Thanks to St John for this report.

After a terrific day’s rugby, with 24 teams from around the County competing, the team can be extremely proud of their results, P7 W5 D1 L1. The only loss was in the group stage to the eventual champions, Andover. Undeterred, the team then powered on to become the Plate Champions.

The first match in the group stage was a 5-5 draw against a very competitive Petersfield team. This was followed up by impressive wins against Farnborough (7-1), Basingstoke (5-3) and Eastleigh (8-1) before the narrowest of losses to Andover (4-5). As Runners Up in Group C, Fordingbridge went in to the Plate Semi-Final and secured a close fought victory against Fawley (5-4) followed by a great win against Overton (6-4) in the Final.

Of particular note …. TP, LP and BP all scored 10 or more tries to ensure the score board ticked over regularly. It was also very encouraging to see some of our newer players finding their feet in a competitive environment - JA and OE demonstrated their new found skills particularly well and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to spot the difference compared to some of the older hands.

JP, JC and EM also scored at some crucial times and helped ensure the opposition never had an easy job crossing Fordingbridge’s goal line. In the final, GG, IC and HB ensured the team stayed focussed with some notable runs and support play that made all the difference.

The whole squad has matured fantastically this year. Almost unrecognisable compared to 12 months ago with ball handling skills, support play, running lines and tag tackling now of a very high standard. Well done to everyone.

Special thanks to all the parents too. The support and cheering was first class and it was wonderful to see the children’s beaming smiles at the end.

The U8s now go on to the London Irish Finals Day in April having finished top of their group in the qualification phase. This has already earned them a buy in to the semi-final as the number one seeds. We wish them all luck.

Fordingbridge Rugby Club

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