Rishworthians at the Brodleians Festival

Fantastic performance at Brods Festival

Festival report Sunday 3rd April
This is probably the minis best ever festival performance. The under 7's followed up their SAndal Festival success by winning the bowl final. The under 8's not to be outdone followed up the Keighley festival success also winning the bowl final. The under 9's produced the best performance to win the cup final, The under 10's lost 5-10 to Hull Ionians in the cup final. The under 11's won the bowl final and the under 12's won the plate final.

List of festival winners
Under 7's
Plate Leodiensians, Bowl Old Rishworthians, Cup Sandal
Under 8's
Plate Old Brodleians, Bowl Old Rishworthians, Cup Scunthorpe
Under 9's
Plate Sheffield, Bowl Scunthorpe, Cup Shared: West Park Leeds & Old Rishworthians
U10
Plate West Park Leeds, Bowl Old Brodleians, Cup Hull Ionians
U11
Plate Shared: West Park Leeds & Sandal, Bowl Shared: Driffield & Old Rishworthians, Cup Sheffield
U12
Plate Old Rishworthians, Bowl West Park Leeds, Cup Old Brodleians Bears

Under 6's The Micros

Meanwhile at Camp Copley the micros had around 15 training. Numbers were down on the day with it being Mothers Day. Another new micro joined the squad.

Under 7's The Young Guns
Young Guns lift the Festival Bowl trophy

Rishworthians under 7s had a successful tournament winning the Bowl Trophy against festival hosts Brodleians. This was another fantastic squad effort with all 12 players contributing to the team’s success. The Young Guns were pooled in a very tough group playing against Leodiensians, Scunthorpe, Roundhegians and Sandal. We progressed to the Bowl Final after finishing third with two wins and two losses. See photos at end of page

Pool Game 1 Rishworthians 3 - 4 Leodiensians
Ethan Grogan, Jake Smith and Jon Baker scored the tries for the young guns in a very entertaining game which saw a last minute try from Ted Grogan disallowed for a foot in touch in the lead up to the try. A draw would have been a fair result between two evenly matched sides.

Pool Game 2 Rishworthians 4 - 3 Scunthorpe
This was another close game. The Young Guns finished the first half with a 3 – 1 lead and managed to hang on against a second half come back from Scunthorpe to win 4-3. The try scorers for Rishies were Ethan Grogan 2, Benedict Freeman and Ted Grogan.

Pool Game 3 Rishworthians 6 - 4 Roundhegians
Both teams played their part in fast flowing open game of tag rugby. The Young Guns just had that little bit extra in defense to give them a two try lead at half time which they maintained to the final whistle. Jon Baker scored the Yung Guns only hat trick of the festival in this game with William Davidson, Ted Grogan and Ethan Grogan also scoring.

Pool Game 4 Rishworthians 4 - 5 Sandal
The children looked as if they were starting to tire after a long morning of rugby but this didn’t diminish the effort put in by both sides as they tagged and attacked like it was the first game. The Young Guns try scorers were Ted Grogan 2 and William Boom 2.

Bowl Final Rishworthians 3 - 0 Brodleians
The Young Guns picked up the Bowl Trophy with a good win over hosts Old Brodleians. Both teams played their part a very exciting final with the Young Guns organized defensive effort being the difference between the two sides. Ted Grogan and Benedict Freeman scored the Young Guns first half tries after backing up breaks from Freddie Connell and Charlie Rushworth respectively. Jack Billington was top tagger of the game stopping many of the Brods attacks. The Young Guns were in control for much of the second half and were rewarded with a great individual try from Theo Davies to seal victory for the team.

Squad – Charlie Rushworth, Ted Grogan, William Davidson, Ethan Grogan, William Boom, Jon Baker, Benedict Freeman, Jake Smith, James Wadsworth, Freddie Connell, Theo Davis and Jack Billington.

Scorers – Jon Baker 4, Ted Grogan 5, Theo Davis 1, Ethan Grogan 4, Jake Smith 1, Benedict Freeman 2, William Davidson 1 and William Boom 2.

Thank you to the parents/grandparents etc for their support.

