Seagulls U7s v Stowmarket and then Haverhill - (2 December 2007) Seagulls 11 v Stowmarket 9 A squad of 9 arrived early to be faced with very unpleasant weather conditions (which only got worse). Coach's team talk: “Looks like it’s going to be Wyndham all over again!” Morale was amazingly high and remained upbeat despite the worsening conditions. Everyone played a crucial role in the relentless try scoring from both sides - 'tit for tat' as each side scored alternate tries. 5 all at half time and it was clear that the team that wanted the win most was going to have to gain the advantage in the second half. The Seagulls rose to the challenge and made the most of every scoring opportunity with excellent running in very muddy and slippery conditions. As well as the 'Usual Suspects' (that's Jake, Charles and Annabel for those that are not sure), Maddie and Henry Ewart showed real enthusiasm and made their mark with some excellent runs. Christopher and Joseph alsp showed real commitment given the conditions with a true willingness to take them on in defence. In fact our defensive play was relentless and created a number of turnovers - picking up and running away with loose ball by Joseph was fantastic. Support play vastly improved and that helped us to move ahead in the final 2 minutes. A cracking game and a well deserved victory against strong opposition. Seagulls U 7’s v Haverhill (02-12-07) Seagulls 8 Haverhill 5 Haverhill drafted in two of Stowmarket's better players to take on the Seagulls shortly after the first match. By now the Seagulls were into their stride and although starting to feel the cold, realised after an early score that this too would be a win if they carried on as they left off. Strong tagging from both sides meant the occasional collision - a mark of real commitment. Annabel took a knock and face plant all in one action but when offered the opportunity to go off and rest, her immediate response was a shake of the head - NO WAY was she going to miss out. This attitude symbolised the character of the squad and despite the truly foul conditions - the team pulled together and we all had immense fun getting cold and wet. Congratulations on a truly excellent season so far. Here are some pictures from the day, click on any thumbnail to enlarge U10s v Haverhill (at Stowmarket 2-12-07) Seagulls 5 - Haverhill 0 Seagulls 4 - Haverhill 1 Stowmarket's ground is a bleak place at the best of times, but during a force-8 gail with horizontal rain, all of us would have rather been elsewhere. Except the boys - who loved it. As Stowmarket hasn't an U10 team, we played another visiting team from Haverhill. We played two matches which we entirely dominated from the kick-off despite a big and determined opposition. The boys displayed excellent tight play in the forwards as well as intelligent short pass play in the backs. The standard of rugby was as high as we have seen all season despite the conditions. Infact, perhaps because of the conditions - because the wind was so strong the coaches' barked orders could not be heard. So the boys simply marshalled themselves! Apart from one well deserved try from a very committed Haverhill mini Kiwi, the Seagull's try line was unbreached. Whereas we ran in a total of nine tries. One each for Will and James, two for Tom and five for the bull, Jonathan.