Worthing Festival
Competing in their final Tag Festival, Medway’s U8’s served up their travelling supporters a victory in the Plate competition at Worthing on Sunday. Medway fielded two teams in the Festival, the Knights and the Reds.
Against Pulborough the Knights took a 2-1 half time lead with a fine brace from Alex Harris, Medway help on to their lead until the very last play of the match when Pulborough broke free to level the match. Next up Worthing proved a little too hot to handle for the Knights running home 5 tries to the Knights single score a fine solo effort from Mattias Carden. The Knights final game against Tunbridge Wells was a much closer encounter, James Queay’s determined run broke through the Tunbridge Wells defence to give the Knights an early lead before Tunbridge Wells replied with two tries before half time, the Knights battled gamely in the second half scoring two further tries though Mattias Carden and Ethan Green, unfortunately for Medway, Tunbridge Wells were not finished as they ran home 3 more tries of their own to secure a 5-3 victory. Not on the score sheet this week were Jean Luc and Jean Pascal Carden, Owen Anderson, Amun Bains, Evan Stokes, Jamie Wyndham and Sam Hall.
In the Reds first match against Lewes a try each for Joshua Lamb and Oscar Wells plus a fine Jack Bloomfield hat-trick secured a well earned 5-3 win. In their second game a very organised Hove defence frustrated the Reds attack from the off and forced a few errors which were punished, Medway’s two scores from Jack Bloomfield and Joshua Lamb were not enough as Hove won 6-2. A fine defensive display against Tunbridge Juddians earned the Reds s host of chances and scores from Jack Bloomfield (2) Joshua Lamb and Sam Crean (2) earned the Reds a 5-2 victory and second place in the group. In the plate Semi 
Final against Pulborough the Reds defence was very tight and their excellent support play lead to 7 tries through, Tom Narborough, Lewis Hollidge, Jack Bloomfield, Sam Crean, Joshua Lamb (2) and Kyle Struthers. In the Final against Haslemere Medway’s defence kept their opponents down to 2 scores in each half while fine support play once again from Josh Ehrich lead to a first half try for Christopher Jarvis and a double for Lewis Hollidge, followed by a second half hat-trick once again for Jack Bloomfield which sealed the win and the Plate victory for Medway.
Westcombe Park Festival
It was a case of so near and yet so far for Medway's U8s at the Westcombe Park Festival last Sunday. Medway played some sensational rugby and scored 29 tries on their way to topping a tough group, before going out in their semi final clash to Blackheath.
In front for the majority of their game against Worthing Medway were unable to shake their opponents off and a late Worthing try levelled their first match 6-6, Medway's scores came from Lewis Hollidge, Joshua Lamb, Mattias Carden, Sam Crean and a double from Jack Bloomfield. Excellent support play and a tight defence saw Medway build a 5-1 half time lead against Old Colfeians, which was too much for Old Colf's to reign back, two 
tries a piece for Sam Crean and Joshua Lamb plus a 4 try haul for Jack Bloomfield secured an 8-4 victory. Next up were Folkestone, tries from Lewis Hollidge, Joshua Ehrich, Joshua Lamb and a brace for Christopher Jarvis secured a 5-2 win. Medway's toughest group match and finest performance came against Upminster, with both sides level on points at the top of the group, a cup semi final place awaited the victors. In a cracking match both sides lead before a last gasp score from Jack Bloomfield(2) gave Medway the win 6-5, Medway's other scores came from Joshua Lamb, Nathan Hulett 
and a brace for Sam Crean. With a cup final place at stake the semi final proved to be a scrappy affair, a couple of Medway errors and one or two very close sideline decisions were the difference in a keenly contested match, tries from Christopher Jarvis, Sam Crean, Joshua Lamb and Lewis Hollidge were unfortunately not enough as Blackheath came through 6-4.
Medway's team were Tom Narborough, Lewis Hollidge, Ethan Green, Jack Bloomfield, Joshua Ehrich, Harry Meadows, Joshua Lamb, Mattias Carden, Oscar Wells, Chistopher Jarvis, Sam Crean and Nathan Hulett.
Medway v Lowestoft and Yarmouth
Last Sunday Medway's U8 Knight's took on Lowestoft and Yarmouth as part of their annual Mini's tour. The 8's played two games on a much larger pitch than usual and they were in fine form, running out convincingly winners in both matches.
Great support play from Aidan Wolfe, Jean-Luc and Jean-Pascal Carden plus some excellent defensive tagging especially from Jamie Wyndham and Lewis Hollidge in Medway's first game gave them plenty of opportunities to stretch the L & Y defence and tries from Joshua Lamb, Karl O'Grady, Lewis Hollidge(2) Toby Robson(2) and a fine hat-trick from Mattias Carden secured a 9-5 win.
