Teddington C Festival - Imber Court 01/04/07

Report by Philippa Stahelin

The team set off at a roaring pace, winning their first match against Ealing 2 by 8 tries to 0. They clearly enjoyed the summer weather and played as a team with great passing and strong defence when needed. This set us up nicely for our second pool game against Richmond and the standards were just as high, with the team winning 3-0. Then for London Irish where the result was 4-0 in Teddington’s favour. It was tremendously pleasing for the coaches to not concede a try throughout the pool stages.

Topping the group we played Ealing 2 in the semi-finals and, starting slowly the team eventually won the game 4-1. A brief respite and on to the final where we were faced by a hugely competitive Teddington 2 side. This was unsurprisingly our toughest game and we really needed to be strong in defence and continue our effective running and passing game. They did not disappoint but were made to fight all the way and ended, exhaustingly, as 3-1 winners.

Features of the day were the commitment and enthusiasm of the boys and their willingness to play as a team. With only 9 players there was no opportunity to rest and the boys battled through knocks and scrapes to stay on the pitch. There were several instances of unselfish play where the ball was moved through all the hands for an easy score. Overall we scored 22 tries for and only 2 against. Try scorers were: Aaron Patel 6, Dylan Rubini 5, Joe Beasley 5, Greghoir Hogg 3, Angus Stahelin 2, James Bentley-Fox 1.

We have also discovered a new Ruairidh pre-match ritual to prepare for the big games. Get the boys to lie on their backs, acting dead and just before they go on wake them up. It worked a treat!

Marlow Festival Pics