Second week of the season, so... Festival!!!!!

The Ninjas travelled to Silhillians RUFC this week to take part in their first mini's festival of the season. As usual the Ninjas were out in force and we were able to field 2 teams.
As the Ninjas began their warm up and the coaches attended their briefings, the parents began to unload and prepare the food in the Ninja base camp and in true Ninja form a banquet fit for Julius Ceasar was unveiled. As the start of the matches neared the background was filled with the sounds of protective mums fending off any and all children that dared to give in to the lure of the goodies within the Gazebo, and a sigh of relief was heard when the teams were finally taken away to begin the day of Rugby.

Team 1 were first onto the pitch and were due to play Sils 3. This proved to be a big test for the Ninjas who were caught napping early on by a very well drilled Sils team that weren't taking any prisoners. Some slick passing and good running lines saw Sils open with a comfortable start and left the Ninjas in a state of shock as they slowly realised that the home team meant business. But as we have come to expect from the Ninjas their resilience stepped in and brought them firmly back into the game with some aggressive tackling by George and Thomas P, and hard running by Reuben and Thomas P setting up a good platform for the fancy footwork of Darien and Josh Hodg to exploit the few spaces that were presented by a very organised and physical Silhillians defence. This good work rate was added to by some committed running by Millie and tireless support by Harry and Alfie. Ethan managed to adopt his role of the aggressive headless chicken, taking the game to Sils in both defence and attack.
Team 2 faired better in their first game as they took on an eager Sils 2. Team 2 seemed to benefit from the later start as the post drive weariness and excitement had passed and they were able to set about taking the game to the opposition from the whistle. Some excellent direct, physical running by Ashley supported by the impressive footwork of Alex set a good platform for Archie and Razvan to take the offloads through the spaces that had been created. This aggressive attacking play was mirrored in defence and boosted by the arrival of Will and Evie's tackling confidence, which proved to be more than the Sils team were expecting. Strong running by Josh good support from Erica and an impressive all round performance by Casey showed that this team was here to play. The game was also well supported by Finlay taking the Ninja name literally, as he spent the game popping up like a prairie dog to take passes, make passes and tackle breakaway runners all over the pitch.
Team 1 came up against stiff opposition in the form of Sutton in their second match. The Ninjas had finally woken and were ready to take on Sutton; however, this was a very physical side that had a good handling game. Luckily with our Ninja team awake and out to avenge their earlier lapse in concentration Sutton found themselves in a hard match. The 2 teams battled it out tirelessly, with end to end action, great running lines and a solid display of tackling, leading to some of the first 7 tackle turnovers. For Tamworth and Sutton fans it was a nail biting encounter and for neutrals it was a great spectators game of Rugby.
Team 2 found themselves in action at the same time against the Sils 1 team, who appeared to be ready to deal out some vengeance on behalf of their brethren. Unfortunately for them, the Ninjas had other plans! Carrying on the aggressive attacking style of the first match the Ninjas were quick to break the line and begin causing the Silhillian youngsters some real problems. Once again strong running combined with delicate stepping and well placed support runners saw Tamworth establish an early dominance. The defence appeared sharp, which was lucky because this Sils team could run! An impressive performance was required from the Ninja team as Silhillians were more than prepared to take the attack to team 2 and stretch their defence to it's limits. The Ninjas of team 2 instantly responded like the seasoned professionals they believe themselves to be and tackled ferociously limiting the potential for damage considerably.

Team 1 took on a very physical Stourbridge 2 next, which pushed their abilities and found some cracks in the Ninja defence. The teams attack also suffered under the initial pressure from Stourbridge. Fortunately the tenacity and fortitude of the Tamworth squad shone through and the players of Team 1 mounted a fierce comeback attacking and defending with a might to equal that of Stourbridge, and although heads dropped briefly the Ninjas never gave in and ensured Stourbridge had to work every second they were on the pitch.
Team 2 were pitched against Stourbridge 1, who looked confident after their second team had performed so well against our second team. However, Ninja team 2 took to the field with all the grace and subtlety of a Bull playing the leading role in Swan Lake! Something of a rude awakening greeted Stourbridge when the whistle sounded and the full force of the Ninja arsenal was unleashed upon them. Team 1 were avenged. Some aggressive running in attack mirrored by some hard tackling removed any opportunity for another dominating Stourbridge performance.

The final games saw Team 1 take on our old rivals from Lichfield whilst Team 2 would have to wait before getting a second run out against Sils 2.
Tamworth Vs Lichfield always makes good viewing and this game was no different. Both teams looked sharp and eager to play, with both teams taking advantage of some lazy defending early on. Once they had all settled down the game found a good rhythm with both teams working hard to establish a foothold only to be forced into an error or succumb to good tackling and a turnover. The game left the Ninjas feeling positive and brought back the big smiles that we have all come to expect of our players post match.
Tamworth again or could Sils 2 take their revenge? This time around the Silhillian team were prepared for the slick moves that Tamworth were producing and gave Team 2 a much harder time of it. In true Ninja fashion the team stepped up their game to match this new intensity from Sils 2 and produced another great display of Rugby.

Overall the festival went well and identified some areas, both individually and collectively, that we can work on, but also produced some great pieces of play allowing us to take some positives away. The cherry on top is that the kids are showing a good level of maturity by starting to identify areas that can be developed and are pushing themselves to improve.

To finish I think it is important to point out 2 incidents that sum up our great little team. Firstly, when a member of Team 2 was feeling a little low and downhearted, it was brilliant to see that the rest of the team rallied around them and offered words of encouragement to bring them back into the fold and helping them to remember that mistakes will happen, but the team will survive them. First class teamwork!
The second would be deserving of the Sportsmanship award (if we had one). After making a fantastic covering tackle by Josh Hodgins he and the opposition player picked up a bit of an injury. Fortunately Josh was up and moving relatively quickly and once the first aider was happy that the opposition player only had a small knock too, Josh was quick to call out to the other player to make sure he was ok and shake hands before getting back into the fold.

Moments like these reiterate the maturity and professionalism that is shown by this YOUNG team week in week out and is a real credit to them as players and sets a good foundation for a very bright future within the game!!

We have a couple of weeks to train now before our next fixture, where I'm sure our little squad of stars will show more progress and camaraderie and, hopefully continue to play with a smile on their faces.