A very polished team performance in their second game saw the Knights win comfortably by 12-2, an almost 
faultless defensive display especially from Joshua Ehrich, and Joshua Lamb, combined with determined runs and unselfish support running created a hat full of chances and lead to tries for Ethan Green, Toby Robson, along with two further hat-tricks, this time for Tom Narborough and Christopher Jarvis, plus a four try haul for Joshua Lamb capped an excellent all round performance from himself and the rest of his team.
Medway v Westcliff
Medway's U8s (The Knights) took the not so short trip across counties to Westcliff near Southend in Essex. They fielded two sides the Reds and Yellows and played all their matches against the hosts. Despite the cold and being up early the Reds got a great start by winning their first match by 7 tries to 6. After an even start the game was turned in favour of the Knights by 3 quick tries from Tom Narborough. Also scoring for the reds were Sam Crean, Nathan Hullet and a brace for Jack Bloomfield.
In their second match the efforts of the first took their toll with the reds losing by 4 tries to 2 despite valiant defencive performances from Lewis Hollidge, Oscar Wells and Josh Ehrich. On the score sheet for the second game were Toby Robson and Alex Harris.
The yellows were made up from a mixture of experienced and inexperienced players. The hosts used their more experienced side to full advantage and proved to strong for the yellows defeating them by 7 tries to 2, although the Yellows to their credit kept playing till the end and actually scored the last 2 tries of the match through Rhys Johnson and Evan Stokes.
In their second match the Yellows were up against the same side and continued where they had finished the first match although the hosts just proved to strong despite the much improved performance. Westcliff eventually won the game by 5 tries to 3 with the Knights tries coming from Jacob Clayton on his debut and a brace from Amun Bains. Not on the score sheet for the yellows were Karl O'Grady, Aidan Wolfe, James Queay, Owen Anderson and Harry Meadows.
Kent Festival Qualifiers
Last Sunday Medway Under 8's The Knights hosted the Kent U8's mini qualifier featival at Priestfields Rochester. 32 teams from around the county came down to try and qualify for the finals to be held at Tonbridge Juddians next Sunday.
The Knights fielded A and B teams for the event. Despite some great performances the A team went out in the quarter final of the plate competition after finishing second in thier group. Again after performing very well the B team went out in the quarter final of the Bowl after finishing third in thier group.
The A team started the day with a good win by 8 tries to 4 against Vigo and continued with another win 9 to 5 over Aylesford B. Thier only defeat in the group stages was against Tonbridge Juddians by 10 tries to 9 in one of the games of the day. The quarter final defeat was at the hands of Cranbrook by 7 tries to 4 although the game was more even than the scoreline suggests.
Playing for the A team were: Sam Crean, Tom Narborough, Jack Bloomfield, Josh Ehrich, Josh Lamb, Lewis Hollidge, Oscar Wells and Christopher Jarvis.
The B team also started with a win although a very hard fought one, eventualy beating Sheppey by 6 tries to 5. The B's then faced 2 very strong teams in Beccahamians and Sevenoaks and despite thier best efforts lost the games 7 to 4 and 8 to 3 respectivly. The B teams quarter final was against Westcombe Park who proved to be just to strong for the tiring B team. They had kept within 2 tries at half time but eventualy lost 11 tries to 6.
The B team were: Toby Robson, Harry Meadows, James Queay, Evan Stokes, Alex Harris, Alfie Pattenden, Ethan Green, Kyle Struthers and Aiden Wolfe.
Congratulations to Rhys Johnson and Karl O'Grady who both kindly volunteered to play for Sheppey who were short and will hopefully be going to the finals this Sunday after qualifing with Sheppey.
Upminster B Festival
2 March 2008
On Sunday 2nd March, Medway U8’s took their Red team to take part in the Upminster B festival. The team improved game by game. Starting with tough opposition against Old Elthamians, tries by Sam Hall, Aidan Wolfe and Joshua Ehrich and superb team defence were not enough to avoid a 5-3 defeat. Blackheath were up next scoring a last second try to win a very even match. The final score being 4-3. On the scoreboard were Tom Underdown, Jean-luc and Mattias Carden.
Medway saved the best for last and overturned a half-time deficit to run out winners against Chelmsford 6-5. Tryscoreres: Tom Underdown(2), Joshua Ehrich, Mattias Carden, Amun Bains and Oliver Rees. The players not on the score sheet but contributing to some superb team play were: Jean-Pascal Carden, Owen Anderson, Karl O’Grady and Jamie Wyndham.
Medway v Canterbury and Westcliff
Last Sunday Medway's U8 Knights travelled down the M2 for a fixture at Canterbury, with fellow travellers Westcliff.
