It was a packed weekend at Hoppers with all teams bar one at home, the weather also tried its best to put a spanner in the works with torrential rain on Saturday but the the pitches were remarkably good considering, a tribute to the continued work put in by groundsman Dave Preston.
The Colts had a great win in the Lancashire Cup this weekend defeating Whitchurch 26-22 at home. A great start by Hoppers pushing Whitchurch back, however, two quick tries by the visitors rocked Hoppers. Hoppers kept to their strengths and continued to pressure Whitchurch, a further try each left it 17-5 at half time. Hoppers took off where they left off and were finally sparked into life by Hill’s mazy run and try in the corner followed by Slater’s touchline conversion. Hoppers went into the lead with Fowler’s try only to be pegged back by Whitchurch, Hoppers finally sealing the win with a Slater try under the posts. Hoppers overall just had the edge, but Whitchurch will rue a couple of missed chances to score.
The Under 7s had a great turnout for their home game against Kendal with 3 concurrent pitches in play. We can really see progress in skills and technique, not to mention teamworking. Well done to all players from Preston and Kendal.
The Under 8s had lots of fun against Kendal. Both teams had a fun warm up together and proceeded to have a series of rotating 5v5 and 4v4 matches with a training session development area for the rest. Once again lots of great rugby skills, with friendships and teamwork growing every week. The Coaches were full of pride for every single player today.
The Under 9s enjoyed the benefits of the AGP on a wet and windy Sunday hosting two teams of 7 from Kendal. An early start for some on tackling practice paid dividends as all matches showed dominance over Kendal and an individual and team keenness to increase the tackle count and defensive work.
Great photos courtesy of Steve Beattie.
