Although unable to record a victory, Beverley Braves Under-8s came away from the New Earswick rugby gala in York with their pride intact and an enormous amount of credit.
Playing against opposition whose size at times beggared belief, the Braves gamely stuck to their task and very nearly snatched victories in two of the four games played in what can only be described as atrocious weather conditions.
Jacob Parkinson and Louix Gorman deserve special praise after throwing themselves into the tackle despite being the only six-year-olds in the competition, following the example set by Isaac Merryweather and Charlie Gay.
In attack, William Cohen showed again promise with some thrilling runs and Ellis Gaden, Shamus Blades, Alexie Rawlings, Charlie Barker and the Nuttall twins, Tom and Alex, all kept charging forward time again, showing that courage is not something the team is short of.
Try scorers on the day were Will Cohen, Isaac Merryweather, Charlie Barker, Tom Nuttall and Charlie Gay.
Coach Craig Collins said: ‘‘If you do your best, you won’t have the energy to worry about failure.’’
The side fared much better when they came up against Lambwath Sutton Trust for the second week running, turning a 9-0 defeat into a much better 3-1 reverse, only going down to a couple of late scores.
The other match of the night was also a tight affair against Cottingham Tigers which ended 1-1. The Braves try scorers on the night were Will Cohen and Charlie Barker.
Though not a night for many tries, the young Braves had to get through some hard work in defence.
None were more commtted than top tacklers Bryan Usher and Sam Shrimpton, while the star of the match went to Isaac Merryweather, who shone in both games with some direct running and was always looking for work when without the ball.
Coach Collins added: “You can’t test courage cautiously.”