Knights Brave Defence of the Castle

.

Doncaster Knights under 9’s

Sunday 21st saw the Onedrywash and Autoglass®-sponsored Doncaster Knights under 9’s take on all comers in the festival of junior rugby at Castle Park. For many of the team, this was the first time they had experienced this sort of day, and it would prove to be valuable learning for everyone.

We were able to field 2 teams, which stretched our resources to the full, meaning all 18 players on duty faced the prospect of at least 3 games without a break. But this didn’t seem to phase any of them, as they set about their task.

The 2 captains for the day, BJ and Joe, led their teams from the front, and they battled hard as teams, the highlights being a well earned draw against Otley for the red team, and a fantastic 40 – 0 win for the blue team against local rivals, Selby.

As lunch time arrived, the boys were really starting to get into the flow of the day, and with 4 tired coaches, and a whole stack of hoarse families on the sidelines, it was down to the head coach to break the news we had all been dreading ………….

……. Both teams had made the semi finals, but the journey for one team would have to end here as they had drawn each other !!!!

The Semifinal was preceded by a minute's silence in memory of a family loss this week, and then both teams got stuck into each other like they were complete strangers! They banged into each other, knocked each other over and ran for all their worth, and the effort was clear to see, and was summed up by Josh from the red team who chased BJ all the way to the line before tackling him and causing BJ to spill the ball – no try – well done Josh.

Eventually the blue team came out on top, and would go on to the final. The boys were starting to tire now, so some of the red team were enrolled as substitutes for the final.

This was it; the boys had got to the final with a smile on their faces, and they just needed one more effort, but it wasn’t to be. As one by one the substitutes were called into play, the 9 men left on the field had run themselves to water and given their all for the team, only to be edged out by a solitary score.

It was tough for the boys, but the smiles on the photo show the day was a huge success, and as each player collected their medal, perhaps only the parents were really left to wonder what might have been. BJ shook every player by the hand, and as they came together for the photos, all was forgotten and the smiles returned.

WELL DONE BOYS – YOU SHOULD BE REALLY PROUD OF YOUR EFFORTS

.