Another busy (and successful) weekend for the Hoppers Minis section with teams at the Vale of Lune Festival, Huddersfield festival and at home to Southport.
The Under 7s had a very long day at Vale Festival with some very tired legs at the end. The two teams from U7’s had an enjoyable day, with Hoppers coming 3rd in their round robin league and the Fireflies winning the ‘Plate’. Had both teams progressed to the knockout stages they would have played each other in the semi-final. Both teams displayed tremendous discipline and teamwork throughout the day. Well done to all those who played.
The Under 8s had a strong presence at the Vale Festival fielded two competitive teams. Despite a spirited effort ‘Hoppers Whites’ were knocked out of the plate competition based on a ‘try count back’ following a draw against Vale in the knock out stages. ‘Hoppers Fireflies’ went the whole day unbeaten and put in some fantastic individual and team performances. Going on to raise the Cup with Kirkby following a draw in the final. A true sign of the spirit of the lads was definitely the ready made supporters squad that the Fireflies had in the final with all the Whites staying to watch and make it a fantastic finale.
The Under 9s continued their magnificent record at the Vale Festival by retaining the trophy they won last year. With a squad of twelve players, they progressed from the group stage with three handsome victories to set up a mouth-watering quarter final against local rivals Fylde. The semi final against Kirkby Lonsdale resulted in a nerve-jangling 4-4 draw with Hoppers progressing to the final by virtue of scoring one more try in the group stage! After a ten minute rest to refuel, the boys lined up against a strong team from Warrington and produced a heroic display of tackling and some wonderful attacking rugby to storm to a 4-2 victory. The whole team were a credit to themselves, their parents and to Preston Grasshoppers – opposition coaches and supporters alike were all very complimentary.
The Under 10s had a team at the Huddersfield festival. The team played phenomenally and put absolutely everything they could into the games. All did the Hoppers shirt proud and should be very pleased with their performance today.
The Under 11s also had a team in action at Huddersfield, they struggled at the start with some tough games, but fought back to win their last two games and restore their pride.
