On a windy and overcast day we hosted the second leg of the U14's 9's competition. As with the previous leg ourselves, Bromley and Invicta were in attendance, although we were able to field two squads. As we have done all year we've avoided using A & B teams and concentrated on developing the players skills and understanding of the game rather than chasing the win.

The format of the day would allow every side to play each other once and then 3rd would play 4th and 1st v 2nd. The day saw some great RL played from all four sides. The Eels side was particularly impressive with some solid defence on show. In attack the forwards really ran the ball with real aggression and Rian controlled the attack combining well with Owen at centre putting him into the gaps. Luca, Alex and Lamar were always a threat in attack and played extremely well. The Eels ultimately went through the card unbeaten and won a very close final against Invicta Panthers.

Our other side played some good rugby but were overpowered by the large Bromley and Invicta sides. Tom and Dan played well in the halves with Billy relishing the collision and looking very good with ball in hand. Blake on his first outing also looked impressive and will do well at this game.

It's always nice to win but I felt there were positives all round with boys starting to combine well and really getting to grips with the game. This week we start mid-week training which will enable us to work on some moves. A big thanks to both Bromley and Invicta for making it such an enjoyable day. The third leg is In the next couple of weeks and once again we should see some close encounters.

Brentwood 4 v Eels 16
Invicta 0 v Eels 14
Brentwood 8 v Bromley 32
Brentwood 8 v Invicta 34
Bromley 20 v Eels 26

3rd v 4th
Bromley 28 v Brentwood 6

Final
Eels 16 v Invicta 14

Points scored

Eels

Tries
L Douglas 5, R Horsman 2, O Dew 2, C Madden 2, E Michaels 1, L Valentini 1, M Murphy 1
Conversions
R Horsman 8

Brentwood

Tries
Blake 2, M Davies 1, M McClellan 1, B Davison 1