U10 squads join forces in the Siberian temperartures to take on Stamford and Oakham

A cold start left the combined Rogues and Mischief’s Under 10’s side 2 tries down within the first 2 minutes of play against Stamford RFC. Determined running by Charlie Latham was rewarded with a try for the home side. However, by half time Market Harborough trailed the visitors by 3 tries, as they were unable to stop Stamford scoring two more.

In the second half, Stamford scored four more times. Luke Ainsworth’s drive from one the restarts earned the home side their second try of the game, but overall they were outclassed by a quick and technical side.

On the other pitch, the Menaces/Rascals combo was seeing more success, beating Oakham 6:2. Tries by Henry Bellamy, Jake Holmes and Joseph Smith were answered by 2 from Oakham for a 3:2 half time lead. The second half however was all Harborough, as the lively Tom Stockley, Bellamy and a first competitive try for Francis Hunt saw Harborough 6:2 victors.

In the second games, fortunes were reversed.

The match against Oakham for Mischiefs/Rogues set the crowds pulses racing as Archie Gibbs opened up the score sheet for Market Harborough. Oakham replied quickly and cancelled out the lead, but Gibbs and Latham showed their class to score one a piece in a hard fought first half battle.

Oakham started the second half brightly with a try. This just ignited the spirit and determination in the home side. Excellent defence from Matthew Humphrey kept Oakham at bay and hard forward drives from George Boucher kept the pressure on the visitors. Latham scored his second try and then Ainsworth gathered up the ball from the off load and sprinted forward to score in the corner. Gibbs rounded off a fine display by scoring the 6th try for Harborough.

Menaces/Rascals suffered a similar fate against Stamford as their fellow Harborians had in the first game, finding the opposition too strong on the day. There were some notable personal successes though. Stockely and Bellamy combined well in the half backs, Frank Clark showed great aggression and Connor Byrne showed great promise in his first competitive outing, getting the bit between his teeth and driving through the Stamford defence. However the opposition were victorious on the day.