Head's Newsletter 4 March 2016

TIFFIN UNDER 15 WIN RUGBY TOURNAMENT

The only undefeated teams in the tourna- ment contested the final, and Tiffin faced the very athletic Rutlish team. Although the continuity of possession from Tiffin was very good in the early stages, the U15s seemed a little reluctant to take the ball forward. That was until the electric Da- vid Mason latched onto Hayden's well- timed pass to burn around his opposite number and score under the posts. The second half started with a fantastic try from Tiffin. Huw's kick-off was perfectly lofted, fractionally over the 10-metre line, and David Mason chased brilliantly, to catch the ball on the full and burst past 2 defenders, swerve around a 3rd and crash over to give Tiffin a 12-0 lead. Great de- fence and set-piece precision, particularly from Benji Speirs, saw Tiffin secure a clean sheet and a tournament win! This was a truly fantastic achievement from the U15 Sevens squad. Congratulations must go to the squad of Mo Zaman, Awsaf Mohamed, Benji Speirs, Tejbir Deol, Jie Long Yong, Gary Pitman, Huw Morris, Hay- den Hyde, Sam Gunman, Josh Bennett and David Mason. Well done indeed. In late news, yesterday, 3 March, the boys won the Shield tournament at the Surrey School VII tournament. They played 8, won 6, drew 1, lost 1 against the best schools in the country.

The 7-a-side season started yesterday at the inaugural Ibstock Place tournament. The U15s were drawn against teams from Rutlish, Grey Court and Ibstock Place in the group stage, and started very strongly in the opening match against Grey Court. A strong run and finish from Hayden Hyde, great hands and continuity from Gary Pit- man, and safe conversions from captain Huw Morris helped Tiffin to a 14-0 lead. Despite going to sleep at a kick off and al- lowing Grey Court to pounce on a kick off that didn't go 10 metres, Tiffin held on to win 14-5. The second game against Rutlish B saw Tiffin meet a very tough opposition. Excel- lent tackling from Jie Long Yong in particu- lar, followed by three tries without reply, including a brilliant score from Tejbir Deol set them up for a second victory in the group.

The last game against Ibstock Place proved to be the decider. Tough tackling from Hay- den Hyde and incisive passing from Huw Morris and Sam Gunman saw Tiffin domi- nate from the beginning. In the second half with great defence from Josh Bennett, Awsaf Mohamed and Mo Zaman we re- stricted the hosts to only a consolation score in the final play, and Tiffin won by 4 tries to one, winning the group and pro- gressing to the final.