Medway fielded two sides, the Reds first match up was against Canterbury A, in a close affair, Medway came back from 2-1 down at half time to draw the match 3-3. In their second match against Canterbury B, a try in each half for Medway was countered by 2 in each half for Canterbury as they won this one 4-2. In their final match against Westcliff, it proved a game of two halves, a fine first half from Medway saw them build a 3-1 lead, unfortuna\tely for the Knights, 5 Westcliff tries in the second half without reply saw them home 6-3, The Reds try scorers on the day were Alex Hunt (2), Amun Bains (2) Ethan Green, Tom Underdown, Sam Crean and Joshua Lamb, not on the scoresheet this week but putting in good performances for the team were Lewis Hollidge, Karl O'Grady, Tom Narborough, Nathan Hullet, Owen Anderson and Jean Pascal Carden.
The Yellows, faired similarly in their 3 matches on the day, their first opponents were Westcliff B and in a closely contested match, Medway were unlucky to lose this one on the last play 5-4. Next up were Westcliff A and in a high scoring encounter Medway edged the first half by 4-3 and in spite of a further try in the second half, Westcliff once again drew level at the death making it a 5-5 draw. In a scrappy final game with Canterbury A, after a scoreless first half, 2 well worked try's were not enough to get a result in this one as Canterbury took this one 3-2. The Yellow's try scorers were Christopher Jarvis (3), Mattias Carden (3), Toby Robson (2), Jamie Wyndham, Jean-Luc Carden, and Jack Bloomfield also putting in strong performances for the Yellows were Oscar Wells, Joshua Ehrich, Oliver Rees, Alfie Pattenden, James Queay, Rhys Johnson and Evan Stokes.
Medway v Tunbridge Wells and Sidcup
For Medway’s U8s’s at Tunbridge Wells, bags of effort from both the Knight’s teams proved to not be enough on the day, as they came away without a result going in their favour.
Both the yellows matches were against Tunbridge Wells teams, in the first match up Tunbridge A were quickly into their stride and ran in 5 tries to Medway’s lone reply from Harry Meadows. In their second match the yellows put up an excellent performance and their hard work nearly got a result against Tunbridge Wells B, as they were beaten by the odd try 5-4 with Medway’s tries coming from Harry Meadows, Mattias Carden and Evan Stokes (2). Not scoring this week but working hard for the team were Kyle Struthers, Amun Bains, Alfie Pattenden, Jean-Pascal and Jean-Luc Carden, Rhys Johnson, and Karl O’Grady.
The Red’s first opponents Sidcup, out pointed the Knight’s by a single try 5-4 Medway’s try scorers were Sam Crean, Joshua Lamb and Lewis Hollidge (2), in their second game against Tunbridge Wells A, the Red’s were unfortunate to suffer the same fate, losing this high scoring encounter by 7-6, the try scorers for Medway this time were Sam Crean, Tom Narborough, Joshua Lamb (2) and Lewis Hollidge (2), not on the score sheet this week but working hard for their team were Joshua Ehrich, Jack Bloomfield, Owen Anderson, James Queay, Thomas Underdown and Oscar Wells.
Medway v Thurrock and Braintree
Medway’s Knights fielded two sides against Braintree and hosts Thurrock on Sunday and came away with 4 wins and 2 losses.
The Blues played well in their first two matched and were unlucky to lose by the odd try in both matches. In their fist match two tries from Alfie Pattenden and a hat-trick from Kyle Struthers were not enough as they lost out to a well drilled Thurrock A. Against Braintree the Blues lead by 4-3 at half time with try’s from Alfie Pattenden, Oliver Rees and Kyle Struthers (2) unfortunately for the Knights two further tries for Braintree in the second half without reply secured them a 5-4 victory. The Blues left their best performance for their last match of the morning against Thurrock B, excellent defensive tagging gave the Blues plenty of attacking opportunities which were taken on 5 occasions with tries from Oliver Rees, Alfie Pattenden (2) and Kyle Struthers (2). Not on the score sheet this week but putting in strong team performances were Karl O’Grady, Evan Stokes, James Queay, Amun Bains and Aidan Wolfe.
The Reds were in fine form, winning all three of their matches and scoring 19 tries in the process. Against Thurrock B the Knight’s forward running and great support created a host of chances and secured a 6-4 victory with tries from Sam Crean (2) Joshua Lamb (2) Ethan Green and Alex Harris. A tight first half against Thurrock A, saw the sides change ends at 2-2 Medway’s try scorers were Lewis Hollidge and Ethan Green, an excellent second half team effort from the Knights saw them run in three more tries without reply and secure a 5-2 win, with tries from Josh Lamb (2) and Sam Crean. The Reds rounded off the day with a convincing 8-5 victory over Braintree with tries from Sam Crean, Ethan Green (2), Tom Narborough, Alex Harris and a Lewis Hollidge hat-trick, not on the score sheet on this occasion but playing their part in a great team performance were Harry Meadows and Tom Underdown.
