On 11 February the Under 10 rugby team had their toughest fixture of the season so far. In a rematch from the previous year they were to play St Christopher’s, who had beaten them 25 – 5 last time out.

After winning the coin toss, Captain Zachary Battle-Welch elected to kick. From the kick off Shoreham had a strong period of attack which resulted in a well worked try in the corner for Ben Nash. St Christopher’s came fighting back with some super work from their strong pack. In the backs they were spinning it wide quickly and this led to two quick tries. Shoreham began to get more organised in defence after this and there were some super tackles from Ben Nash, Benedetto DeVizio and Blake Barling who were also putting in sterling work in the loose. A well worked move and strong running saw Benedetto DeVizio break through a number of tackles before crashing over the line for a well worked equalising try. Unfortunately from the kick off a brief lapse in concentration saw St Christopher’s score a quick try to go into half time with a lead of 15 points to 10.

After a stirring team talk from Mr Choate at half time and the addition of Finn Tobin in place of Benedetto DeVizio, the second half began. Shoreham were putting in some monster hits, in particular Noah Ridgeway-Brown and Zachary Battle-Welch. But again strong work in the loose was leading to turnover ball and put Shoreham on the back foot. This led to another three scores in the second half for St Christopher’s. This wasn’t the end for Shoreham though. Showing determination and a great deal of courage they fought their way back into the match. Jacob Bizzell-Hawes crashed through the defence to score a well worked try in the corner. With both teams tiring from the brutality of the game a refreshed Benedetto DeVizio and Harry Marsh were brought onto the field. The rest clearly had riled up Benedetto who immediately seized the opportunity to take a run, crashing through tackles on route to the try line. With the score at 20 – 30 to St Christopher’s time was running out. Shoreham were building pressure brilliantly but time was against them and the strong rucking from St Christopher’s saw them turn over possession short of the try line. With that the final whistle went.

It was a strong performance from both teams with some encouraging play. St Christopher’s knew they had been in a battle, this being their closest game of the season. There are a few things to work on in training but each of the Shoreham boys should feel very proud of themselves today. They put in a great performance and this is a good sign of things to come.

Mr Choate