Bridgewater Under 9s are developing quite a reputation in the sporting circles of the North West. They have played three tournaments so far, winning two and losing the final of the other on a penalty shoot-out. They have played eighteen games in the three tournaments and have lost just one game.

Since the report of the Tag Rugby festival at Manchester Grammar, the pupils have played a football tournament at Manchester City and the ISA North Tag Rugby Tournament at Wilmslow RFC. The games at the Etihad were all close affairs but the intricate passing of the Bridgewater team always gave the boys in royal blue the upper hand in possession. When possession was occasionally lost the goalkeeping skills of Jacob came to the fore. Bridgewater won their early games convincingly including a resounding victory over Stockport Grammar but despite the victories the Bridgewater goal tally never matched the amount of possession that the team had. Unfortunately this became more evident in the tense situations of the Semi-Final and Final. Both matches were very close and were eventually decided on penalties. The Semi-Final was won because of some outstanding keeping from Jacob who clawed a penalty from the bottom corner like Gordon Banks all those years ago! A deserve win but the amount of chances missed was still a concern. The final was against the highest qualifiers, Stockport GS. Surely the goals would flow and Bridgewater would be victorious? SGS had other ideas. They worked impressively and reduced the amount of possession that Bridgewater could have. The game finished 0-0 and penalties beckoned again. Jacob was impressive yet again but his counterpart was outstanding saving two penalties to secure a surprise victory. Special mention must go to Sam who scored bravely after missing earlier in the day.

The Bridgewater squad were still smarting after the previous defeat when they arrived at soggy but sunny Wilmslow to play the ISA North Under 9 Tag Rugby Championships. Unfortunately some teams had pulled out but thankfully Bridgewater were still able to play six games of intense rugby. The whole squad showed some silky running and offloading skills together with some ferocious tagging from some of the boys. Despite some strict refereeing from Mr Rooney Bridgewater won all six games and deservedly became ISA champions after a very enjoyable but muddy day!

The ISA sporting community will be watching out for the next appearance of the Bridgewater Under 9s very soon!