Darren Grogan

Under 8's The Rams
Sweet success for the under 8's as the Bowl Winners

Old Brod festival welcomes Rishworthians. This was a very friendly and great day of tag rugby environment and pitted our boys and girls against teams we have not faced before in Leodiensians and Scunthorpe. Also in our group were our old foes Sandal.

Game 1: Rishworthians 7 - 4 Leodiensians
A great 1st match to kick off the pool games, attacking rugby from end to end on a big pitch. Leo's going 2 tries up before Joseph Smallman and Joe Walsh brought the scores all level at half time. From here and playing down hill Joseph Smallman scored again followed by 2 tries each from Joe Walsh and Ben Gianotti.

This was a great team effort with Jack Lumb, Toby Laurie and Bobbie White all contributing to drawing the defence in and able to pass the ball away for the others to score. Top tagger of the match was Lewis was outstanding on the wing. A great performance by all players.

Team: Lewis Paxton-White, Jack Lumb, Toby Laurie, Bobbie White, Joe Walsh, Joseph Smallman and Ben Gianotti

Game 2: Rishworthians 5 - 5 Scunthorpe

New opponents who played fast attractive and attacking rugby and were very keen on the defence so this was going to be a real test. Scunthorpe led 2-0 at half time but after that Rishworthians sprung into life and scored 3 well worked tries with Joseph Smallman, Joe Walsh and Edward Windle scoring after great work from Thomas Doyle, Dylan and Ben Gianotti. Scunthorpe hit back to make it 4-3 before Joseph Smallman went the full length.

Further drama ensured with Scunthorpe going 5-4 up with the last play of the match to follow the restart. Good running by all in particular Lewis set up Ben G to do a switch pass to Joseph S to crash in at the corner to equalize and tie the match at 5-5. A great performance by all.

Team: Jospeh Smallman, Joe Walsh, Thomas Doyle, Dylan, Edward Windle, Lewis Paxton-White, and Ben Gianotti.

Game 3: Rishworthians 5 - 7 Sandal
Great running by Toby who consistently drew lots of defenders towards him allowing space for others to run into with Jack and Dylan profiting from this. Bobbie was buzzing around and supporting well scoring in the corner. Thomas Doyle scored 2 well worked tries after Edward and Joseph S had worked the gaps well. Half time 4-3 to Sandal.

The second half saw the score go back and forth with Bobbie and Thomas adding tries before Sandal ran out winners 7-5. This is perhaps one match that got away from us but a great performance still.

Team: Toby Laurie, Jack Lumb, Joseph Smallman, Thomas Doyle, Edward Windle, Dylan and Bobbie White

All 3 performances were top notch and the squad of 10 all proved they have individual skills that can gel together and make great team performances.
This was a tough pool to play in and the fast attacking rugby in attack and defense was a step above our normal matches and the Old Rishworthians equally stood up and matched all teams toe to toe.

Bowl Final: Rishworthians 5 - 4 West Park Leeds
Playing against our old foes from the last 2 festivals we set about West Leeds with aggressive Tag rugby play. An early injury to Jack led to Thomas coming on but great running from Toby, Lewis and Ben G allowed Bobbie and Joseph S to score and make the half time score 2-2.

Changes at half time saw Jack back on for Thomas and Edward replacing Joseph S. Jack opened the second half with a great try followed by tries from Bobbie and Joe W making the final score 5-4 and Old Rishworthians winning the Bowl competition.

Team: Toby Laurie, Jack Lumb, Joseph Smallman, Joe Walsh, Ben Gianotti, Lewis Paxton-White, Bobbie White

All players were happy and extremely pleased with their medals and trophy to follow the Keighley Festival success.

Thanks to all parents, grand parents and coaches for a great days work.

Warren Doyle

Under 9's The Meercats
"Cats" share winners cup

Rishies under 9's played their best rugby of the season so far in a scintillating display at the Old Brodelians Junior Festival on Sunday. Securing outright victory of their respective group, the Meercats conceded a last minute try in a closely fought final to end up sharing the overall winner's trophy with West Park Leeds.

