The Middlesex Festival back at Wasps was quite the scene - more than 500 U11s filling the lovely Wasps pitches. Hampstead showed up with two strong teams, though a few late injuries were deeply missed. This was clearly another big step up in competition, with even the teams list including Wasps, Saracens, London Welsh, and teams from as far afield as Pinner and Teddington. Great weather and hospitality, and two hours of intense rugby. If anything, the lack of breaks was a bit of challenge for the boys, especially given we didn’t have quite the subs benches of some of the other teams.

Hampstead 1 started against a very tough Ealing Trailfinders team, and struggled a bit to get into the match. A lot of great play, but a few gaps left a bit too much to do. The boys came back strongly in the second match against Teddington, with some strong solo runs resulting in a great win. They then matched up against possibly one of the best teams encountered this year in Rosslyn Park (apparently Hampstead based at their founding but now southwest London) and it is fair to say that heads dropped a bit. The boys again bounced back though, for a convincing win against our north London rivals in Saracens. Overall there was a lot of good - some heroic tacklers against some of the biggest kids we’ve seen this year, but probably a good experience for the team in understanding just how much everyone needs to be fully engaged and keep going as the standard goes up.

Hampstead 2 had a similarly intense day. Started with possibly one of the most intense matches we’ve see all year, with Hampstead scoring the only try of the match in tight battle against Wasps. Following a quick changeover (and a slight delay in the opponents showing up) the boys came back against a Chiswick team that played very well, and though Hampstead came back strongly in the second half with some great team play, fell one try short at the end. Third was yet another tight battle with Finchley, and though there was some debate about a grounding would think the official score would be a draw. Finally played Hammersmith, and though everyone was getting a bit tired, the boys had some excellent passing to come home on top, with the two try margin being the widest for Hampstead 2. Overall, there was a lot of good - some of the best passing we’ve had, and everyone pulling hard. Probably key thing to work on from this set of games is making sure to run straight and pass as opposed to running to space, and getting back into jackalling.

Overall a great day - a real test and all the boys can be very proud. Looking forward to next week at Saracens already - luckily seems like will be a few more breaks, and hopefully another great day.

Match details

Match date

Sun 20 Mar 2022

Kickoff

10:00

Meet time

09:15

Location

Wasps FC

Instructions

Meet at 9.15 to allow time to find pitches, get into teams and warm up

Address: Twyford Avenue Sports Ground, Twyford Avenue, Acton, London, W3 9QA
(use for club parking)

Wasps Football Club are delighted to welcome you to the 2022 Middlesex U11 Rugby Festival, taking place on Sunday 20th March 2022 at Wasps Football Club. We aim for players, parents and spectators to have a great day enjoying our wonderful game of rugby.

The festival will be conducted reflecting the values of Age Grade and Kids First Rugby. Whilst the festival games are competitive, the value and importance of team spirit, sportsmanship, Rugby’s core values and of course FUN should be prominently acknowledged and encouraged. All mixed-ability sides entered must be of equal, mixed abilities. As is the policy of Middlesex Rugby no results will be published.

We very much look forward to welcoming you to the home of Wasps FC and for all to enjoy what promises a fantastic day of rugby. Once the festival has finished, we do hope you will stay to enjoy Wasps FC Beer Festival with us. We will have a number of stalls including a BBQ and crepes, along with many different beers and ciders. (Please see www.waspsbeerfestival.eventbrite.co.uk for more details)

Parking will be available from 08:30am on a first come-first served basis at a charge of £5 per vehicle. Please follow the directions of the marshals. Parking is otherwise possible in the surrounding residential roads although we would strongly request careful and courteous parking of all vehicles, assisting us in maintaining the goodwill of residents. Please do not block driveways.

If your match day party includes people with a disability or limited mobility, then please contact us before the day to ensure suitable arrangements can be made for drop-off and, potentially, parking.

Public Transport is available with the nearest tube station being Ealing Common (District and Piccadilly lines), approximately a 10-minute walk from Wasps.

First Aid
An ambulance will be in attendance for the duration of the festival (see location on the accompanying festival map). First Aiders from Wasps along with First Aiders from each visiting club will also be on duty and will arrange for additional medical assistance if necessary. Only fully qualified First Aiders and/or the festival paramedics can give permission for injured players to continue playing.

Food & Drinks
Hot food and drinks will be available from within and around the sports ground during the festival. The bar in the Clubhouse will also be open during and after the festival. In addition, there will be the Wasps FC Beer Festival in operation, this includes many different stalls along with over 30 different beers and ciders. Please see Wasps FC social media or www.waspsbeerfestival.eventbrite.co.uk for more details.

Litter
Black bin liners will be handed out to all teams at registration. Please keep your team areas including shelters clean and free of rubbish. The same applies to shared practice areas and, of course, to match pitches. Please make sure you leave the area as you found it - thank you in advance.

Toilets
Male and female toilets are available in the Clubhouse.

Dogs
Dogs are not permitted in the ground, other than pre-authorised guide dogs if appropriate.

Team overview