The Minis were at home and hosted Kendal this weekend, with 3 of the Junior teams in the final pool games of the Blacksticks Blue Lancashire Cup, it was a busy weekend for Hoppers teams.
All the Under 7’s players were able to enjoy some game time against Kendal. Half time talks ensured defensive play improved and some great team play resulted in a number of great tries being scored. Players are understanding now the importance of working together as oppose to individual flair. Well done to all.
The Under 13’s travelled to Huddersfield YMCA to play a fixture arranged at the last minute. It was a welcome relief from the cancelled and postponed cup fixtures that have featured since Xmas and given a hand full of missing “cup” players meant that all the boys got to play plenty of rugby…. and all of them played superbly. The Huddersfield side were no push over but as the Hoppers forwards began to dominate and set up phase after phase the backs were able to really put their foot on the gas and pretty soon Hoppers had a dominant lead. The fact that we had 6 different try scorers shared almost equally between forwards and backs shows the depth and quality of Hoppers play. Well done lads.
In the Blackstick’s Blue Lancashire Junior Challenge Cup;
The Under 14s desperately needed a win in their last Cup pool game to give themselves an outside chance of qualifying for the main Cup quarter finals but went down 10-7 away at Sefton. Defeat probably means a place in the Plate competition this year for the Under 14s.
The Under 15’s lost 26-12 at home to Rossendale in the Cup, Hoppers were the dominant team in the first half despite going in 14-12 down at half time. In a close second half, there was no score until 2 late tries from Rossendale sealed their win. The defeat sees Hoppers slip down to second in the pool which may yet still mean a play-off for a place in the main Cup quarter final.
The Under 16s beat Blackburn 30*-0 to round off the pool stages of the Cup. Blackburn were competitive in the early stages but Hopper’s tackling was up to the task, as the game wore on Hoppers found more and more space and exploited this to run in a number of tries. The win ensured qualification for the main Cup quarter finals.
The draw for the knock-out stages of the cup will be held later this week.