Medway v Sevenoaks
The knights took 3 squads away to Sevenoaks the Reds, Blues and Yellows and came back with a good set of results against such strong opposition.
All three teams had 2 matches each and overall the Knights had 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 loses.
The first of the Reds matches was played against Sevenoaks’s A team and turned out to be a cracker. Both teams played good fast attacking rugby with great support play from both sides. Sevenoaks eventually just edged it by 9 tries to 7 although the game could have gone either way. The second match was a lot more defensive in style and the Reds were the victors this time winning by 2 tries to 1.
Try scorers for the Reds were: Lewis Hollidge 3, Sam Crean 2, Jack Bloomfield 2, Joshua Lamb 1 and Toby Robson 1. Not on the score sheet but all playing their part were: Tom Narborough, Joshua Ehrich and Oscar Wells.
The Blues played their first match against Sevenoaks B team and once again it turned out to be a cracker. Both teams traded try for try with neither being able to pull away. The game ended with probably the fairest result of a 7 all draw. In their second match the Blues played out of their skins, despite being a man down against Sevenoaks’s A team they only lost by 2 tries to 1.
Try scorers for the blues were Tom Underdown 5, Oliver Rees 2 and Ethan Green 1. Not on the score sheet but again all playing their part in the great performances were: Alex Harris, Karl O’Grady, Harry Meadows, Owen Anderson and James Queay.
The Yellows played both their games against Sevenoaks C team. In the first match the Yellows took a while to get going and by half time found themselves 5 tries to 1 down. To their credit they came back well in the second half, stopping Sevenoaks scoring and adding 3 more tries of their own. Unfortunately they couldn’t get the last try to level the game and lost 5 to 4. In the second match they continued in the same vein as at end of the first and won the game by 2 tries to 0.
Try scorers for the Yellows were: Amun Bains 2, Jamie Windham 1, Ranjeev Pattel 1, Jean-Pascal Carden 1 and Kyle Struthers 1. Not on the score sheet were: Alfie Pattenden and Mattias Carden. A special mention must also go to Jean-Luc Carden who played very well for Sevenoaks C in both games after volunteering to join them for the day.
Medway v Old Elthamians
Medway Knights faced a well organised Old Elthamians squad on Sunday and for a change were even outnumbered, Medway fielding three teams against O.E’s four.
The Yellow’s only match on the day was against Old Elthamians A, who took full advantage of the large pitch and their neat passing created 4 tries for them without reply in the first half. Medway’s Yellows to there credit came back strongly in a much tighter second half creating several chances and pushing the OE's defence back with some excellent offence of their own and finally getting just reward for their efforts with a well worked try for Nathan Hullet, before Old Elthamians ran in two late try’s securing their victory. Medway Yellows: Matthias Carden, Joshua Ehrich, Harry Meadows, Owen Anderson, Carl O’Grady, Nathan Hulett, Alex Harris, Oliver Rees.
Medway Reds, played out two very close matches against Old Elthamians A squad. A combination of slick passing from Old Elthamians coupled with some poor handling from Medway on occasions, let O.E’s build a 2-0 lead before an excellent breakaway try from Christopher Jarvis brought Medway back in it. Some excellent tagging from the reds defence and in particular Sam Crean won Medway a lot of ball which was used well to score two try’s though Tom Narborough and Christopher Jarvis’s, but Old Elthamians came back with two late try’s to secure a 4-3 win. In the second match a determined Medway battled gamely throughout and were unlucky to be down 2-1 at half time in spite of a well worked try for Lewis Hollidge.
Medway really got their passing together in the second half and played some excellent rugby highlighted by a Jack Bloomfield hat trick which gave them a late 4-3 lead, only for O.E’s to level things with the last play of the game. Reds: Tom Underdown, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Tom Narborough, Oscar Wells, Jack Bloomfield
The Blues played 2 games against the hosts Old Elthamians B squad. Both games were keenly contested and very close affairs. Although the Blues had one or two inexperienced players in their squad, they all performed outstandingly well in both matches. The first game ended in a 6 all draw with both sides trading try for try throughout the match. Medway held the lead for most of the game but just could not pull more than the one try ahead and conceded a try with the last play which earned the hosts the deserved draw, scorers for Medway were Jean-Luc Carden, Alfie Pattenden 2 and a hat trick from Ethan Green. The second game was pretty much a copy of the first game although this time it was Medway doing the chasing, eventually narrowly losing 7-6, Medway’s try scorers were Alfie Pattenden 2, Ethan Green 2,
Aidan Wolfe and Jamie Wyndham. Throughout both games all the boys performed excellently in attack and defence. In only his second morning of tag rugby, Rhys Johnson did extremely well and both Alfie Pattenden and Ethan Green shone with their tireless running and support play. Blues: Rhys Johnson, Jean-Luc Carden, Alfie Pattenden, Jean-Pascal Carden, Ethan Green, Aidan Wolfe, Evan Stokes, Jamie Wyndham
Medway v Sheppey and Gravesend
Sheppey were hosts on Sunday to Medway and Gravesend and the Knight's U8's 3 teams had mixed fortunes.
