Sunday saw us at the Manchester Rugby Festival, one of the biggest in the North West that attracts some of the largest regional clubs. This was a chance for the under 9's to gain some valuable match practice and enjoy a day out early in the season. The under 9's were divided into 4 pools, with the winners of each pool going on to contest the cup and the teams finishing 2nd going on to contest the shield. A good turn out meant we had 14 children in the squad.

Squad Ali, Charlie B, Charlie L, Dom, Elena, George, Harry, Henry, Jacob, Josh, Lee, Lenny, Max, Sam L

First up was Chester. Some good rugby from both sides and some excellent tackling. Elena, Josh, Charlie L and Sam were everywhere and the Chester players struggled to get past our defence. Great work by Ali, Lenny and Dom in the middle meant that the others were free to attack at will and great running and passing gave Collegiate a 6-2 victory. Tries from Sam and Elena.

The next game was going to be a hard one as Bowden are renowned as a tough side who play good rugby. Bowden got off to a flyer and ran in 4 tries before half time. Collegiate looked shell shocked but dug in and the 2nd half was a more even affair with Harry, Henry and Charlie B throwing themselves into tackles ably supported by George, Max, Lee and Jacob. The tackle of the match was made by George, who sprinted across the field to nail the flying Bowden player, just short of the try line - brilliant!! If you've ever used the boost button in MarioKart you'll get the picture. The game finished 6 - 2 to Bowden. Tries by Sam and Henry.

Our 3rd game was against our hosts, the Manchester Lions and it turned out to be a tight affair. Both sides played well and swapped tries and we saw some top tackles by Ai, Elena and Dom. The try of the game came when the ball broke free in the middle of the pitch, it was snapped up by Ali, passed to Josh, who weaved his way through the Lions defence, off loading a brilliant pass to Sam L, who did a Tom Daleyesque dive over the try line!! Final score 7 - 5 to Manchester Lions. Tries by Sam L and Josh.

Our final game (or so we thought) against Broughton Park started really well for Collegiate, only spoilt by Charlie B going off the pitch to be sick, whether it was too much excitement or Haribos we'll never know, but he soon came back on. Sam L came on and with great support from his team mates he ran in 3 quick tries and Harry added another before half time. The 2nd half was a more even affair and some crunching tackles from Max, Lee, Harry and Jacob kept Broughton Park at bay. Lenny put in some good surging runs and both teams swapped tries. The final score 8 - 4 to Collegiate. Tries from Sam L, Harry and Henry

Had we made it through? A quick check with the Champagne sipping ladies in the tent and they confirmed we had - Liverpool Collegiate were through to the semi finals!

Our opponents in the semi finals were Wilmslow and we played on the slightly smaller pitch, which was a welcome relief for the somewhat tired legs. Collegiate got off to a flyer and never allowed Wilmslow to settle. The tackling was fantastic and at one point it seemed like every player was on hand to stop a certain try and drive back the Wilmslow player. The players passed and supported each other really well allowing us to run in 6 good tries with only 1 in reply. All 13 players got on the pitch during the match and when not playing cheered their team mates on, but nothing could drown out the support and encouragement from both sets of parents on the sidelines. Tries from Henry, Sam and George.

The FINAL!
So as everyone else packed away their gazebos it was left to Liverpool Collegiate and Sale to contest the final for the Shield. A day of good rugby deserved a good final and boy did we get one! With both sides realising their chance of glory they gave it their all. The game started at a frantic pace and seemed to get faster for all those of us watching nervously on the sidelines. No sooner was the ball at one end of the pitch it seemed to be down at the other and the quality of the rugby just seemed to get better. With 2 minutes to go Collegiate got their noses in front but Sale to their credit fought back and scored 2 tries to claim a draw. Final score 5 - 5. Tries from Sam L and Ali. The tournament rules stated that if the game finished as a draw then both sides were joint winners and after such good rugby no side deserved to be a runner up! The parent and children from both sides supported the teams throughout the game and were a credit to both clubs.

We went with the intention of every player getting a chance to play and when the semi final and final came along they did just that. Each and everyone of them was a credit to Liverpool Collegiate and as a team performed outstandingly well. A special mention has to go to Sam L whose tackling and try scoring was phenomenal - try tally 22!

A huge thank you to all at Manchester Rugby Club for a brilliantly organised festival.

So there it was, WOW, a day to remember. Liverpool Collegiate U9's as WINNERS and even more unbelievable a whole day of sunshine in Manchester - SORTED!