Under 7's The Young Guns
Young Guns Romp Home to Stunning Victory at Harrogate Festival!!

The Young Guns came to the Harrogate festival on the back of a number of successive wins. The opposition at the festival were an unknown quantity, never having been played by the team before so no one was sure what the day would hold. What we were treated to was a feast of quality rugby played with great determination and team spirit. The Young Guns performed marvellously and show great promise for next season.

The festival matches were a lot shorter than the team were used to. They had just 14 minutes to make their mark on the opposition, so speed was of the essence. The teams scored 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw in the pool stage, with the two teams with the most points playing off in the final. Rishworthians had their sights firmly on reaching the final and knew they had to win as many of their pool matches as possible to be certain of ensuring their place.

Pool Game 1 Rishworthians 5 - 4 Wetherby
The teams were very evenly matched. Jack Adams led the team out and Tom Georgiou made a fine start by putting the first score on the board. Wetherby quickly got one back and so it continued throughout the first half. Rishworthians never seeming to be able to pull ahead. The first half ended 3-2. In such short matches tagging is even more important than normal in order to turn around the ball and regain possession. Jack Mallinson and Finn Sutcliffe equipped themselves well on this front and a last minute try from Brandon Savage meant Rishworthians won the match 5-4. 2 points in the bag.

Tries Tom Georgiou 2, Branden Savage 1, Finn Sutcliffe 1, William Adams 1

Pool Game 2 Rishworthians 7 - 7 Harrogate B
Reece Barraclough was captain for this fast-paced affair. Both teams had warmed up after their first match and were determined to win. Again Rishworthians were the first team to put a score on the board (this time by Finn Sutcliffe), but Harrogate were determined to hold the team and quickly drew even. Tom Georgiou gave Rishworthians the lead again and then Harrogate broke through the Rishworth defensive line twice on the run putting them into the lead. The first half ended with Harrogate 1 ahead. The team were given a galvanising talk in the half-time break and Tom Georgiou came out and brought the score even again. Once more Harrogate broke through to score two together, to put them, once again, in the lead. The Rishworthians never gave up and continued to tag as hard as they could (this was the highest tagging match of the day). There was a final rally and Rishworthians managed to get two more tries and finished the match in a 7-all draw.

Tries Tom Georgiou 3, Finn Sutcliffe 2, Jack Mallinson 2

Pool Game 3 Rishworthians 6 - 5 York
Finn Sutcliffe was captain for the third match, which was slightly slower than previous as fatigue was starting to kick in. Yet again the teams proved to be evenly matched and it was hard in the first half for either to break ahead. In the second half Jack Mallinson tore through the York defence to score 2 successive tries and brought the Rishworthians ahead by 2 tries. York tried valiantly to bridge the gap but the match ended 6-5 to Rishworthians.

Tries Tom Georgiou 2, Jack Mallinson 3, Branden Savage 1

Pool Game 4 Rishworthians 10 - 5 Harrogate A
Brandon Savage lead the team out for what was one of the more relaxed matches of the day. Harrogate A were just no match for the Rishworthian side. Rishworth managed to get 4 tries on the board, with a couple of stunning runs from Finn Sutcliffe and William Adams, before a reply from the opposition. The Rishworthians maintained their determination to win and 6 members of the team managed to score a try in this match and everyone got at least 1 tag. For the watching parents the match was a welcome respite from the tense, close finishes that had been seen in the previous 3 encounters and the 10-3 win meant that Rishworthians finished the pool with 7 points and guaranteed a place in the final against Wetherby.

Tries Finn Sutcliffe 4, Jack Mallinson 1, Branden Savage 2 Henry Hilton 1, Reece Barraclough 1 William Adams 1

The Final Rishworthians 4 - 3 Wetherby
Jack Mallinson was captain of this final match. Due to the quality of the rugby that had been seen earlier in the day everyone knew that the final match would be tough with the teams being so evenly matched. Old Rishworthians had the ability to beat Wetherby but it had been a full day of intense playing and the players were getting tired. Rishworthians started with the ball at the first whistle but they were closed down by Wetherby who soon gained possession. Rishworthians pulled together to defend their line but the first score of the match went to Wetherby. With a growing crowd of supporters on the sideline the Rishworthians continued to push forward and they went into half-time 2-all.

