At the Surrey Development Festival held at Old Reigatians on 24th April, the U11s squad showed just how far they have come since being introduced to contact rugby 3 seasons ago. Whilst they looked nervous at the Land Rover Cup earlier in the season, today they played with confidence, smiles on their faces and great flowing upfront rugby to win all four of their games. Their defence and counter rucking were strong only conceding 5 tries for the whole tournament. In fact, the only thing we lost all day were 3 rugby balls and 1 football!

The first game against Warlingham provided a sign of things to come. Despite being able to kick out of hand at U11 grade, the squad were under strict instructions not to kick for fear of giving away possession. Warlingham on the other hand conceded two tries from kicking the ball up field only for our team to punish them twice to go two tries up. However, confusion over where the try line was prevented Lorenzo Zilli from scoring his first try.
The team passed the ball out to the wings and took advantage of the fast players in the team. Nathaniel Cameron scored a hat trick of tries. Abhinav Menon and James Ward scored the other two, winning by 5 tries to nil.

In the second game against the much fancied Sutton & Epsom, the team played fantastically to win six tries to one. Lorenzo Zilli opened his scoring after a long absence from the squad. Daniel Ivanov side stepped his way through Sutton & Epsom to score a silky try. Nathan Cameron and Fabian Baptise scored two tries each. Great tackling from Diran Oresanya, Joseph Gallon, Andy Aheto, Georgia Lalande, and Tyrus Preece-Walkes ensured that only one try was scored against them.
In the third game against Wimbledon, complacency set in and the team were three tries to nil down at half time. After a stern talking to, Nathan Cameron clawed the team back into the game with his 6th try of the tournament. Sam Kabia, taking his cue from a better team defensive effort, stormed his way with two tries. Wimbledon were on the ropes and after a wonderful passage of play, Lorenzo Zilli scored the winning try in the dying seconds. Final score 4 tries to 3.

In the final game against Cobham, the team sought to avenge a defeat when they last met in the Land Rover Cup in February. Despite conceding an early try, the game came to life with a superb solo effort from Fabian Baptiste. Showing fleet of foot he then scored his second try. Then a try from Daniel Ivanov, two from Diran Oresanya - one of his tries from a well-timed collected ball from a Daniel Ivanov kick off, where he showed good hands, to dab down in the corner, plus a final try from our player of the Tournament, Nathan Cameron, sealed a clean sweep of victories. Final Score 6 tries to 1.
This is the first time in three seasons that this group has gone unbeaten in a tournament.
A large number of parents showed up to support their children and I'm sure that gave them the impetus to show what they can do.
This special group of players will start Secondary School in September (heading to The John Fisher School, Purley, Harris Academy South Norwood, St Joseph's College, Archbishop Tenison, Virgo Fidelis and Kingsdale to name but a few) and many of them will hopefully continue to develop their rugby skills in a school environment. However I'm expecting all players to turn up on Sundays once the new season begins on 11th September 2016, to build on the success to date.

An added bonus for some players as we were leaving the event was bumping into some of the victorious Harlequins, who dispensed with Grenoble on Friday to book their place in European Challenge Cup Final on May 13 in Lyon. They will face Montpelier. Mike Brown and his colleagues thanked our boys for the Photo Opportunity.

Squad
Andy Aheto
Fabian Baptiste
Nathaniel Cameron
Joseph Gallon
Daniel Ivanov
Sam Kabia
Georgia Lalande
Abhinav Menon
Diran Oresanya
Tyrus Preece-Walkes
James Ward
Lorenzo Zilli

Stats

Played 4 Won 4
Warlingham 0 - 5 Streatham-Croydon
Sutton & Epsom 1 - 6 Streatham-Croydon
Wimbledon 3 - 4 Streatham-Croydon
Cobham 1 - 6 Streatham-Croydon

TRY SCORERS
Nathaniel Cameron 7 tries
Fabian Baptiste 4 Tries
Daniel Ivanov 2 Tries
Lorenzo Zilli 2 Tries
Samuel Kabia 2 Tries
Diran Oresanya 2 Tries
Abhinav Menon 1 Try
James Ward 1 Try

SCRFC Player of the Festival Nathaniel Cameron