The 1st XV team played a total of three fixtures last week and on Saturday came up against a strong team from Sevenoaks School. The first half was understandably slow due to tired bodies but the Eltham team took the lead with an unconverted try. Sevenoaks fought back to score under the posts and convert. This, and half time, brought some more life to our boys who started to pull away with successful attacks down the wings as Sevenoaks remained narrow in their defence. Eltham won 22-7.
The 2nd XV squad put in an excellent performance against Sevenoaks School to record a resounding 51-0 victory, with the referee ending the game early. The forwards carried the ball strongly with Davis Francis in particular causing a lot of difficulties for the opposition. Connor Fuller and Finn Formica were busy around the pitch and George Jackson controlled the game. James Eckel scored three tries and Tommaso Candita-Simpkins scored two, both put in excellent performances.
The Under 16A teams hosted Sevenoaks School on Saturday and made an encouraging start to the game putting the opposition under pressure deep in their half before James Biss kicked a penalty to give Eltham the lead. Sevenoaks grew into the match and started to dominate with their forwards as they scored two tries in quick succession. Eltham finished the half well but couldn’t respond going into half time 12-3 down. A poor start to the second half led to a third Sevenoaks try but then Eltham were able to build some pressure with George Ennis crashing over as the side pulled a try back. As Eltham pushed for further points they lost some shape and were punished towards the end of the game as Sevenoaks scored two more to win 33-8. A disappointing result but plenty of positives with Ashley Sewell and Michal Burda performing excellently in the back row.
The Under 15 A team had a tough week with two games in three days. Their unbeaten record was lost in a National Cup 1st round match against a very strong and skilful team who had won the title two years previously. Despite some incredible defensive work, for the majority of the game, Trinity College were successful by 52 points to 5. Outstanding for Eltham were centres Charlie Watkins, James Lambton and James Roberts. Several B team players made their debuts, playing out of their skins in the second half. All the boys were pretty tired going into the Sevenoaks game. Even so, our superior back play and great team spirit led to three excellent tries from Joe Abu, James Lambton and James Bush. Final score 17 – 5.
The Under 15 B team had a tough first half with ill-discipline and carelessness leading to a halftime 12-10 deficit after being camped out on their own 5m line for most of the half. They showed great character to bounce back as Robbie Crouch and Ben Marshall scored unanswered tries to ensure the match finished 12-25.
The Under 14A team continued their unpredictable season with a match against Sevenoaks, they allowed Sevenoaks to play too much in the first period and Eltham College found themselves 28-0 down at half time. The second half was much better but a final score of 28-15 showed that the first half had let them down.
The Under 14B team had a very tight first half with strong defence from both sides and it took a blistering run from Ben Lewis to break the deadlock in the last play of the half. The second half saw us build momentum with good strong rugby from David Low and James Parker to lead us to victory 22-0.
The Under 13A team tried to match the well drilled and physical Trinity team. However, a very tough game in the end for our boys who lost 50-0. The Under 13B also struggled against a very strong Trinity side. The boys tried their best but Trinity won 45-0.
Friday afternoon saw the Under 12A go down 8-0 to a very solid Trinity team. Jamie Sears and Marko Morin continued to impress with strong defensive performances. Dominic Wade looked threatening in attack, but Eltham’s inability to retain the ball cost them the match.
The Under 12B team started the game well with Dylan Hexter and Oliver Adamson making good breaks but Trinity grew into the game and scored the first try. Eltham competed well after the try and Hector Salter, Charlie Dykes and Diego Golsby were superb in both attack and defence. Disappointingly, Trinity doubled their lead at the end of the half and as Eltham tired were able to score a further four tries in the second half. The boys kept an excellent attitude and there were plenty of positives from a tough match.
The U11 A and B teams played at Trinity on Friday. Both teams played exceptionally well with defence being the key to two great victories. Scores were 40-0 win for the A team and 55-5 win for the B team.