Game 1 Rishworthians 25 - 0 York
Rishies got off to a fine start in their opening fixture with an impressive display against a good York side. With each game only being played over two six minute halves, Rishies managed to run in five unopposed tries. Some excellent support play was rewarded with fine tries from Oliver Brian, Jack Marsden, Tom Georgiou, Henry Hilton and Finn Sutcliffe.

Game 2 Rishworthians 25 - 5 Scunthorpe
The Meercats continued their fine run of form with a well earned victory over Scunthorpe. Despite conceding a late try, Rishies put the game beyond the reach of Scunthorpe with some text book rucking and retained possession. Early tries from Oliver Brian (2), Tom Georgiou (2) and Henry Craven ensured another pool win for the Meercats.

Game 3 Rishworthians 10 - 0 Sheffield
In their third game of the day Rishies faced a large, well organised Sheffield side and managed to come out on top in a fiercely fought battle. Sheffield were unable to break through the Red's defensive line and an impressive display of unified pressing and tackling was the platform from which Rishies were able to secure victory. Once again, fine counter rucking and support play were rewarded with tries from Will Adams and Thomas Atkinson.

Game 4 Rishworthians 25 - 0 Sandal
With Sandal missing some of their key players, Rishies were able to exploit their opposition's weaker areas and secure their place in the overall final with a five try victory over their rivals from Wakefield. Once again, fine support and all round team play was rewarded with scores from Henry Craven (2), Tom Geogiou, Finn Sutcliffe, and "new boy", Marcus Woodhead.

Cup Final 4 Rishworthians 10 - 10 West Park Leeds
In a closely contested final in which both sides played some excellent rugby, Rishies were unlucky not to secure outright victory conceding a try in the last minute of the game. Following some early exchanges of possession, rishies were able to take the lead with a good try from Will Adams, only for Leeds to equalise just before the half time interval. With Rishies then taking the greater share of possession and territory, Tom Georgiou enterprisingly capitalised on a West Park defensive error touching the ball down and putting the Meercats one score ahead in the final quarter of the game. West Park bravely battled on and were rewarded with an equalising try in the last minute of the game. With the rules of the tournament clearly stating that no extra time should be played, honours were shared by both sides in what proved to be a fine exhibition of junior rugby.

U9's Squad : Brandon Savage, Finlay Stewart, Finn Sutcliffe, Hayden Faulkner, Henry Craven, Henry Hilton, Jack Marsden, Max Robinson, Oliver Brian, Marcus Woodhead, Owen Witchell, Reece Barraclough, Thomas Atkinson, Thomas Georgiou, William Adams,

Try Scorers - Tom Georgiou 5, Oliver Brian 3, Will Adams 2, Henry Craven 3, Finn Sutcliffe 2, Henry Hilton 1, Jack Marsden 1, Thomas Atkinson 1, Marcus Woodhead 1,

Man of the Match
Effort Award: The Squad
Top Tackler:

Mark Witchell

Under 10's The Destroyers
Destroyers reach Cup Final, but lose by 1 try to Hull Ionians

The Destroyers went in to the Brodleians festival full of confidence following recent good results, and this confidence was fully justified as they swept aside all opposition to top their pool group, and then narrowly lost the final to a very strong Hull Ionians team.

Rish were drawn in a group of five which included Sandal, Scunthorpe, Leodiensians and supposedly Roundhegians but unfortunatly the latter failed to show up. All games for this Pool were played on a very large, heavily sloping pitch which was perfect for teams with speedy backs.

Pool Game 1 Rishworthians 30 - 0 Leodiensians
Rish opted to play down the slope in the first half in an attempt to build up a good lead, and this proved to be a good decision as straight from the kick off they began pressurising the Leods defence and creating scoring chances. Jake Haynes had an early try disallowed for an infringement, and Corey White went close before Rish opened the scoring. From a scrum deep in the Leods half Kian Sutcliffe played a good ball to Jake Haynes who passed out to Nathan Donaldson for the opening try. This was followed by a good spell of Leods pressure, but Rish held out well and when they regained possession deep in their own half a deterrmined Corey White run gained some ground and as the ball was fed out to Nathan Donaldson he outsprinted the Leods defence to score his second try. Rish were now well in control of trhe game and as half time approached they scored again as the rball was played along the line allowing Tom Stott to cross the try line leaving Rish with a 15 - 0 half time lead.