The Devils out pointed Sheppey in an open encounter 7-6, with 2 tries apiece for Jack Bloomfield and Joshua Ehrich and a hat trick from Tom Narborough. In their second game a few sloppy errors from the Devils were punished by Gravesend and a try in each half from Jack Bloomfield and Toby Robson were not enough as Gravesend won this one 3-2. Devils - Kyle Struthers, Ethan Green, Tom Narborough, Joshua Ehrich, Joshua Lamb, Jack Bloomfield, Toby Robson, Evan Stokes, Jean Luc Carden, Lewis Hollidge
In their only match of the day the Razors' slow start against Sheppey saw the home side take full advantage and build a 3-0 lead at half time, a spirited fight back in the second half and tries from Sam Crean and Alfie Pattenden brought them right back into the game, but a late try from Sheppey saw them home by 4-2. Razors - Sam Crean, Amun Bains, Alfie Pattenden, Jamie Wyndham, Jean Pascal Carden, James Queay, Rhys Johnson, Carl O'Grady
The Stingers one match was an excellent team performance against Gravesend in which a determined defence gave Medway plenty of opportunity to attack and tries from Tom Underdown 2, Christopher Jarvis 2, Nathan Hulett and Alex Harris ensured the Stingers a comfortable 6-2 victory. Stingers - Lewis Hollidge, Oliver Rees, Christopher Jarvis, Owen Anderson, Harry Meadows, Aiden Wolfe, Alex Harris, Nathan Hulett, Tom Underdown.
New Year's Cup at Beckenham
Medway Knight’s fielded two sides Red and Yellow at Beckenham on Sunday.
Medway Reds faced both Blackheath and hosts Beckenham’s A teams in the New Years Cup and could count themselves extremely unlucky not to come away with two victories. They were narrowly beaten by Blackheath 6-5 (tries Hollidge 2, Bloomfield, Wells & Ehrich) in the first game and 4-3 (tries Narborough, Hollidge & Crean) to Beckenham in the second. Although both games ended in defeat the Reds played their best rugby of the season by far and but for borderline calls would have won both matches. Nobody stood out in both fixtures as everyone performed so well. After the disappointment of a narrow defeat to Blackheath the reds lost their way in the first half against Beckenham and ended up trailing by 3-0 at the break, to their credit they showed great spirit in the second half to pull it back to 3-3. Even after conceding a late try they managed to go the length of the pitch on the last play only to knock on when over the try line and sum up their luck for the day. Medway Reds, Tom Narborough, Lewis Hollidge, Sam Crean, Nathan Hulett, Jack Bloomfield, Oscar Wells, Josh Ehrich, Josh Lamb
Medway Yellows faced Blackheath and Beckenham’s B teams and had mixed fortunes. In their first match a well drilled Blackheath side proved too strong for the Yellows on the day winning 5-1 (try Stokes). The Yellows' second game was an altogether different story as they played some excellent rugby. A tight defence and great support play going forward made for a one sided first half in which Medway ran in three scores through Bains, Underdown and Queay without reply. Beckenham came back strongly in the second half with some excellent defensive tagging and forward running from two of Medway’s own players Jean-Pascal Carden and Jamie Wyndham who joined forces with their hosts for the day, Wyndham ran in one of Beckenham’s 4 second half tries, while an equally polished second half performance from the Yellows saw them run in 4 tries of their own through Stokes 2, Anderson and an excellent solo effort from Wolfe which secured a well earned 7-4 victory. Yellows: Amun Bains, Alex Harris, Tom Underdown, Carl O’Grady, Sam Hall, Ethan Green, James Queay, Jean-Luc Carden, Christopher Jarvis, Evan Stokes, Owen Anderson, Aiden Wolfe, Alfie Pattenden, Mattias Carden.
Medway v Aylesford
Medway Knights U8's took 3 evenly matched teams The Rockets, Steaming Jets and the Shadows on the short trip down the hill to local rivals Aylesford and came away with a mixed bag of results after some very good performances.
