The Prep III Tag Rugby Team had an early lunch of chicken curry before they set off for Manchester Grammar School. The curry obviously did the trick because the whole squad had an outstanding tournament consisting of eight energised games of scintillating rugby.
BWS stormed out of the traps in our first game vs. The Grange. William showed his veteran status on a rugby field by leading the team magnificently, scoring two tries and showing his team mates how it is done. Bridgewater won handsomely and the momentum was now set for a great afternoon!
The second game against St. Mary’s was the moment for Minavann to grasp the nettle and surge across the defensive line to make several impressive last ditch tags. Her game awareness was impressive resulting in two excellent tries in the corner. Another victory was complete and Bridgewater were on a roll!
Our third game was a tricky fixture against Cheadle. The Cheadle team seemed very confident and attacked the Bridgewater line relentlessly. Vinnie came to the fore with some great tags. At one point he made three tags in one attack. ‘Top tagging Vinnie!’ Cheadle began to run out of ideas, giving Toby his chance to fly down the wing and score two excellent tries to win the match. Toby’s balance and pace were outstanding throughout the afternoon. Maybe Twickenham awaits one day?
Stockport were our next hurdle to overcome with the quest of going through the full afternoon unbeaten. Anastasios was keen to receive the ball at the start of the game, allowing him to make an incisive run to create a try for his team. Anastasios also made some wonderful tags to enable the Bridgewater juggernaut to trundle on with four victories on the bounce.
Stockport Gold Team were late for our next fixture. They eventually trotted on to the pitch wearing gum shields and body armour. The Bridgewater reputation was obviously growing! SGS started the match with a try straight through the middle of the Bridgewater defence after a slip by one of the blue wall. Frankie was keen to make amends for his team mate’s unfortunate error by running with determination through the SGS defence to equalise. The Gold team scored again before the hooter, giving Bridgewater no time to respond in the shortened match which was very frustrating.
Newcastle school had had a long journey from the potteries for our sixth game. Oscar was certainly the man of the match in this encounter with some powerful running and tagging. He looks and plays like a natural rugby player. Another one for the future! Bridgewater were back to their winning ways with their fifth victory.
A big local derby was next on the agenda with a mighty match vs. Bolton School! Fabio was man of the match in this huge 4-3 victory for Bridgewater! Fabio’s elusive running and determination were a sight to behold as the Bolton players fell in his wake. The moment of the match was when a huge Bolton player surged through the middle and the Bridgewater blue wall caused him to crash in to a heap on the floor after some brave tagging.
Our final game was a tired one! Both teams made mistakes and conceded tries but thankfully Bridgewater had James who manged to tag furiously to stop the procession of tries by Stonyhurst allowing Bridgewater to win their final game 5-4.
What a fabulous effort from all involved!