Rain Won't Stop Play at The Alton Festival 2018

Alton 1 enjoyed a very successful morning in the pouring rain, winning all four of their matches against Petersfield, Tadley, Alresford and Winchester. For many of the boys it was their first experience of tackling but they acquitted themselves bravely in contact and ran hard to score a number of excellent long range tries. With the team including 4 new recruits the size and strength of the squad is really starting to grow.

Ben Thirwall (Lead Coach for Alton 1)

The Alton 2 side included several boys making their first festival appearance in an Alton jersey, with the focus very much on development and gaining experience of the cut-and-thrust of a match situation. With the weather as it was, it also turned into a test of endurance at one point! It was therefore really pleasing that not only did everyone make it through to the end, but we also saw massive improvements in tackling technique and self-organisation as the day progressed.
Perhaps the biggest positive was the way in which the team held its shape, both in attack and defence, and this led to some resolute rearguard action as well as some fantastic try-scoring moves. Everyone gave 100% so it would be unfair to single out any individuals – well done to all!

Shaun Stevens (Coaching Alton 2)

Alton 3 started the very wet day with their first fixture against a well drilled Tadley side. They had some strong runners and Alton 3 seemed to struggle with the pace early on, conceding a few quick tries. However, their fortunes changed late in the first half and throughout the second half, displaying a rock solid defence and a restored ability in their tackling. Not conceding another try in the match and scoring a few themselves, the game ended in a very well earned draw.
This tackling and defensive prowess became a feature of their play for the rest of the day.
Next came Trojans who had a large squad with 5 on their replacement bench, some of who would have looked more at home on the under 12s pitch! All of the Alton 3 team were genuinely excited about this prospect and tackled their hearts out. The relentless tackling seemed to cause a reluctance from the Trojans players to run into contact and many turnovers resulted. I lost count of the tries scored by Alton 3 - perhaps 8 or 10 and they only conceded 1. It was the most one sided game I have seen for a while.
Then came Alton 2 vs Alton 3. This was a much closer affair with Alton 3 just coming out on top.
The final match was against Winchester and this saw some great attacking play matched with the now trademark defence with Alton 3 coming out convincing winners once again.
Bravery mention to Joseph who took a significant knock in game 2 and fought back the tears to decline the offer to come off the pitch and carry on to finish the game. Proper tough guy!
And a special mention to all of the boys in Alton 3. Not one of them stopped smiling all day in awful conditions and the determination, teamwork and skills on display were truly fantastic.

Andrew Hayward (Coaching Alton 3)