As the second half commenced any hopes Leods had of making a comeback were snuffed out as Corey White went over for a fourth try following a good Jake Haynes run. This was quickly followed by Nathan Donaldson's hat trick try which was well set up by Tom Gillespie, and to round off a good display Tom Stott scored his second try of the game.

Man of the Match Nathan Donaldson
Effort Award Kian Sutcliffe / Tom Gillespie
Top Tackler William Harker

Pool Game 2 Rishworthians 10 - 0 Scunthorpe
For this game Rish played the first half up the slope against a Scunthorpe side that had much larger forwards than Leods, and they got off to another very good start when Carrick Keighley Payne layed off a pass to Jake Haynes who stormed up the hill to give Rish a vital early lead. The remainder of the half was very even, and good defence from both teams restricted scoring chances. In the later stages of the half Scunthorpe had a chance to equalize but a fine touchline try saving tackle by Tom Gillespie prevented this, leaving Rish with a slender 5 - 0 lead.

Rish shuffled their squad for the second half and weathered some early Scunthorpe pressure before the game wes secured with a second try. Corey White fed the ball to Nathan Donaldson who took advantage of the wide pitch to cut through the Scunthorpe defence and race up the hill for a good solo try. Rish defended well for the remainder of the match to seal a well earned victory.

Man of the Match Corey White
Effort Award Matthew Tooby
Top Tackler Tom Gillespie

Pool Game 3 Rishworthians 5 - 0 Sandal
As both teams had each won their first two Pool games this match should have decided who would be playing in the cup final against the other Pool winners. In a very close first half of few chances both teams defended well. Rish had an early chance to take the lead but a long Jake Haynes pass slipped agonisingly from the grasp of Nathan Donaldson as he attempted to burst free up the wing. The deadlock was finally broken in the Destroyers favour from a line out close to the Sandal line.The ball was won cleanly by Carrick Keighley Payne who played it down the line to Tom Stott who darted across the line for a crucial try. As the half ended Rish absorbed more Sandal pressure to hold on to their slender 5 - 0 lead.

The second half was equally close as Rish battled to hold on to their lead. The closest they came to score again was when a good move ended with Tom Stott been held up on the Sandal try line, and late in the game Nathan Donaldson produced a superb try saving tackle. As the final whistle blew the players received a great ovation from the appreciative Rish supporters.

Man of the Match Tom Gillespie
Effort Award Corey White
Top Tackler Jake Haynes

Pool Game 4 Rishworthians 15 - 5 Sandal
As the Destroyers celebrated their previous victory it was announced that due to Roundhegians absence a further match would need to be played between the teams finishing first and second to decide who would play in the final. So once agaiin Rish would have to take on Sandal, but could afford to lose by up to 3 tries due to Rishworthians superior try scoring in previous games. The squad was shuffled again and to their credit Rish attacked Sandal straight from the kick off with Nathan Donaldson running to within 5 metres of the Sandal line. The ball was collected by Carrick Keighley Payne who just strecthed over the line to open the scoring. Rish then conceded their first try of the day as Sandal hit back down the slope to score in the corner leaving things all square 5 - 5 at half time.

In the second half playing down the slope Rish once again took control and secured their place in the final scoring two further tries. The first from a scrum close to the Rish line which was well won and allowed Kian Sutcliffe to lay the ball to Nathan Donaldson who ran the length of the pitch to score. The final try went to Tom Gillespie who scored in the corner following a good pick up.As the final whistle blew the players came off the field to an even louder cheer than the previous game.

