Cinque Ports Rugby Super 10's

A GREAT DAY OUT AT THE RUGBY

6 Clubs + 8 Teams + 16 Games + 4 Finals + 78 Tries = One great day of rugby! Teams came from far and wide to compete for the Elite Cup, the Shield, the Plate and the Bowl trophies. In addition to fast exciting rugby, the day was also in support of our two chosen charities – Help for Heroes and The RFU Injured Players Foundation, who will benefit from nearly £500 collected on the day and from the sale of raffle tickets. Amongst the many stalls present were a bouncy castle and mini motorbikes which were popular with the kids and a bar that was popular with their parents!

We were honoured to have the Mayor of Bexhill, Mr Stuart Wood start the day off by blowing the whistle to get the first match under way.

On the pitch the pace was fast and furious, every game being fiercely contested which meant a treat for the spectators whether rugby fans or just curious.

The top teams from last years event contested the Elite group. They were Tonbridge Wellingtons, Streatham & Croydon A (last year’s winners), Uckfield A and newcomers   Littlehampton. The hosts, Cinque Ports, Streatham & Croydon B, Uckfield B and Plumpton made up the Social group. The pool stage of both groups were high scoring displays of running rugby with 51 tries being scored in just 12 matches!

The Elite group soon became a straight fight between last year’s Cup finalists for supremacy with Tonbridge edging out Streatham & Croydon A to lead the table. The youngsters of Uckfield A were finding it hard work to keep up with their opponents but never gave up the fight – a real credit to their club. Littlehampton acquitted themselves very well on their first visit.

It was much closer in the Social group, especially with injuries disrupting the smooth timings. Cinque Ports started strongly with a win over Uckfield B, while Streatham & Croydon B fought a losing battle against a strong Plumpton side. Streatham B then went on to beat Uckfield B  and Cinque Ports were victorious against Plumpton. With Cinque Ports against Streatham B and Plumpton against Uckfield B both ending in draws the group ended with the hosts Cinque Ports leading the table with Streatham & Croydon B in second place, Plumpton and Uckfield B in 3rd and 4th. 

It didn’t seem to matter who was on the pitch for Cinque Ports, under Chris Eastwood’s leadership everyone played their hearts out. Which showed in the try count, in what was a very tough group, with 10 tries being scored against only 2 conceded. The 5 man scrum was solid all day  with Rob Tritton, Nick Giles, Craig Barningham, Rob Pantry Meyer, Dale Whittington, Dean Dedman, Kim Wan and Tom Gardiner all playing their part in turning the screws on the opposition. The Backs were not going to be left out either, with strong penetrating running from Murray Whittington, Ross Kearney, Ben Hanny and Chris Eastwood exploiting the gaps opened up by the smash and bash of Chris Perry and Vincent Page. Martyn Chambers and Chris Young added to the mix with their speed and bravery.
After a short well earned rest the finals got under way with the Bowl being played between Plumpton and Uckfield B. A tough encounter eventually won by the quicker youngsters of Uckfield.

The Plate final saw Cinque Ports take the field against Streatham & Croydon B (a rerun of their last Pool match). Both teams were not going to settle for a draw or even a narrow victory, they both went out to dominate but it was the strong Pack and fast Backs of Cinque Ports that scored first with a move started close to the CPR line and ending with a sprint to the line by Murray Whittington. Soon after Ross Kearney dotted down a second. It looked like Streatham’s fitness had waned but they found a second wind and hit back with a try of their own. After the break it was more of the same with the Pack dominating a tiring Streatham scrum and the backs hitting gaps that started to appear. Chris Eastwood scurried through several would be tacklers to score early on in the 2nd half. Streatham weren’t giving up though and scored a good pushover try to keep them in the fight, but a 2nd try for Whittington put paid to their hopes and Cinque Ports ran out the victors.

The shield final saw Littlehampton overpower a brave Uckfield A side that just couldn’t keep up with their opponent’s strong forwards. However they never gave up and when the final whistle went they were still trying to break the Littlehampton line but just ran out of time.

The Elite Cup final was a rerun of last year’s event between Tonbridge Wellingtons and Streatham & Croydon A and it was just as fiercely contested. Right from the start both teams smashed into the tackles with no quarter being asked and none given. It was touch and go throughout the match as to which team would gain the advantage but Tonbridge began to exploit holes in Streatham’s defence scoring 3 tries to 1 before half time. Tonbridge came out after the break with determination and Streatham began to weaken. Two more tries for Tonbridge meant that they got their revenge for last year. 

The whole day was a total success due in no small part to the organisational skills of Sue and Andy Smith who have spent many months getting this event off the ground. Thanks also go to all the helpers who worked so hard all day. Lastly thanks have to go to Paul Smart, Marcus Davies and Sonja Davies for refereeing all the matches. Paul did an outstanding job under difficult conditions with the Elite group, while Marcus and Sonja kept the Social group under control.

If you want to play rugby why not come down to training at The Grove School, Darwell Close, St Leonards on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm. We welcome all players whether experienced or complete novices so come and join a friendly local club thats going places.