U10s Play Hard at Prima Cup, Welford Road
Melbourne RFC well represented at the Home of Leicester Tigers
The Prima cup is the largest U10 age group tournament held by Leicester tigers, with teams coming from as far afield as Wolverhampton, Sheffield and Norwich and has been running +for 29 years.
Melbourne U10s were fortunate enough to qualify for the Barker shield this year after a hard fought tournament held at Syston RFC in October.
The Barker shield is the second tier of the tournament, with the cup above and bowl below. It is played with the fair play system, with as much emphasis on both players and supporters, the values and ideals of rugby as point scoring.
On the 27th November we were invited to play at Mattioli Woods, Welford Road, in a mini 8 team tournament before the Tigers v London Irish game.
With two teams going through to a finals day later in the year we had enormous interest, and managed to fill two coachloads of supporters and players for what would doubtless be an unforgettable experience for all involved.
We arrived at the stadium with hundreds of other players and teams from all over the country - most of whom we would never normally have the opportunity to play. The stadium pitch was divided into four pitches with two for the bowl and two for the shield.
We had drawn Veseyans from Walsall and Lutterworth from Leicester. The first game was a very hard-fought affair, with incredible defense being shown by both sides with the game finishing 2-1 to eventual qualifiers Veseyans. And anyone who has ever watched mini rugby knows that it is incredibly low scoring and an extremely tight game.
The next game against Lutterworth was more of the same, two very even sides holding up tries and defending valiantly, Melbourne holding the lion's, or should I say, tiger's share of possession just being frustrated on the line, losing 2-1 again.
Some disappointed players at the end of the Tournament - nonetheless they showed grit, determination, and brilliant rugby values. Spirits were lifted by having a meet and greet with professional tigers players, including Archie Vanes, who blew their minds by being an ex-Melbourne mini alumni!
Trips to the club shop and food outlets (bar!) were soon followed by a nail-biting game with Tigers emerging victorious against London Irish, this being the very first pro game many of the players (and parents ) had ever attended.
All in all a wonderful experience for all of the young players, who are determined to go one better next year!
Article by Chris Baggott