U11’s won – Everyone else 0

U11’s won – Everyone else 0
MHRUFC under 11’s rounded off their season as they begun with a tournament victory. The boys travelled to Hinckley with a team hungry to prove themselves after the disappointment of coming second in the county cup against the ten men of Leicester Forest.
Fast tracks and good weather always bring the best out of the Harborough team and the boys got off to a decent start against a spirited Loughborough team. By the half time whistle they were 3 – 0 up with tries from Rowan Moore, Dan Van and Matty Reeves. The ball was going through hands and the off-loading game was working well. Under little pressure in the second half the game was put beyond doubt by 2 further tries for Reeves and a great solo effort by Sam Chapman, showing fine end of season form.
Game 2 saw the boys tested by the sterner better organised defence of Market Bosworth. Although rarely threatened in attack Harborough had to be patient. They opened their account shortly before halftime through Dan Van. Another from the inform Reeves during the second half completed the victory 2-0.
Game 3 got off to a flyer against Leicester Lions with an early score from the fleet of foot Ben Marlow muscling his way over the try line from the halfway mark. This opened the flood gates and MH scored at will to come out 6-0 winners. Tries coming from Dan Pope, Max Pollard (2) Sam Chapman and James Garner.
Having held back through the early games knowing they were playing Hinckley in the final pool game the boys were expecting a back lash after the 5-0 victory over the same opposition at the county cup. Hinckley came out in traditional robust fashion and got stuck into the Harborough side. Again the boys were patient and backed their ability to unpick the Hinckley defence. It took a moment of magic from Oliver Rodgers to float the most perfectly timed pass to Finn Carnduff to get them off the mark. Another soon followed with a strong run from deep by Dan Pope. 2-0 at the break and the boys went into the second half wanting to keep a clean sheet and put Hinckley to the sword, Ethan Schewring made his presence felt in the opening encounters by carrying the ball over the whitewash together with several of the Hinckley players. Ben Marlow followed suit in similar fashion to conclude the match 4-0 winners.
With the pool games concluded MH went through to play Lutterworth in the Cup finals who were also unbeaten.
The final was played with real tempo by the Harborough team. The warmer the weather the hotter the rugby!!. Within the first 3 mins MH had taken a 2.0 lead through Carnduff and Marlow. The handling in the middle of the park from Kai Williamson, Rodgers and Dan Van kept a constant supply of quick ball available for the strike runners to maintain pressure on the Lutterworth line. Further scores by Max Pollard and Carnduff saw MH 4-0 at half time and cruising to victory.
The half time talk was all about keeping Lutterworth from crossing the line to maintain a tournament clean sheet. Fresh legs were bought into the team to keep the tempo up, in both attack and defence. Jake Thompson and Dan Pope continued to work hard in consolidating the team’s performance and James Garner injected some pace to see Pollard and Schewring cross for 2 further tries. 6- 0 at the final whistle and not a try conceded. All in all a tremendous effort from the boys at the end of a long and tiring season.
Congratulations to the team which showed a new level of maturity in game management and belief in what they are setting out to achieve. It is evident we go into next season with an exceptional pool of talented players that will unselfishly support and play for one another.