Bilton brave but beaten

In a courageous display of tackling and running, Bilton Grange’s U10 players did their best to hold on to the trophy they brought home last year. In the end, eventual winners Spratton were too strong for them in the semi-finals. Bilton went on to win the 3rd/4th playoff and Spratton downed Swanbourne in the final.

Bilton were drawn in Pool B and a slow start to their tournament may have led to their eventual undoing. A draw against Maidwell (0-0) showed determined defense but Bilton’s lack of tactical acumen meant that we never threatened their line. in the next match, against the team that would later contest the final, Bilton again stayed scoreless and drew a second fixture. This meant that Bilton were always likely to be runners up in their pool, despite not having lost a fixture. A win against Leicester Grammar did put Bilton Grange into second place in the pool, with Swanbourne’s wins against Leicester and a big result against Maidwell elevating them to the top spot.

 Bilton defended tenaciously throughout the tournament and, in fact, conceded only 2 tries, both against Spratton in the semi-final. The Spratton side were technically skilled but also had two strong running forwards who worked well off each other to keep their oppostion tackling. Bilton stayed in touch until the final move of the semi-final, when Spratton scored from a penalty close to the line.

In attack, though, the hosts were less convincing, and Bilton must come away from the tournament thinking about spreading the attack ball wide before making contact with the opposition. Running hard is a positive, but continually running into the thickest part of the defense from a standing start is seldom going to get many tries: indeed, Bilton managed tries in only two of their five fixtures.

The playoff game was positive, Bilton scoring early and holding on to their lead. In the gathering gloom, Bilton maintained their spirit and showed that they were, if not as strong as the winners, then not too far off. Having drawn with Swanbourne in the pools, they managed a better result than the beaten finalists against winners, Spratton.

The tournament was run in a good spirit, and the cordoning of fields led to better lines of sight for spectators. In the cold, the availability of soup and food was also very welcomed by the hard-working players.

The Under 10s would like to thank all those members of staff and the helpers from the Colts game who worked to make the afternoon as succesful as it was.


Tags: Rugby, Sport