The Rockets started with a narrow 4 to 5 defeat to Aylesfords strongest side. They soon put the defeat behind them with a battling 6 to 4 win in their second game and finished with a 3 to 3 draw as the tiredness set in. The Try scorers for the rockets on the day were: Sam Crean 3, Karl O'Grady 1, Evan Stokes 1, Aiden Wolfe 1, Ethan Green 1 and Joshua Lamb 4. Not on the score sheet but with one of his best performances was Tom Underdown.
The Steaming jets started very well with a 3 to 1 win but were unable to keep up the good start and lost their last 2 matches 3 to 5 and 6 to 7 in a very open last game despite being 4 to 3 up at half time. Try scorers on the day for the Jets were: Tom Narborough 5, Joshua Ehrich 1, Owen Anderson 1, Toby Robson 1 and Lewis Hollidge 4. Not on the score sheet were Alfie Pattenden and Jamie Wyndham.
Last but by no means least were the Shadows with the best set of results of the day. The Shadows started with 2 straight wins with a 6 to 2 followed by a 4 to 0 shut out. Tiring for their last game against Aylesfords strongest side they still managed a 5 all draw. Try scorers for the Shadows were: James Queay 5, Jack Bloomfield 5, Charlie Stacey 1, Amun Bains 1, Alex Harris 1 and Oscar Wells 2. Not on the score sheet but with a good defencive performance was Taylor Ali.
Merry Christmas to all from Coaches Justin and Kevin.
Medway v Old Colfeians and Sevenoaks
The severe weather conditions suited the young Knights from Mudway on Sunday, amid the mud and driving rain at Old Colfians, Medway’s U8’s dished up some of their finest rugby of the season thus far, running home a total of 44 tries on the day, against tough opposition in their hosts Old Colfians and Sevenoaks.
Swiftly into their stride Medway A gave their opponents Sevenoaks A, a torrid time restricting them to a single score while racking up 4 first half tries through Joshua Ehrich, Lewis Hollidge, Sam Crean and Nathan Hulett, a second try a piece in the second half for Crean, Hulett and Ehrich saw Medway comfortably home by 7-3. Against Sevenoaks B it was a similar story, 5 first half scores from Medway’s, Sam Crean, Oscar Wells, Nathan Hulett and a brace for Jack Bloomfield gave them a 5-2 lead and a hat trick try for Bloomfield and 2 tries from Joshua Ehrich secured an 8-5 victory. In their third and final match up, Medway A’s faced a Barbarian side made up of players from all three clubs, Medway’s James Queay, Amun Bains and Karl O’Grady played for the Barbarian and in spite of James Queay 2 tries, Medway A ran out winners by 5-3 with try’s from Jack Bloomfield, Tom Narborough, Nathan Hulett, Sam Crean and Joshua Ehrich. In his second match for the Barbarians Medway’s Amun Bains scored a try against Sevenoaks B as they went down in a close match 5-4. Medway B were the Barbarians final opposition, in another high scoring encounter, Medway came out on top by 8-6 with tries from Alfie Pattenden, Christopher Jarvis (2), Charlie Stacey (2) and a hat trick for Kyle Struthers, while Medway’s Amun Bains was amongst the scorers once again for the Barbarian side. A storming second half display by Medway B against Sevenoaks A, saw them turn a 4-2 half time deficit into an excellent 6-4 win with a determined defensive display especially from Christopher Jarvis, and tries from Owen Anderson, Alex Harris and 4 great tries from Kyle Struthers. The closest encounter of the day saw Medway B draw with Old Colfians 6-6, with the rain lashing down relentlessly, scores from Alfie Pattenden, Alex Harris and 2 tries in each half for Christopher Jarvis ensured a well earned draw and an undefeated outing for Medway’s Knights.
Medway v Beccehamians
25 November 2007
Last Sunday, the Knight’s fielded 2 sides in their away fixture with Beccehamians.
Medway Demons built a commanding 3-1 first half lead with tries from Lewis Hollidge (2) and Sam Crean in their match with Beccs B. Two second half tries, secured Sam Crean’s hat-trick and excellent tagging especially from Lewis Hollidge saw Medway finish this one comfortably 5-2 victors. The Demon’s second match against Beccs A was a close encounter. The Beccs attack punctured the Demons defence on two occasions in the first half, while Medway struck back through Mattias Carden, Beccs A scored two further tries in the second half, but Medway ensured an unbeaten record for the day squaring the match 4-4 with tries from Alex Harris and Lewis Hollidge. Medway Demons: Josh Ehrich, Jamie Wyndham, Lewis Hollidge, Alex Harris, Charlie Stacey, Sam Crean, Amun Bains, Taylor Ali, Mattias Carden, Jean Luc Carden, Aidan Wolfe
Medway Jet’s had a similar fate against Beccs A, a terrific first half hat-trick from Medway’s Tom Underdown was countered by three scores from the Beccs, the try’s continued coming thick and fast in the second half, with Medway responding to Beccs 3 tries with scores from Sam Hall, Kyle Struthers and Tom Underdown’s 4th to tie the match 6-6. In yet another close encounter, this time against Beccs B, Tom Narborough’s first half try levelled Beccs score before half time.
