Abingdon, the home team, started brightly with some good passing moves and great linking amongst the backs. Alex Royale scored the first try within 2 min and Sasha Swannell scored the second shortly afterwards after Abingdon won good ball at a scrum. The third try came from a turnover ball at the scrum. The ball moved to the left and then came back right with Chris Turner being held up just short of the line. The forwards won the maul and Sasha went over on the blind side. It was 3 nil at end of first 15 min period.

At the start of the second quarter both teams fought hard over possession. Abingdon’s fourth try came from a long line out ball which was picked up and passed to William Pickford at fly half. He kicked long and, after a sprint, managed to regain the ball. He then shrugged off 2 tackles and scored.

Try number 5 came after a penalty to Abingdon. The forwards took the ball forward and won the ensuing maul. Scott Dougan took the ball and charged for the line. He was tackled just short of the line. He turned and popped the ball up to Thomas Bassett who took the ball at speed and bulldozed his way over the line, despite the attention of 2 or 3 Grove players to score a memorable try. It was 5 nil at the end of the second quarter.

At the start of the third quarter Harry Atcherley-Symes kicked towards Grove’s corner. Lochlan King on the wing sprinted after the kick, regained the ball and evaded 2 tackles. He was held up just short of the line and was able to pass the ball to Sasha who simply had to take one step to score – a well worked team try. Alex Royale then got his second try after Abingdon won another scrum against the head. Harry passed the ball to Alex who had come from full back at speed. Alex ran 3 quarters of the length of the pitch, evading 2 tackles and scored. It was 7 nil at the end of the third quarter.

In the final quarter two tired teams fought hard. Both teams pressed for a try and neither could get passed the strong defence. Both teams tackled hard. Finally the Abingdon forwards won the ball and it was passed to the backs. They ran forward passing freely with the ball moving to the left and then the right and back left, where the forwards and Harry had formed a line. Oscar Thomas took the ball forward passed to Harry who then found Sasha. Sasha then passed to Thomas who drove over the line and scored from 10 m. The final score was 8 nil.

Overall the victory was built on a solid performance from the forwards who won a lot of possession in the loose and in set pieces. This was coupled with fluid back moves, creative kicking and sturdy defence. Well done Abingdon.

Abingdon were in a group with three other teams: Wallingford, Grove and Oxford Harlequins. The first game was against Wallingford – old rivals who the team has never beaten. This was a daunting first game played in driving rain on a damp pitch. It was a hard fought encounter with both sides tackling hard. Abingdon’s forwards scrummaged well driving Wallingford off the ball on several occasions. The backs probed the Wallingford defence but found it hard to breach. During the first half Abingdon managed to keep Wallingford largely in their own half and defended firmly when driven back into their own half. In the second half, Abingdon had to defend hard when Wallingford had a line out close to the try line. Through good throwing and great kicking they cleared their lines. As the game continued Abingdon grew in confidence and were rewarded by securing a 0:0 draw. This was the team’s best result against Wallingford and one of the best performances by the whole team the parents and the coaches have ever seen. All the team performed really well, with Matthew deserving a special mention for a great performance playing lock with George Diggle in his first competitive game.

After a brief rest Abingdon played their second game against a fresh team from Grove. This was a more open game with Abingdon threatening the Grove line on several occasions. Grove played hard and well and were only denied a score with tough tackling by an increasingly tired Abingdon team. The deadlock was only broken towards the end of the second half. Abingdon won a scrum about 15 m from the Grove line. The forwards won the ball and drove Grove back. Sasha Swannell picked up the ball and attacked towards the Grove blind side corner. He drew the defence and was tackled about 4 m short of the line. He passed the ball inside to Harry Atcherley-Symes providing excellent support. Harry caught the ball and crossed the line unopposed. Abingdon defended for a further 2 min and won the game 1:0.

After a well earned break, Abingdon took on a strong team from Oxford Harlequins. This again was a hard fought physical encounter. Oxford threatened the lines on a number of occasions and only determined defence from the whole Abingdon team prevented a score. In the second half, Abingdon finally got within 15 metres of the line. Lochlan King picked up the ball from the back of a maul and went on a jinking run down the blindside. He was held up just short of the line. The forwards followed up and drove Grove over their try line. The ball went loose and William Pickford pounced on it to score. Oxford Harlequins went on the attack for the remaining few minutes but were met with a fierce defence – with virtually the whole team putting in strong tackles. The result: 1:0 to Abingdon.

Abingdon came second in the table behind Wallingford purely because Wallingford scored more tries against Grove than Abingdon. As a result Abingdon went through to the Plate final playing Witney. Finally the rain ceased and the sky brightened. The team started positively, rapidly putting Witney on the back foot. The forwards won ball at scrum and in ruck and maul. The backs moved the ball wide and made good ground, with Alex Royal, Chris Turner and Adam Simcox all making good ground. Witney’s defence held strong. In the end, the ball was won by the forwards and Harry switched the play with William running blind supported by Luca Moffat and Chris Southcote. William cut inside and with Luca, drew the defence. He then threw a long pass to Chris on the wing. Chris caught a difficult ball superbly, ran around the last defender and scored a great try. This was a great team try set up by good forward play and finished by a great back move. A few minutes later there was great turnover by a combination of forwards and backs. Harry broke through and sprinted for the corner. He was pushed into touch just before the corner flag and a try was narrowly missed. In the second half, Witney pushed hard and Abingdon had to defend hard. Great tackles were made by most of the team, particularly Alex, William, Max Suttner, and Adam in the backs. The forwards to man worked hard, tackling, scrummaging really well, mauling and winning at the lineout. Abingdon held on and won 1:0 to take the Plate trophy. Congratulations Abingdon a thoroughly deserved success resulting from a great overall team performance. Well done.

Abingdon team members also played with teammates from Gosford and Wheatley in a Barbarians team. They all played well particularly in the scrum where Tim Clayton hooked very well and Jack (surname) provided real strength to the front row. Luke and Oscar Thomas added strength in the second row and Sam Carroll provided pace on the wing. Oscar in particular tackled hard as well and fought in the rucks and mauls in some tough matches against well organised teams such as Wallingford and Witney.