Streatham-Croydon Taggers Shine at Surrey Development Festival

Written by Lal Bahadur

The Surrey Development Festival, hosted by Old Reigatians RFC was only the second festival this season for the taggers, and whilst it was a ‘development’ festival players in both the under 8 and under 7 teams were exceptional both on and off the pitch. They may not have won every game, but their passing, running, tagging and enthusiasm for each game was outstanding. In addition to our playing squad, our two assistant coaches (George & Rupert) provided invaluable support to the team (and often providing match officials with the correct scores)! After every game the referee commented on the commitment and performance of our players. In one game, the referee compared it to an international 7s match saying it was the best game of tag he had seen for a long time. Irrespective of the results, were the players still smiling at the end of the day? Absolutely. They were a real credit to the club and the sport.

The exceptional performance of each player warrants a mention for their contribution.

In the under 7s:
Clark – Blistering pace with direct running scoring tries through the centre
Harriet – A defensive master class, snagging tags everywhere
Horace - Positive in defence and attack and always supporting his fellow teammates
Ilyas - Great taking the ball forward and always looking to either give or receive a pass
Ladon – A real team player, supporting everyone when either attacking or defending
Sam – Great attacking runs, using the space down the wings
Tyson – A safe pair of hands, not dropping a pass all day

In the under 8s:
Conan - Showed great leadership organising the defensive line and strong going forward
Eli – Amazing straight fast running, always direct in attack,
Jack – Quick attacking speed and finding impossible angles to beat defenders and always looking to support his other teammates
Jaylan – Powerful running taking on players down the wings and superb defending
Kieran - Supported the team brilliantly making great runs and tagging in defence
Oscar – Always a positive attitude and always looking to attack, pushing forward and always finding space
Rolando - Head up both in attack and defence, making some excellent passes

And finally a big thank you to parents, grand parents, aunties, uncles and friends for all your support on the day.

Lal, Roland and Gary - The Tag coaches