There was a keen wind blowing across the pitches of the Saracens Tournament qualifying rounds at Richmond College but this was more than matched by the U8s enthusiasm to reach their group Final and play at Twickenham.

Match 1 v Upminster
Prior to their opening match, the U8 coaching supremoes called order and drilled the boys through a warm-up into a match ready state. The boys assembled on the pitch and the referee blew the Whistle. OGs were first to run with the ball and after an electric start dived over what appeared to be the try line for a dramatic score. However, the actual try line was defined by a set of orange sport markers further down the pitch. An honest and easy mistake for all especially the U8s but the referee, who would come back to haunt OGs, handed the ball over to the opposition who took full advantage of the situation by scoring 2 tries in quick succession.

Most impressively, the OG boys did not wilt but instead reacted with a glorious display of determination and talent to turn the game on its head. First Harry pounced on a loose ball and was away to set up the come-back as the defence looked on. Next Oscar ghosted along the defensive line before throwing a Mike Gibson like step that saw him 15 metres clear and through for a fine try.

All along there was great defence by OG with Charlie, Hugo and Braydon neutralising the attacking play and plucking tags as if by magic. Christopher was a strong contender for player of the match continually testing the opposition’s resistance and setting up a number of scores to complete the comeback. Then ultimately came the winning Try and a 5 – 4 score line to OGs as the Referee’s whistle ended a closely contested match.

Match 2 v Barnet
Again the OG Coaching Team went through the warm-up routine and readied the boys for their 2nd match. This time the Referee was firm but fair and outlined the pitch and offences that he would be looking to penalise so expectations were clear to all and this helped the ensuing match to flow.

Barnet started off and, in attempting some elaborate attacking moves, turned the ball over to OGs which they returned with interest to score. This set the tone for the duration of the game and, if the first match was a tightly balanced affair, this second match gave OGs a chance to really turn on their attacking flair.

There were scores for most of OGs players that came from great team play especially amongst Hugo, Harry, Charlie, Lewis and Braydon, with some mesmerising movement from Oscar and Christopher thrown in and a length of the pitch break by Julian who showed his step and flying pace off the mark.
As the whistle blew, OGs had run out 7-0 winners which helped their chances enormously on try count should the group be tied.

Match 3 v Hertford
The boys were taken through the trusted warm-up routine and prepared for their final group match with the pressure now on to continue their form and go through to play at Twickenham.

From the whistle it was clear this would not be a high scoring match like the last. This was set to be a match won on defence especially as the referee’s tag interpretation slowed the attack by stopping and calling back-play.

So it turned out to be a highly competitive final group match and close to the end. OGs went ahead with a well drilled team try but Hertford came back and levelled the match. The game went back and fore and any team could have made a break-through but as the referee readied to signal the end of the match Herford went over in the corner to seal a narrow 2-1 victory.

To Play at Twickenham or Not?
As Upminster had overcome Hertford in their encounter, there was now an intense wait to see the outcome of the League and whether OG U8s had made it through to the play-off Final at Twickenham. With the results posted, coaching Supremo Dave Roche walked back to tell all the news. He handed the boys his phone that displayed a photo of the Official Results Board – OGs U8s had qualified to play at Twickenham. The boys went crazy with excitement and Usain Bolt wouldn’t have kept up with their celebrations. The Dads were overwhelmed with excitement too and so it was they were forced to turn to the Twickenham Bar to help steady their poor nerves.

Final Preparation
It is not clear what the elite professionals would make of it but with Daddy Day Care on hand the boys prepared for their Grand Final with a Michelin priced sausage and chips at Twickenham followed by a large helping of sweets to boost their energy levels back-up. As a prelude to the main act of the U7/U8 play-offs, the crowd were entertained by watching Saracens v Worcester Warriors and London Irish v Wasps in the Premiership Double Header.

Final at Twickenham v Dartford
Attendance: circa 60,000

In front of a packed Twickenham, the OGs U8s prepared for the Final in their usual well-oiled manner led by our Coaching Legends. Dartford had packed away their Tag bands so instead the Final was played as a classic game of touch rugby. As such, the game got off to a frenetic start and passing cleanly through every OG player’s hands the ball found its way out to Lewis on the left-wing for a flying start as he dived into the corner, what a cohesive team try superbly finished to open the scoring.
If the attacking play to score that try was brilliant the defence for the remainder of the game was even more awesome as the OGs U8 set up a Maginot Line across their Try line. However, unlike the French version, the invading opposition could find no way to cross. Dartford’s attack was quick and, being a game of touch with no tags to return, the ball moved at great pace but always across the pitch and never forwards into OGs goal area. Dartford played out countless 7 touch plays as OGs were camped on their line but were repeatedly forced to turn the ball over. In return a few dazzling runs gained OGs ground before they turned again to face the oncoming Dartford tide but always OGs held firm until the Referee blew the whistle to end a worthy final with OGs running out 1-0 victors.

The Follow-On
Overall, it was a fairy-tale day out that the boys will never forget. Even when going 2 tries down in the first group match they always played positively and fairly so well done to them all. On top of playing at Twickenham, in winning their Final match the U8 boys’ have the added bonus of qualifying for the Champion of Champions Tournament at Saracen’s Allianz Park on Saturday 5th March 2016 so be sure to add this in your diary.

Congratulations and thanks must also be extended to the U8 Coaching Team of Dave, Andy, Robert and Jeremy for dedicating their time and effort in fostering such a strong Team spirit and giving the boys the training that helped them realise their goal of playing on the pitch at Twickenham.

Also, glasses must be raised to Saracens for hosting the tournament and giving all the U7 and U8 players who competed the chance and experience of playing at Twickenham at such a young age – how fantastic.

(Author: Justin Black)