudham-Smith (1).

Game 2
Vs Old Reedonians Score: 5-10 Loss
Old Reeds proved to be stiffer competition in this, our first meeting of the day. Although both teams were very finely matched with players of equal ability, the first half remained try-less for the Commandos. The second half commenced with the same vigour as the first, both teams locked in a titanic struggle for ball retention until Thomas Bywater crossed the line for our only try of the game. The boys held up superbly to the Old Reeds pressure but succumbed to another try finishing the game 1-2. The game was marred by the strange accusation of “crossing” from the referee, one can only assume that he was on his way to Twickenham later that day and had failed to interpret the continuum correctly.
Try: Bywater (1).

Game 3, Semi-Final
Vs Rosslyn Park Score: 10-5 Win
Finishing second in pool A, our semi-final led to a game against another old rival in the form of Rosslyn Park. In another equally matched competition for control of the ball in the tackle, known by some as ball stealing, Matthew Timms acquitted himself admirably, presumably in an attempt to mimic his Father’s only talent on the pitch (a la Ackford). Again, Greiogair Hogg mystified all comers with his use of a convincing dummy pass and swift change of direction to score our only two tries, pretty much solo efforts, both almost from the half way line.
Tries: Hogg (2).

Game 4, U9 Final
Vs Old Reedonians Score 5-10 Loss
With the defeat of our second pool match still smarting, the Commandos started this game with renewed effort and some outstanding phases of play, but by now tiredness had entered the equation. With 90 minutes rest from the semi-final, in which a tree house had been built from scratch in an adjoining copse, the boys just couldn’t seem to convert the efforts into points and we conceded two tries. Having said that, both teams were so evenly matched that both this game and the pool game could have gone either way.
There was some excellent tackling in this game from all boys, particularly Stephen Rac again who reminds me of a young Brian Moore and James Doyle. Special mention to Jonty Carpenter who made some lovely darting runs from the base of the scrum and Oliver Cruddas for scoring our only try of this game, evading at least three tackles in the process!
Try: Cruddas (1).

All boys played with passion and in the spirit of the game.

RATT Cup - 4/11/2006

Squad: Henry Clark, Myles Deane, Nicolas Furrer, James Gawn, Ben Harrison, Archie Jones, Joshua Nagle, Frederico Pasquali, Callum Sirker, Oliver Skyrme,
Jack Stockham, James Viney

Report for Ratt Cup from David Viney:

What a great afternoon at the Quins! Aside from the lovely sunshine and the Quins recording their first win of the season, Teddington pulled out all the stops in possibly their strongest showing so far in the contact version of the sport. With Carlos Spencer, Ben Cohen and Dean Richards watching in the wings, our boys were inspired enough to build up an eight match unbeaten run (16 tries for and none against!)

Teddington 25 – Tunbridge Wells 0
Quite possibly the best game from the A team since this group first started playing at U6s! Wells are actually a strong team (as their performances against the other group members testified) and we have always enjoyed meeting them and playing them. However, in this game, Teddington simply blew them away. The defence was again awesome. On this occasion, however, the back line really fired - with the ball frequently reaching the centres and wings. Clean line breaks abounded. Good distribution, great quick passing, clean hands and fast feet were all in evidence.

Teddington 5 – Upminster 0
A number of unforced errors by Teddington in the first half handed the initiative to a determined and physical Upminster side. Despite playing most of the game in our own half, we never really looked like conceding a try. In the end, the victory was well deserved (despite some nervy moments) as the Teddington tackle rate literally knocked the stuffing out of brave Upminster (who were grand finalists last year in two age groups). On the few occasions we enjoyed sustained possession, we always made good yardage. The winning try eventually came.

Teddington 10 – Westcombe Park 0
Westcombe Park had a number of very quick and elusive runners out wide and had scored some wonderful tries against other group teams. However, Teddington’s early tackles broke their distribution and neutralized the threat. Some of the tackles were quite brutally hard (sorry about that Westcombe!) and at least two of the opposition players had to be replaced for injuries. It seems much of our improvement this year (which is undoubtedly there) is down to a group of boys who seem to have been waiting for contact - and are relishing it now it’s finally here!

Teddington 15 – Blackheath 0
A notable feature of this game was the improvement in our rucking and loose play generally – with four penalties and three tackle turnovers won (one of which resulted in a try). Again, a back-line growing in confidence frequently found itself taking the ball on the front-foot whilst moving forward. Blackheath had improved with every game of the tournament, so again this scoreline reflects very well on the Teddington attack.

Looking Ahead
A note of caution is required. Whilst this was a strong performance, there will be tough challenges ahead. Last year we had a tough draw, facing two ultimate grand finalists in the Group Stages, and were knocked out early. These same teams (and others traditionally stronger than us in this age group) lie in wait in the semi-finals. However, at our current rate of progress there is nothing to fear. Our boys will simply do their best and this year - perhaps for the first time - this may be enough to carry this team to its first Grand Final.

Grasshoppers Festival - 29/10/2006

Squad - Benjamin Archer, Sam Barton, Jo Beasley, Thomas Bywater,
David Cecil, Joshua Day, Fergus Donaldson, Emmanual Galan,
Jonathan Hammond, Frederico Pasquali, Stephen Rac, Oliver Skyrme

Congratulations - Won Festival

Ist Game - Teddington 30 Finchley 0 - a comprehensive start against a game Finchley team who could have replied with a couple of scores but for poor finishing

2nd Game - Teddington 10 Chobham 5 - a much closer affair but again a
good performance to guarantee qualification to the semis!

Semi Final - Teddington 10 Grasshoppers 5 - a close hard game against the
festival hosts with Josh Day scoring a late winner in the corner.

Final - Teddington 20 Ealing 15 - the best game was saved for the final against always tough opponents Ealing. We charged into a 15-0 lead with some excellent rugby with Ealing replying just before half time. Ealing came out for the 2nd half fired up and played some good rugby to score twice and equalise at 15-15 - our heads could have dropped but we came back strongly again to score 20-15 - the last few minutes (which seemed like 10) saw excellent defence to keep them out and win by one score. The referee praised both teams saying it was one of the best finals he had been in charge of! - Well done to all the players and Ian Barton, David Donaldson and Jose Galan for keeping the boys going!