Medway v Vigo and Thurrock
18 November 2007
On the coldest Sunday of the season thus far, Medway’s U8 Knights played host to Vigo and Thurrock.
The Knight’s fielded three sides on the day and Medway’s Joshua
Ehrich and Tom Underdown volunteered their services for the day to Vigo
to make up their team. Medway’s Rockets were Vigo’s first opponents,
a great defensive display by the Rockets and in particular from Christopher
Jarvis, kept Vigo from scoring and a try in each half from Jarvis and Karl
Struthers secured the Rockets a 2-0 win. Thurrock proved a much tougher
proposition for the Rockets in their second game and early tries from Aidan
Wolfe and Christopher Jarvis in the first half were countered by Thurrock
before half time, in spite of 2 second half scores from Ranjeev Sandhu
and Christopher Jarvis Thurrock edged the match by the odd try 5-4. Rockets:
Lewis Hollidge, Ranjeev Sandhu, Jean-Luc Carden, Christopher Jarvis, Alfie
Pattenden, Karl O’Grady, Aidan Wolfe, Toby Robson and Sam Hall
I
n spite of a brace of tries from Jack Bloomfield, Medway Blades sloppy
defence in their first half against Thurrock saw them trail at half time
by 3-2. Fortunately the Blades hit back emphatically in the second half
with 4 tries and reduced the Essex side to just 2 scores giving them a
6-5 win with great defensive work especially from Nathan Hulett and tries
from Oliver Rees, Jack Bloomfied and Nathan Hullet (2). In their second
match against Vigo the Blades took charge early on and never looked back
winning 7-5 with 2 tries a piece for Jack Bloomfield and Tom Narborough
and a hat trick for Nathan Hullet. Medway’s Joshua Ehrich and Tom
Underdown also put in excellent displays both running in scores for Vigo.
Blades: Jack Bloomfield, Mattias Carden, Nathan Hulett, Tom Narborough,
Harry Meadows, Oliver Rees, Oscar Wells, Amun Bains and Katie
Neither side could be overjoyed with their defensive displays as Medway
Rifles outgunned Thurrock in a high scoring encounter, as scores from Jamie
Wyndham, Kyle Struthers (2) Charlie Stacey (2) and a Sam Crean hat trick,
secured the Rifles an 8-6 victory. The Blades second game with Vigo was
a very close encounter, with both sides battling gamely to try and gain
an advantage over the other. Two first half scores from Ethan Green and
Charlie Stacey were matched by a determined Vigo before half time, including
another try for Medway’s Joshus Ehrich. Second half tries from James
Queay (2) and Sam Crean, were once again cancelled out with 3 scores for
Vigo levelling the match 5-5. Rifles: James Queay, Sam Crean, Jamie Wyndham,
Jean-Pascal Carden, Ethan Green, Charlie Stacey, Owen Anderson, Kyle Struthers,
Alex Harris.
U8s v Old Alleynians and Blackheath
4 November 2007
Medway’s U8’s fine start to the season continued last weekend against strong opposition in their hosts Old Alleynians and Blackheath. The Knights fielded two sides Red and Yellow.
Medway’s only defeat on the day came in the Red’s first match
against Blackheath 1, which finished 4–6 Medway’s tries came
from Jack Bloomfield 2, Toby Robson and Jamie Wyndham. In a high scoring
second match against OA 2 Medway’s second half defensive work especially
from Alex Harris and Amun Bains was the difference in a 7-6 victory, the
tries in this one came from Jack Bloomfield 5, Josh Ehrich and Toby Robson.
The Reds last 2 matches were against the same opposition in OA 3, the first
match was very even and finished 4-4 and in the second game Medway finished
the stronger and deserved their 5-3 victory, with tries from Jack Bloomfield
6, Toby Robson 2 and Jamie Wyndham.
Medway Reds - Jack Bloomfield, Alex Harris, Aiden Wolfe, Ranjeev Sandhu, Ethan Green, Joshua Ehrich, Sam Hall, Jean-Pascal Carden, Carl O’Grady, Amun Bains, Jamie Wyndham and Toby Robson
The Yellow’s day got off to a fine start in a close match up with
OA 2, great defensive work especially from Sam Crean and try’s from
Tom Narborough and Lewis Hollidge secured a 2-1 victory. Their second match
was a 3-3 draw against Blackheath 2, Medway’s tries came from Mattias
Carden 2 and Joshua Lamb. Excellent defensive tagging from Christopher
Jarvis in particular and tries from Sam Crean 3 and Kyle Struthers gave
Medway a comfortable 4-1 victory against AO 4. Against OA 1, in their final
match great tagging work by Medway’s Charlie Stacey and Lewis Hollidge
and tries from Joshua Lamb and Oscar Wells earned Medway a well deserved
draw.
