First up, it was great to be able to create a fixture of this nature. A massive thank you to Bishops Stortford and Finchley coaches and parents. Throughout the morning we saw some really competitive rugby, played in the right spirit and as a consequence, we also saw lots of smiling faces at the end! We were really thank full that the pitches had been softened up a little by the previous day's rain and that the rain held off on Sunday. We also want to extend a big thank you to Laura Gassner, Chris Woods, Dawn Wellings and Susanne Stevens for helping set up and manage the pitches / scores so well. Great team work.

Lions

It was great to be able to play a fixture of this calibre. Bishops Stortford are a very big club and they love their rugby. Having also come runners up in the County Cup, we knew this was going to be a 'proper' contest from the off and it certainly didn't disappoint. We also new our fitness would be tested as this was a much longer game than we are used to playing. We were really using this aspect as a test so the boys get used to playing longer matches in the U11s.

We were all there on time which really helped us to have a proper warm up and run through. We could tell the boys were really excited, knowing they were going to face stiff opponents, but you could also sense there was a real backbone of confidence. From the first whistle we hit the ground running with a well executed set piece play that saw Oliver tear into Bishops defense. Their tackling was excellent and it needed to be, as time and again we ran at them, looking for that decisive breakthrough. We did extremely well at the break down to recycle our possession - both in rucking and using the pop pass. What was particularly good to see was the speed with which we moved the ball from the contact area. Jack was excellent at recognising the ball was available and moving it at speed to an oncoming runner. This meant that in the first half (12 mins) we probably had 80% of the possession. We were camped in Bishops' quarter of the field for long periods of time and were patient with looking for the gaps and moving the ball across the field. We still need runners to hit the gain line as we move the ball out wide but the maturity we showed in probing both left and right and back to left again was great to see. We eventually made a breakthrough with a well worked try from 7 phases of play. Whilst it sounds like we found the going easy, our dominance belies the effort the boys put in to make this happen. Luca, James and Oliver were tireless at the breakdown with some great rucking, utilising low body positions but staying on their feet. There were some lovely examples of 'rocket ball', where we drove the maul down field. Martin showed some excellent handling skills and continually looked to open up their defense with some great vision in his distribution. Fintan was committed in his tackling and consistently hit the gain line, giving Jack options. Harry Tupper and Samuel demonstrated some good hands, particularly with Harry picking up a ball near his ankles to score our first try. We all showed a steely determination and threw ourselves into the game, playing as a proper unit.

The half time talk was very simple. Keep doing what we are doing with some minor tweaks. It was good to see the boys evaluate the situation for themselves, identifying the need to have support runners there a little quicker, more clinical handling and create some diversion with short ball or 'geronimo' ball.

We started the second half with a bang. Marcus once again capitalised on his ability to read the game and ran in for an early trademark interception try. The Bishops heads went slightly lower and as legs began to tire and our relentless attacks continued, we found we had more space. Jack ran in for a well taken third and it felt like the flood gates might open. Bishops did really well to control the situation with some great individual performances from Harry (arguably their most talented player on the day) and Leo, their big, rumbling ball carrier (we have to tackle round their ankles when they get really big!). Bishops hit back with a try from a well taken driving maul and we did well not to concede another try when Harry nearly went in at the corner but was forced out by some great defense. It was at this stage that we then managed to go up another gear, with driving runs from Oliver, Luca, Marcus and Jack. James Wellings also made some excellent ground and did really well to hold up the player in the tackle, to win us a free pass of a number of occasions. Martin also made some excellent runs and stopped himself before running into trouble, to ensure the ball was moved into space. With continuing pressure we eventually went over for our fourth, putting the match beyond doubt. Fintan's positional play was great all day. he continually provided the link as the ball was passed down the line. Likewise Samuel and Harry T kept their alignment well. Samuel made some committed tackles on bigger players and it was great to see Harry's handling much improved. He has consistently turned up to training and as a result is now reaping the benefits of all his efforts.

Bishops Stortford are a very good team but this was arguably one of our finest team performances of the season. We showed some excellent skills, total commitment to the contact area, kept our shape when under pressure and played with real passion.

An excellent team performance. Really well done.

We then broke for some mixed training and had some great fun with some rugby tennis and 'intense defense' including the use of the sumo suits (thanks to the U9s).

What did we learn?

- We learned that with skill, commitment and passion, on our day we can beat excellent opposition.
- We learned that we can take on physically larger opposition, when we play as a team.
- We learned that rugby is a very physical game but our opponents can be our mates.
- We also learned that, unlike some other sports we could mention, rugby gives us some excellent lessons for life. We learned from the Bishops Stortford players that despite losing, they threw themselves into the mixed training. There was no sulking, no tears and no tantrums. They played really good, clean rugby but unfortunately on the day they lost. It wasn't that they cared any less - nobody likes losing. It was that they showed real character in how they dealt with the loss. They dusted themselves down, threw themselves into the learning experience, mixed in with us and as a result, would have come out the other end, much better for it. The fact that some of their players shared their sweets with our team at the end (something they weren't told to do) was testiment to their strength of character. This for me was the biggest lesson of the day.

Please do check out the website as there are some great photos of the day.

Thank you to all for making this an excellent day and a real advert for rugby at Barnet.