The second half was a tense affair. Rishworthians pulled ahead to be 3-2 but then Wetherby broke even once more. The minutes were ticking down as Brandon Savage broke ahead of the pack and raced for the line in an attempt to score the all important winning try a Wetherby man came in from the side and made an illegal tackle to knock the ball out of play. The scoreline was still even. Parents and coaches alike were on tenterhooks as it came to the last play of the game. Rishworthians pulled out all the stops and a final push for the line meant that Rishworthians won the match 4-3 in the last seconds of the match.

Tries Tom Georgiou 2, Finn Sutcliffe 2

All team members played absolutely fantastically and with great team spirit. A fantastic result all round. Well done to all.

Squad: William Adams, Reece Barraclough, Tom Georgiou, Henry Hilton, Jack Mallinson, Oliver Muscat-Baron, Brandon Savage, Billy Smith, Finn Sutcliffe,

Under 8's
Under 8's recover after losing first pool game
A squad of nine players turned out on what started off as an overcast chilly morning and ended up in glorious warm sunshine. This was reflected in the play from the under 8's who were so chilled in the first game they forgot which direction to run in but after they had warmed up they then put in two impressive performances and played some great rugby to win their following two games. Mowden Park were unbeaten in the pool and progressed to the later stages of the competition.

Pool Game 1 Rishworthians 1 - 6 Darlington Mowden Park
A solitary try from Nathan Donaldson was the only positive aspect of the game from the Rishworthians side which lacked direction and completely forgot how to tag. Mowden Park ran straight and strong and met little resistance in running in six tries.

MOM Kian Sutcliffe
Tagger of match Not awarded
Effort award William Harker

Pool Game 2 Rishworthians 6 - 2 Old Brodleians
The following two games against Old Brods and Otley B showed the resilience of the team and their ability to bounce back after a poor result. In both games the tagging was impressive, resulting in several turnovers of the ball in their favour, allowing Rishworthians to attack and take control of the games.

Try scorers Tom Stott 1, Kian Sutcliffe 2, Nathan Donaldson 2, Corey White 1

Pool Game 3 Rishworthians 6 - 3 Otley B
Nathan Donaldson deservedly picked up man of the match in both games with some impressive try scoring runs matched by double tagger of the match Corey White who led the defensive game with his tenacious tagging.

Try scorers Luke Sadler 2, Nathan Donaldson 3, William Harker 1
MOM Nathan Donaldson
Tagger of match Corey White
Effort award All

Well done to all the players for a fantastic team effort in turning the morning round after a hugely disappointing start. Thanks to all the parents for their continued support. Thanks to players and parents for supporting the Brods team when they were playing Mowden Park. Finally thanks to Simon Donaldson for coaching the team on the pitch and to Dave Harker for scoring and helping to make the awards.

Squad Kian Sutcliffe, Luke Sadler, Corey White, Tom Stott, Zak Rush, Toby Helm, Nathan Donaldson, William Harker, Carrick Keighley-Payne

Grahame White

Under 9's The Raiders
Waiting for festival report

Under 10's The reds and All Blacks
Reds take Scarborough by storm
Last weekend the Reds attended the inaugural Scarborough International Rugby Union Festival, playing 3 games on the Saturday and 2 games on the Sunday. The competition was league based with the Reds coming out on top after winning all of their matches and thus becoming festival winners.

Saturday Games
Game 1. Old Rishworthians 20 v 5 Doncaster 'A'
The Reds appeared slightly nervous for the few opening minutes of the match with a few phases of scrappy play. Doncaster were awarded a free pass 10 metres from their line but a big hit caused a Donny fumble and prop George Radcliffe scooped up the loose ball and crashed over. The Reds began to play as we know they can with Jack Davis charging at the defence, good support play from the forwards allowing quick ball to be thrown out to Thomas Sweeten who went over to stretch the lead. Rishies were now in control and they scored further tries when scrum half Will McDonnell sprinted over from half way, and Jack Davis crashed over from a 5 metre penalty. In the last second Doncaster managed a dubious consolation try in the corner. The Reds players, coaches and parents were horrified that a try had been conceded. It was the first and the last.

Game 2. Old Rishworthians 10 v 0 Yarnbury
A tougher encounter was up next against a very spirited Yarnbury side. Both teams played strong hard rugby but neither side could impose themselves on the game, but scrum half Will McDonnell eased the pressure with a try from a great scrum won against the head. The Reds sealed the win after some beautiful passing and handling by the back line. The ball went through 4 pairs of hands down the line out to Joe Sutcliffe on the wing who ran in to give Rishies a 10-0 cushion. With seconds to go McDonnell crossed the line a second time but was unlucky to have the try disallowed as being ruled as held up.