Man of the Match Corey White
Effort Award Oliver Fleming
Top Tackler Toby Helm

Cup Final Rishworthians 5 - 10 Hull Ionians
After a long delay waiting for other games to take place Rish took to the field against a well organised Hull Ionians team, and opted to use the advantage of the slope in the first half. The early stages were even with both teams tackling with great determination. Rish broke the deadlock when Tom Stott intercepted a Hull pass deep within the Rish half and ran the ball forward. From the ruck the ball was played out to Nathan Donaldson who once again sprinted down the wing for a good try. Rish now tried to hold on to their advantage until half time, but with the final play of the half Hull forced their way over to level the scores.

The second half was another very close affair and remained level and Rish did well to hold out the Ionians for a long period as they attacked down the slope. As the half progressed when Rish gained possession they tried to play the ball out along the line and on several occasions were unlucky as final passes went astray. Hull eventually took the lead when a good crossfield run led to them scoring in the corner. Rish continued to battle and in the final minute of the game Hull were penalized on their five metre line giving Rish the chance to level the game. Corey White took the ball in at full speed but the Hull defence held out to end a fantastic Rish effort.

Man of the Match The Squad
Effort Award The Squad
Top Tackler The Squad

Squad - Nathan Donaldson, Oliver Fleming, Thomas Gillespie, William Harker, Jake Haynes, Toby Helm, Carrick Keighley Payne, William Robbins, Zak Rush, Thomas Stott, Kian Sutcliffe, Matthew Tooby, Corey White.

Every player put in 100% effort and represented the club superbly today playing some fantastic flowing rugby along with good defence which is backed up by the 13 - 3 overall try count. Thanks to Grahame and Simon along with all parents for their continued support.

Shaun Brittlebank

Under 11's The Raiders
Raiders share festival bowl trophy with Driffield

The Raiders had a great Brods Festival playing in a tough pool to reach the Bowl Final against Driffield. The final ended in a 5 - 5 draw and the Raiders shared the trophy with Driffield.

Pool Game 1 Rishworthians 0 - 5 Sheffield
A tough opening game against Sheffield, who eventually went on to win the tournament, Rishworthians were slow to get going. Sheffield had the physical advantage, especially in the forwards, and when the Raiders did win possession, individual handling errors and ill discipline at the ruck cost them dearly. Sheffield scored a try towards the end of the first half and despite an improved second half performance, the Raiders couldn't get on the score sheet, losing 5 - 0.

Pool Game 2 Rishworthians 15 - 0 Scunthorpe
Against Scunthorpe the Raiders rucked in numbers and moved the ball wide through the hands. Tom Cravens kicking game gave them good field position and from set pieces the powerful running of Patch Smallman, Kian Stewart and George Ackroyd gave them the advantage. Scunthorpe were beaten 15 - 0 with tries from Smallman (2) and Ackroyd,

Pool Game 3 Rishworthians 25 - 0 Roundhegians
Raiders were now getting into their stride after their slow start and went on to a crushing 25 - 0 victory against Roundegians. Getting on the score sheet were Nathan Hales, Tom Craven, Callum Bell, Toby Muscat-Baron and Will Symms.

Pool Game 4 Rishworthians 0 - 10 Sandal
The final pool match was a much sterner test against Sandal. Despite being a very closely fought game Sandal capitalised on a tap penalty at the end of the first half, when the Raiders defence momentarily switched off, and again in the second half when their stand off was given space to run at the defence. Sandal won 10 - 0 which set up a play off against Driffield in the Bowl competition final.

Bowl Final Rishworthians 5 - 5 Drifield
A very close game between the two sides resulted in some good rugby being played. Centre Kian Stewart scored for the Raiders but Driffield equalised shortly afterwards. Some committed defence by Morgan Smithies and Kallan Jamieson prevented Driffield from adding to their total, but once again, Rishies were unable to capitalise on their possession, drawing 5 - 5 at the final whistle to share the Bowl with Driffield.

