Sefton Gunners v Wirral 24 March 2007   

It was evident on the drive to Wirral on Sunday that spring had sprung, the sun shone and my legs made their first appearance of the year (the tracksuit bottoms were in the boot – just in case).  What a day for rugby!

I would like to start by thanking Owen, Joe and Charlie for volunteering to play for the Under 7’s, I know from those who managed to watch that your contribution was welcomed (especially Owen’s four tries!)  Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to watch the game (if anyone fancies writing up a match report for me that would be fantastic because I want to know what happened) but I have heard great things from those who did about all who played.  I did see an over excited Wirral coach and Hannah run in her first try, a fantastic moment for her and lets hope there are plenty more where that came from. 

Announcing the player of the match for that game was a great moment too as Lewis, although not the most vocal player, always works hard and plays consistently well so occasionally goes unnoticed.  Well done Lewis, keep up the good work.

I did manage to watch the Under 8’s game and what a match it was!  I mentioned on Sunday that choosing the player of the match was difficult because EVERY player deserved recognition on Sunday.  

James once again showed his leadership, marshalling the defence and making some excellent tags as well as organising some well executed attacking moves.  Let’s not forget managing to go over himself! 

Danny Murphy reached his 50 with a trademark run past the other 13 players on the pitch – I’ve given up telling him to do otherwise and Tom Corcoran notched up his 50 in style with a hat-trick. 

Danny Rev kept his tally of points ticking over with two tries and new boy Adam Sullivan was denied a try for diving, this didn’t deflect from his overall performance though as he was excellent in defence and showed vision when moving forward.  Matthew Douglas and Joe Lockhart deserve praise for their performance.  Both were solid in defence and moved well in the team, not easy considering they’ve never played before.

Charlie Martin worked hard on Sunday and was important in many defensive situations making some excellent tags and running well both with the ball and in support.

Another fantastic support runner as always was Lewis Grierson.  There are times watching him play when I think there must be two of him because he seems to be everywhere on the pitch at the same time.  Keep up the excellent work.

Ross Davis, Shaun Nunnen and Adam Dealing showed once again that they can play in any part of the team and make a real difference.  All three consistently show great rugby vision and awareness wherever they are.  Adam managed to score a try and Shaun and I compared rugby injuries on the sidelines – hope the knee feels better Shaun.

Final praise goes to the Scott Heritage.  Scott has had a fantastic season and is a solid, constant player who strives to never let his team down.  His running off the ball was fantastic throughout the game and in defence he is unbreakable.  He deserved to go over for a try on Sunday (I know this’ll cost his dad) as he has been instrumental in helping so many others score this season.  He was denied a second but this didn’t phase him and he continued to play at his usual full pace.  A well deserved player of the match award to Scott.

Well done to all for Sunday’s performance, a well deserved win.