Kesteven RFC under-10s successfully defended their Stamford Festival Cup title last Sunday.
Following a scoreless draw against Stamford A, Ks beat Spalding 25-0 with tries from Harry Clough, Zak Draycott, Geordie Irvine, Tom Helliwell and Daniel Keenlyside.
Kesteven then enjoyed another resounding 25-0 win over Deeping with tries scored by Jonnie Marris, Daniel Brumhead, Helliwell, Irvine and Max Shippey.
Irvine scored an amazing first try in yet another 25-0 victory over Moderns. Tries followed from Draycott, Helliwell, Keenlyside and Brumhead.
They went into their final game tired against a strong Kettering side, but managed to keep a clean sheet and triumph with tries from Draycott and Clough leading to Kesteven lifting the cup for the second successive year.
Player of the match was awarded to the whole team for such a resounding victory.
Kesteven under-10s are Jonnie Marris, Daniel Keenlyside, Oscar Brady, Freddie Thomas, Harry Clough, Alfie Sanderson, Daniel Brumhead, Tom Helliwell, Zak Draycott, Geordie Irvine, Max Shippey, Declan Brunton, Jack Edwards and Bobby McDonald.
Under-9
Kesteven fielded two teams at the end-of-season Stamford Festival – the Eagles and the Lions.
Eagles were unlucky not to win against Peterborough Lions, drawing 20-20 with three tries scored by Atkinson and one by Levey. They defended bravely against a strong Kettering side but went down 20-0.
Eagles really came together against Sleaford with tries from Clark (3), Levey, Jackson, Whinney (2) and Tombs. Eagles lost 20-15 to Stamford with Whinney, Davis and Atkinson on the scoresheet.
The Eagles comprised Whinney, Ingamells, Atkinson, Clark, Skelton, Tombs, Shorrock, Davis, Jackson, Levey and Pepper.
Lions played well from the outset although Spalding found holes in their defence. Tries were scored by White and Coyle in the 30-10 defeat. A 15-5 victory over Peterborough followed with Ford-Pain, Carrington and Coyle the try scorers.
Lions defeated Stamford 20-5 with tries from Wood, White (2) and Edwards but lost 25-10 to Moderns, Edwards getting on the scoresheet twice. A 15-15 draw against Lincoln saw tries from Coyle, Kelly and Cummins.
The Lions team were Cummins, Carrington, Coyle, Edwards, Ford-Pain, Wood, Kelly, White, Robertson and Dickinson.
Under-8
Kesteven under-8s fielded three teams at the Stamford Festival last Sunday. Paul’s squad hit the field meaning business and there were tries aplenty from Rory, Cameron Anderson, Sam Gilbert, Rory, Sam and Silvie. The side finished in the top group with only a single hiccup in one game.
Brett’s squad went out fighting from the off. Monty and Dom were the tagging kings and, desperate to score, Finn attacked well. Charlie was the scoring machine, supported by fast feet from Josh and Terry.
Matt’s squad had a slow start but improved steadily. Their final game was a try-for-try affair, and truly the match of the day, with scores high on both sides. Impressive were Will, Luca and fiery Jack, with good support in tagging by Noah.
Under-7
Twenty-one players got the call-up for Kesteven in the Stamford Mini Tournament, split into three teams – the Action Heroes, Bigboys and Crazy Gang.
Action Heroes started with a bang with Benjamin and Harvey forcing the play for Keiron, Toby, Ethan and Theo, only lacking in the try count. The following three games followed a similar pattern.
Bigboys narrowly lost their first game but that only spurred them on. William, Charlie, Daniel and Oscar ran with a passion, with Kaelin, Jake, Jack and Fred their perfect foils.
Kaelin tagged for his life and tries came for Jack, Jake and Fred.
The Crazy Gang made for a memorable day and were truly devastating. Tom, Jacques, Edward, Henry, Jack B. and Sam were all try scoring machines and played with passion and heart. They went into their final game still unbeated and faced Peterborough who needed to win to claim the title.
In an end-to-end affair, the Gang slowly began to dismantle the opposition. The match ended in a draw and so the tournament was won by the Black Army’s Crazy Gang who eagerly collected their champions medals.