Game 3.Old Rishworthians 20 v 0 Blackburn 'B'
The Reds imposed themselves from the word go, not allowing Blackburn time on the ball, and that pressure paid off. After a period of play camped near the Blackburn line, the forwards of Jonathan Wheatcroft, George Radcliffe and Thomas Cockroft secured the ball which gave Sam Bake an easy run in to score the first try. Excellent rucking again, 10 metres from the Blackburn line gave ?Ripper?Radcliffe the chance to score his second of the day. Blackburn could not cope with the powerful running of Wheatcroft, Sweeten and fly half Jacob Bower, and when the ball was spun out to Bake the battered defence could not stop him scoring again. Will McDonnell then produced one of his runs from half way to seal an impressive win.

Sunday Games
Rishworthians finished Saturday top of the league and were in a determined mood not to be knocked off the top.

Game 4. Old Rishworthians 40 v 0 Doncaster 'B'
With only 2 games to be played on the Sunday the matches should have been 20 minutes long but this one only lasted 12 minutes as the Reds scored 8 very quick tries and the game was brought to a close. The first try arrived in the first few seconds after a charge from ?Rhino?Davis was finished off by centre Thomas Sweeten. From a penalty 5 metres out ?Bear? Wheatcroft crashed over to increase the lead. From a scrum won against the head Sweeten scythed through poor Donny defence to score his second of the game. The tries were now coming thick and fast which was giving the commentator nightmares having to try and say ?OLD RISHWORTHIANS? every other minute or so. Further tries were scored by ?Sizzler?Bake, Nathan Cooper, Davis and ?JB? Bower, with the final one being scored by Nathan Cooper after a commando style roll in at the corner. With the whistle been blown prematurely the Rishworthian crowd thought that there was some UNDERHANDEDNESS going on, but the rules stated that when one team is 8 tries in the lead the game should be concluded, and so it was that the referee ended this one sided match.

Game 5. Old Rishworthians 20 v 0 Blackburn 'A'
For the first ten minutes of this game the Reds were leading from an early Jacob Bower try, but the game could have swung either way with some determined play from Blackburn. Rishies began to play some excellent rugby and eventually began to take some control at the rucks and mauls with Ollie Swales, Greg Day and Charlotte Siddall hitting guys twice their size. After a period of Reds pressure Will McDonnell increased the lead after a cross field dash in to the corner. Blackburn did manage to get ball in hand but a promising run was halted by an immense text book tackle by Bower who clattered the poor Blackburn player in to touch. The Reds scored again with another excellent cross field move from McDonnell and Bake, sending Sweeten in at the corner. The final try again came from powerful forward play, forcing play deep in to Blackburn territory. McDonnell picked up the ball from the middle of a ruck melee, noticed that there was no opposition in front of him, and scampered over to make the final score 20-0. An excellent win against a Blackburn team that expected to win, but the Reds kept the best to last and played superbly.

Scorers: Will McDonnell(5), Thomas Sweeten (4), Nathan Cooper (2), Jacob Bower (2), Jack Davis (2), Sam Bake (3), Jonathan Wheatcroft, Joe Sutcliffe, George Radcliffe (2)

Squad: George Radcliffe, Thomas Cockroft, Jonathan Wheatcroft, Greg Day, Charlotte Siddall, Will McDonnell, Jacob Bower, Sam Bake, Jack Davis, Thomas Sweeten, Joe Sutcliffe, Ollie Swales, Nathan Cooper.

Congratulations to the players from the coaches and parents who, over two days, watched some superb rugby played by you all. It was very satisfying for the coaches, Dave Mc, Rob and Steve, to see the guys playing as a team, encouraging and applauding each other, and putting all the very hard work that they have done in training in to practice. This team, not just the festival squad, has developed in to a very well drilled unit which is the envy of lots of coaches that we come across every week.

Two more games next week, lets try and make it two more wins. Yet again the coaches would just like to thank the parents once more for giving your incredible support to us and the all the players and for making the weekend unforgettable, even though we nearly got ejected from the site after only 5 hours. Special thanks to Julie Radcliffe from all of us for all her hard work in organising the tour. Where next year.

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Harrogate and Scarborough Festivals Slideshow.
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