Under 12's - Winners at New Milton

New Milton is always a good test for a squad as it comes at a point in the season when all the teams are fully up and running and hungry for silverware. Alton sent another very capable squad to the tournament with hopes and expectations for a good day of rugby and perhaps a sniff at success. Once the day was through, Alton were the champions of the New Forest and returned with the plaudits, medals and smiles of a day well spent.

From the start of the first game the intent was to go forwards and pressurise the opposition. An early strike by Dan Woolcott set the example and his try sparked the squad for the day. As the squad stages progressed players were starting to make their presence felt. Max Sly gravitating to the fly-half berth and showing he can make the right choices for running, passing or kicking. Harry 'mad-dog' McKenna was into the opposition with his trademark ferocity in the tackle. Scores were coming and defence was good with the defensive line-speed hugely improved and making its mark.

The great thing about a full squad performance is the varied but vital parts everyone plays. Olli thinking at the speed of light to rule the breakdown area as a very promising scrum-half. Olli is picking the right time to pass or run at the opposition, with no fear of contact which bodes well. Cam was at inside-centre to play off the shoulder of Max, and had a mature and strong tournament with strong runs and good offloads to get the team going forward and over the gain line. Adding attacking options and leading the defensive line up at pace was Will Hodges who put in a disciplined and strong shift whenever he was on the pitch.

The bedrock of any successful team is the ability for forwards to grind out the hard yards and physically dominate the opposition. Dan Heard continued his love of running into people. Archie prowled the pitch looking for physical work - as ball carrier, rucker or tackler, he's not picky. Joel is becoming something of an enforcer - actively seeking the right sort of confrontation and revelling in the battle of the inches to keep his team going forwards. Dom played a tough game from prop and is putting together a decent run of form.

Filling the full-back role, Myles continued to impress with his bag of tricks with ball in hand and with his subtle and intelligent kicking. Leo Barnett is a grafter. One moment winning a defensive ruck on his own line, the next moment popping up in attack at the other end of the pitch. He covers ground like a hound seeking its quarry and never stops working. Fitzy is maintaining his impressive progress and form.

All this excellence led the team through the groups and into the final. Every Alton team likes the prospect of a tasty encounter with Winchester and this turned out to be a very close and hard fought game. Eventually it came down to an opportunity here and there that Alton took better than their opposition, and a greater ability to deal with the intensity of such a close game. Whatever the inner turmoil, the players were coping better than the supporters of either team! Winchester are to be congratulated on a tense and skilful game played by a well drilled and talented team. But, even more composed, drilled and talented on the day were the mighty Alton squad. Drawing on reserves of determination and draining the last drop of stamina from their legs, Alton closed out Winchester to win the game and the tournament 2-1.

Thank you players, for another weekend of rugby to make everyone proud. Thank you to Paul for setting the perfect tone for the squad to succeed and thank you to the army of parents who travelled through the forest to cheer the lads on. Another great day for the Under 12's.