Loretto Hockey and Rugby 7s Tournament
Boys' Rugby: U11 Team
With a couple of players unavailable for selection due to the Glenalmond Choristers’ day, we arrived at Loretto unsure of how we would fare. We need not have worried.
The tournament would see us play each of the six teams in the group stages, before then moving onto semi-finals, if we made it into the top four of the table.
We started strong with a 4-1 win over tournament hosts Loreto, before then beating North Berwick 5-3. There was only a 5-minute break between games, which allowed for a quick team talk, a drink of water and then onto the pitch again. The third game saw us facing Cargilfield, to whom we had lost at home a few weeks before. The Belhaven boys produced a strong display, with wide flowing rugby and some fantastic team tries. The game ended 5-1 to Belhaven. Cundall Manor were the next opponents and again the Belhaven boys showed their dominance with an 8-1 victory.
Four games in with four wins; a great start. But St Mary’s, our next opponent, found themselves in the same position and it looked as if this game would be the battle for first place in the table, which would lead to an easier run to the final. The game was a fantastic spectacle of U11 rugby, with two very strong attacking teams spreading the ball wide, with some fantastic defence on display too. Belhaven scored first, then St Mary’s drew level: Belhaven got a second and again St Mary’s replied. With a couple of minutes left to play, Rollo scored a fantastic try and the boys held onto their lead to win 3-2. The sixth and final game of the group stages saw us beat Messelburgh 5-1. The tiredness was starting to show after 60minutes + of rugby!
Winning 6 out of 6 and coming top of the group stages saw us pitted against North Berwick, who had finished 4th. We had beaten them comfortably earlier in the day, so the boys went into the semi-final full of confidence. With North Berwick having a number of substitutes it did look as though their legs were fresher. We did not play our best rugby and sadly lost the game in the dying stages 4-3, after a Belhaven try had been disallowed! The boys felt hard done by, but showed real determination and resolve to win the plate final 4-2 against Cargilfield.
After 80 minutes + of rugby, and 7 wins out of 8, the boys should be immensely proud of their achievements. They played with real heart and their attacking structure was very impressive indeed. It’s always good to go home with some silverware!
Win 4-1: Loretto (Hector x2, Wilber, Rollo)
Win 5-3: North Berwick (Wilber, Charlie, Rollo x2, Hector)
Win 5-1: Cargilfield (Wilber x3, Charlie, Hector)
Win 8-1: Cundall Manor (Charlie x4, Rollo x3, Hector)
Win 3-2: St Marys (Wilber, Noah, Rollo)
Win 5-1: Musselburgh (Rollo x2, Charlie, Hector, Wilber)
Semi-Final: Lost 4-3 (Hector, Geordie, Rollo)
Plate Final: Won 4-2 (Rollo, Charlie, Hectorx2)
Girls' Hockey: U11 Team
The girls set off early on a rather grey Sunday morning to Loretto. The weather did not dampen their spirits and the girls warmed up ready for their first game against Gullane. We were not sure what to expect and as the starting whistle went the team seemed a bit in a daze. Gullane scored an early goal which woke the girls up and then Ottilie went on to score an equalizer. It was an even sided game with the ball being in both Ds but it managed to sneak by into our goal with the final score being 2-1.
Then followed some games against tough opposition. India and Bella work well in defence with strong tackles and clearing the ball out wide. Wendy and Iris worked amazingly in mid-field feeding the balls out to our super speedy wings – Maggie and Emily.
We were through to the Bowl Final coming up against St Mary’s, whom we had drawn against earlier. Willow made some incredible saves in goal and the team put lots of pressure on the opposition. Ottilie was brilliant at defending any free passes and we had a few chances in their D to shoot but the ball was deflected or went wide. In the last 5 minutes of the game, with tiredness kicking in, a ball slipped through our sticks and into the goal.
It was a wonderful morning of hockey and I am so impressed with the girls' determination and how, even though things were not going their way, they kept their heads up and persevered. All the girls were player of the tournament but a special mention to India for her incredible defence and hard sweeps to the wings.