The whole squad rose to the challenge of the Ealing Festival and, despite some nail biting moments, they were worthy winners beating Bank of England in the final.

The first game was against Harpenden, a well drilled side, a game where Wasps dominance unfortunately did not convert into tries, despite playing most of the game in Harpenden’s half, result 0 – 0. Next up was Old Albanians, worthy opponents. First half dominance from Wasps; however in the second half it was all hands to the pumps as OA pressed hard. The Wasps defence held firm and honours were again shared at 0-0.

Pool results meant that Wasps were second in their group so played the top team from the other pool, the hosts Ealing! Attritional defence from both sides but Wasps held up well and no one breached the defensive black and gold wall. Another 0-0 which meant penalty kicks, tied at 7 all, then a drop goal (Alf), then Wasps went through on the toss of the coin (Ethan made the right call)!

Next up was the final against Bank of England. Early pressure from BoE was soaked up, then the Wasps defence turned into attack and drove BoE down the length of the pitch harrying all in front of them. Overwhelming Wasps pressure resulted in BoE fumbles and errors and William leapt on an opportunity to score the only try of the match. Alf converted and it was 7-0 to Wasps.

There was no way back for BoE at this stage with the Wasps pack grinding the opposition down. Darius was at his disruptive best, Joseph harried and hassled, Freddie at full back made some thumping tackles and Sam at fly half kicked superbly to relieve pressure, watch out for your crown Danny C! The final whistle blew and the boys enjoyed a well earned celebration!

The pack was immense throughout, winning 6 scrums against the head, an awesome front row with Edward, Michael, Tomas and Ethan showing real strength and technique to cause all sorts of problems in the set piece. Opposition line outs were snaffled and disrupted whilst our own ball was invariably safely taken. The 2nd rows were excellent, with Alf, Ethan, Sam and Darius proving their worth.

Joseph and Hamish shared the scrum half berth distributing well and harrying the opposition to good effect. Sam was a real discovery at fly half taking up the reins when Freddie moved to full back, where he’s got a great future. The centres were a revelation, Felix, Hugo and Darius making the breaks and defending hard. Out on the wings William was a consistent nuisance to the opposition, numerous great tackles, and he thoroughly deserved the winning try. Ben showed great pace and superb defence, whilst Thomas showed silky running skills and good defence.

All in all this was a great result. This truly was a squad effort where the boys showed real passion and determination to succeed for each other. I’m sure that they’re not complacent, but there’s definitely more to come from this group of lads. Well done.

Wasps U11As joint winners!

Well done to all the boys - they should all feel very proud of themselves. The Ealing Festival is always very competitive and this year did not disappoint. Wasps U11As won all their group matches without conceding a try, with some great attacking rugby especially from the wingers Cameron N'Jie and Jack Gowen, who consistently broke through the opposition defences throughout the tournament.

The forwards also rose to the challenge with Gianluigi Tosti being as destructive as ever in the loose. Freddie Lawley and Matt Plavsic added the power, with Matt barrelling over for a well deserved try from a short penalty and Paul Duarte, playing with such commitment, felling all before him. Billy Green rose to the challenge put down by the coaches and we were all pleased to see nobody could cope with the full impact of him hitting rucks at full speed - a truly fierce sight.

Having dispatched the other group teams, the boys knew they had to pick up a gear or two in the knock out stages and they responded magnificently. Captain Tom Bannon marshalled his troops well pulling the strings from fly half and kicked intelligently when needed. Angus Bell continued to use the ball well at scrum half, constantly looking to get his back line moving.

In the semi finals we drew with Ealing and won on a countback having scored the first try. The match was as tight as they always are against Ealing. Joss Awdry showed what a good prospect he is, covering a number of positions and Max Mahon had a fantastic tournament in the centre highlighted by some thumping tackles.

Old Albanians, the defending champions, were the opposition in the final and we always knew they would be the team to beat. All the Wasps boys played with so much pride. Ben Ridley found his attacking game tempered but defended like a warrior.

Stan d'Angelin showed us what a flexible rugby talent he is with some ferocious tackling filling in at scrum half. Lewis Duckworth also showed that when you need the big men to stand up when the going gets tough, he is at front of the queue. If there was ever a breach of the first line of defence the team could look to Gregoire Jean Perrin at fullback who never missed a tackle all day.

Well done boys. Enjoy the victory and look forward to the challenges ahead