Both of our younger teams traveled to Didsbury in South Manchester to take part in a UK wide competition organised by Sale Sharks at Broughton Park RFC.
The party traveled down on Friday afternoon in advance of the first day's matches on Saturday morning.
Format for the tournament was round robin involving 6 clubs, where the top two clubs would play one another for the trophy on Sunday afternoon. Each game was 25 minutes long, no conversions and one point for a try.

SATURDAY

Day 1. S1
Hawks 1- West Bridgford (Nottinghamshire) 3
Hawks 4- Wolverhampton (West Midlands) 0

Day 1. S2
Hawks 1- Luctonians (Herefordshire) 0
Hawks 0- Market Bosworth (Leicestershire) 4

Mixed results for both teams against very strong English opposition. A win and a loss each meant it was all to play for on day 2. The boys adjusted well to the conditions and differences in age grade laws.

It was interesting to see how the boys would fare playing 'agegrade' rugby as opposed to school age teams. At this level the physical difference can be massive. Our S1 squad contained four u12s while there were five U13s in our S2 team.

In the afternoon the party traveled to the Sale City Stadium to watch Sharks get put to the sword by Leicester Tigers in an entertaining game watched by over 10000 people.

SUNDAY

Day 2. S1
Hawks 4- Burton (Staffordshire) 1
Hawks 6- Hamilton 0
Hawks 0- Currie 2

Two wins and a defeat on day 2 saw our S1s finish a very creditable 3rd place overall, especially for a team who have really only been assembled this season. The boys played very well throughout and ultimately lost out to the 2 teams which competed in the final. The experience gained from this opportunity will be invaluable as the boys look to build for next season. Congratulations to Currie RFC who deservedly won the U13 title. Finally commiserations and best wishes to our Ben Hutton who sadly broke his shoulder playing for the S1s. Get well soon and thanks for staying to support your teammates for the rest of the trip.


Day 2. S2
Hawks 4- Old Cryptians (Gloucestershire) 1
Hawks 9- Hamilton 0
Hawks 9- Sunderland (Tyne & Wear) 0

Matchday 2 started off extremely well for the S2s who it had to be said looked as sharp as a beachball in the warmup, perhaps as a result of a rather late night! Still, they warmed to the task and played the ball through hands to great effect to record 3 wins from 3 in warm, dry conditions.
Results in other matches meant that Hawks qualified to play in the final against the unbeaten Market Bosworth who were clearly the 'form team' in the competition. Many of our lads were flagging by this stage and the injuries were mounting up.

The final started fairly evenly and both teams were well matched. Tellingly Hawks started this game much stronger than their earlier encounter and held their own until the 8th minute when the impressive MB no8 picked up at the rear of a scrum and powered over to touch down on the blind side.
Hawks however continued to press and trusted themselves to get the ball out wide more than their opponents and were eventually rewarded with an equalising try on the right wing from Cammy Wray after some great interplay in the backs.
The game was on a knife-edge for the next 12minutes with Hawks creating good ground and possession. The scrum was holding up better and in 23 minutes the boys were rewarded through a strong scrum 5 metres out. MB had the put-in but Hawks pressure made for a loose pass to the standoff and blindside flanker Callum Coats pounced to score with only a few minutes remaining.
The game was still not won and instead of allowing MB to come forward, Hawks took the game back up and some good early ball from the forwards set up a breathtaking series of passes to draw in the MB defence, and for Wray to run in the gap and touch down for his second try of the match.
A few moments later and the referee blew the final whistle. The boys were clearly delighted but dead on their feet.

Afterwards captain Ruaridh McCall and his team were presented with a rather handsome trophy by Sale Sharks players in the stand.

The boys then headed up to Glasgow having had a great time in Manchester and we are grateful to all the organisers, referees, medics and volunteers for putting on a great event, and to our army of supporters who made the long journey, one which will live long in the memory.

This article was originally posted on 5-May-2014, 12:43 by Bob Coats.
Last updated by Bob Coats on 6-May-2014, 17:45.