Medway Yellow – Sam Crean, Tom Narborough, Kyle Struthers, Lewis Hollidge, Evan Stokes, Charlie Stacey, Joshua Lamb, Oscar Wells, Alfie Pattenden, Mattias Carden, Harry Meadows, Jean-Luc Carden, Christopher Jarvis
Upminster Festival, 14 October 2007
At the Upminster Festival, Medway’s U8s collected their second trophy in as many weeks finishing runners up in the Cup Final against Colchester.
Medway started strongly despatching their hosts Upminster B comfortably with an impressive attacking display running in 8 tries from, Sam Crean, Nathan Hulett, Thomas Underdown, Toby Robson and Oscar Wells, including a slick scissors move between Jack Bloomfield (3) and Lewis Hollidge which took full advantage of the BIG pitch and left their opponents standing. Excellent defending especially from Toby Robson and Lewis Hollidge secured an 8-5 victory. Sloppy passing from Medway in the 1st half against Westcliffe gave their opponents a 1-0 lead at half time but a strong fight back after the turn around with tries from Lewis Hollidge and Jack Bloomfield (2) along with excellent defending especially from Toby Robson and Oscar Wells kept Westcliffe at bay and secured a narrow 3-2 victory. The game against Bishop Stortford was a tight affair, tries from Joshua Lamb and Sam Crean in the first half countered their opponents 2 scores and a second half double from Jack Bloomfield and strong Medway defending kept a good Bishop Stortford side down to 2 tries and a 4-4 draw. In the Knights' final group match against Stanford L.H. Medway had a solid first half with scores from Sam Crean, Nathan Hulett and Oscar Wells and 2 second half scores from Jack Bloomfield secured Medway finished top of their group with a 5-2 victory.
Although Medway entered the final confidently as the only undefeated team from the group stages, their Essex opponents were to prove a little too strong for them on the day. In the final Colchester stretched Medway’s defence early on taking full advantage of the large pitch with strong and inventive running building a 3-0 lead, Medway battled gamely back against a very well drilled defence and deservedly pulled a try back right on half time through Joshua Lamb, a Jack Bloomfield try in the second half was unfortunately not enough for a tiring Medway as Colchester went over twice more to secure a 5-2 victory. Not on the score sheet this week but working tirelessly for the team were Joshua Ehrich, Tom Narborough, James Queay and Alex Harris.
Medway Festival, 7 October 2007
Hosting the Medway Festival at Rochester’s Priestfields on Sunday, the well supported Medway Knights were able to field three sides in their first tournament of the season.
First up was the Medway Blues taking on a strong Ashford side. Despite
tries from Toby Robson and James Queay and some excellent tagging in particular
from Tom Underdown, the hosts lost 4-2.
Next, the Medway Reds took on Barking. The Reds dominated the match winning 7-2 with tries from Sam Crean (2) and Jean Luc Cardin (1) in the first half. Jack Bloomfield had an excellent second half, scoring a hat trick and supplying the pass in a neat switch move which wrong footed the Barking team and lead to Lewis Hollidge scoring the try of the game.
Finally, Medway Yellows played Gravesend. Despite two tries a piece from
Josh Lamb and Oscar Wells, one try from Josh Ehrich and some excellent
tagging by both Josh Ehrich and Josh Lamb the home side drew 5-5.
Final pool games saw Medway Yellows beaten 4-2 by Upminster, Medway Blues beaten 7-1 by Sevenoaks and Medway Reds beaten 5-2 by Sittingbourne; setting up a Plate semi-final between the Red and Yellow home sides.
The two Medway teams contested a very close semi-final match which saw
the Yellows score tries from Oscar Wells, Josh Lamb and Kyle Struthers
but with a hatrick from Lewis Hollidge and 2 from Sam Crean the Reds went
through to represent the Knights in the Plate final.
The Knights met an in-form Sevenoaks in the final that dominated the first
half and scored 4 tries. One try from Jack Bloomfield following good support
play from Sam Crean and Lewis Hollidge kept the Knights in the match at
half time.
The second half saw a fired up Knights take the game to Sevenoaks. Two
tries from Jack Bloomfield and one from Sam Crean with excellent tagging
from a number of the players saw Medway come close to winning but a final
try from Sevenoaks saw the visitors win the plate final 5-4.