Under 12's The Reds
Reds win Plate

The festival season is well and truly upon us and on Sunday we all decamped to Brods for their annual festival. This time we were drawn in a pool with Sandal, Scunthorpe and Brods second string.See photos at end of page

Pool game 1 Sandal 15 v 5 The Reds
There was a feeling of déjà vu as we have now played Sandal for the last 3 weekends. As in the match at the Sandal festival both team played very good rugby with neither side managing to get the upper hand. The Reds were putting in some excellent tackles and Jacob Bower and Nathan Cooper were stealing the ball in the rucks. Determined defence from both sides managed to keep the game scoreless at half time. The game really came to life in the second half when Will McDonnell kicked a clearance from his own try line. The ball bounced on half way between 2 Sandal players and while they were deciding who was going to catch it, Will had chased his kick, plucked the ball from the air and galloped to the try line. Delight was soon dampened when Sandal replied from the restart and they increased their lead soon after. A third Sandal try put the game to bed when their big prop barged over from a 5 metre penalty. Final score 15-5.

Pool Game 2 Brods Broncos 5 v 10 The Reds
This should have been an easier match but the Reds put themselves under pressure with some early sloppy play. Jacob Bower was again nicking the ball in rucks and Josh Lynch was bashing his way in to the Brods defence, but against the run of play Brods took the lead from another 5 metre penalty. The Reds were putting in some big tackles and managed to make Brods panic with their passing, which paid dividends when Thomas Sweeten intercepted a loose pass and sprinted for the line to level the scores. It appeared that we had taken the lead when Jack Davis charged down the right wing and crashed over in the corner, only to see the touch judge with his arm in the air. From the second half restart McDonnell managed to battle his way through the Brods tackles to make his way to the Brods 10 metres. Bower and McDonnell then made a double tackle on a Brods forward 2 metres from the line, and the Reds defence was again tested with another 5 metre penalty, but some great defence kept the home team out. With time almost up, the Reds had a scrum on their 5 metres. The ball was run out of defence, and a lovely well timed pass from Sweeten to Ben Rooney sent the winger screaming down the wing to score in the corner and save the Reds blushes.

Pool Game 3 The Reds 30 v 0 Scunthorpe
This game started with a bang when the Reds managed to get quick ball from a midfield ruck and sent Rooney over the try line. He almost scored again moments later but was bundled in to touch 2 metres from the line. Sam Bake had a penetrating run through the defence before Nathan Cooper carried on the momentum and barged over for the second try. The Reds were now playing great rugby, getting quickly to the breakdowns and turning ball over. Second rower George Radcliffe picked up from a ruck and crossed the line, and after Bower had made 40 metres with a weaving run, Greg Day sent Radcliffe over for his second try in as many minutes. From the next restart Will McDonnell weaved his through the entire Scunthorpe defence and made the half time score 25-0. The opening kick of the second half was chased down by the Reds, and from a scrum the ball was thrown out to Sweeten who scored the sixth try and therefore ending the game 30-0.

Pool Game 4 Sandal 25 v 0 The Reds
There seemed no sense in playing this match as Sandal had won all their pool games, and I think the Reds youngsters thought the same as they allowed Sandal to romp to a comfortable 20-0 half time lead. In the second half the Reds managed to keep the try count down to one and the final score was 25-0

Plate Final The Reds 10 v 5 Driffield
This final was played during a hail storm therefore not many notes were taken as my pad soon became soggy. However I have managed to decipher bits and bobs. A good start by the Reds took early play in to Driffield's half with some strong play at the breakdowns. Driffield managed to clear the ball up to the Reds line, and from a line out the ball was fumbled in the in goal area and Driffield pounced on the ball to score. Rishies took the play in to the opposing half and had most of the possession but were unable to capitalise upon it, and at the half time we were still 5-0 down. My notes have now become illegible but here goes. The Reds continued to play positive flowing rugby and were taking the play to Driffield. From a scrum 5 metres from the Driffield try line, McDonnell fed an inside pass to Bower who crashed over to level the scores. Bower was in action soon after at the other end of the pitch when he made a brilliant try saving tackle inches from the line. It was end to end stuff, and the Reds managed to get up to the opposition line again where a powerful ruck allowed McDonnell to pick up and dive over the line from close range. The Reds managed to defend well for the final minute or so and managed to hold out to win the match 10-5.

Tries: Will McDonnell (3), Jacob Bower, George Radcliffe (2), Thomas Sweeten (2), Ben Rooney (2), Nathan Cooper

Dave Mc