UNDER 14s FESTIVAL
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BACKGROUND
The Colchester U14s Festival has been held annually since 1991 and has traditionally attracted teams from all over the United Kingdom, with sides from Blackheath, London Irish, Moseley, Bedford and Saracens taking part. Teams compete for the John Motum Plate, donated to the club by the long serving RFU committee member, who is also a past President of Colchester RFC.      

2005 FESTIVAL
Colchester Rugby Club hosted its annual Under 14 Tournament sponsored by ACRA Leisurewear and Sportsmatch,  with 11 teams from across the North and East of London. The day was warm and sunny, and ‘Mac’ McGenn had, as always, ensured that the pitches were in superb condition. Initially all teams played 7 minute each way games against 4 opponents, in order to determine the sides to go forward into the Trophy, Plate and Shield competitions. 

After the first few matches it became quite clear that 4 teams, Barking (Essex), Twickenham (Middlesex), Chelmsford (Essex), and Harpenden (Herts) were able to demonstrate their superior talents, although all other sides competed well.  Barking opened their account with decisive victories over Colchester (Eastern Counties) (19-0), Romford (Essex) (14-0), and Bury St. Edmunds (Eastern Counties) (8-0).

 Chelmsford started with a 25-0 victory over Woodbridge (Eastern Counties), before beating a tenacious Bury by 5-0, and significantly, beating Harpenden (10-0).  Twickenham also opened up with a (19-0) win over Colchester, an easy result (33-5) against Ipswich (Eastern Counties) and a (12-0) defeat of a battling Woodford (Essex) squad.  Harpenden won the plaudits (5-0) in a very tight hard fought match over Diss (Eastern Counties) before losing to Chelmsford.

Meanwhile, the home club, Colchester defeated Romford (12-0) before drawing (0-0) with Ipswich. Ipswich played out a further draw (7-7) with Woodford. Diss were also showing good form, but lost out to Woodford (15-5) before defeating Woodbridge (24-5) and Ipswich (15-5). The game Woodbridge outfit, after struggling earlier, were able to overcome the form book to defeat Bury (7-5).

And so to the decisive final rounds – Chelmsford beat Romford (12-0) to remain undefeated. Barking and Twickenham, both with 100% records, met, with Barking answering a first half breakaway try from Twickenham to level scores (7-7), both sides claiming their places in the Trophy competition. Harpenden overcame Woodford (26-0) to claim the fourth place in this competition.

In the Plate, Diss with 2 wins, in 5^th place, were joined by Woodford, sixth (one win, one draw), Colchester, seventh (one win, one draw), and Ipswich (2 draws). Woodbridge, Bury and Romford qualified for the Shield.  The Shield was played as a 3-way round robin. Romford beat Woodbridge (12-0), before playing out a scoreless draw with Bury. Bury and Woodbridge were also unable to trouble the scorers, allowing Romford to claim the Shield.  In the Plate, Woodford narrowly defeated an unlucky Colchester squad by a single conversion, (7-5), to meet Diss who had struggled to defeat Ipswich (5-0). In the final, Diss rallied, and their superior pack ensured a (14-0) victory over Woodford to take the Plate home to Norfolk.

In the Trophy, Barking and Twickenham met again in the first semi; this time Barking’s talented backs ensured a final place with a well earned (5-0) victory. In the second semi, Chelmsford met Harpenden for the second occasion, again winning, (7-0) to claim the second final berth. The Trophy final between the 2 Essex clubs was a splendid game, with the power and size of the Chelmsford pack competing over the talent and pace of the Barking backs. Barking scored 2 first half tries to deservedly win the John Motum Plate (14-0).

Colchester were proud, once again, to host an entertaining day’s rugby; over 200 boys took part, and all games were played in a fantastic, positive and sporting spirit. Thanks must go to Andy Docherty, Lee Tanner, Martin Goodman and Ross Cowie, all of the London Society of Referees, who all officiated throughout the whole day. Thanks must also go to Physiotherapist, Ian Succamore, who tended to (a thankfully small) number of injuries during the Festival.

           
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Were you at the Festival?  Go to our Guest Book and record your views on the day, good or bad.

Competing Clubs:

The date of the 2006 Festival is Sunday 9 April.  Any interested clubs should e-mail the organiser in the first instance.  

RECENT WINNERS

15 May 2005