Cheltenham Charity Tournament Report!
Written by Joe - 16/09/23
The morning after the night before. A few stormers players had camped the night before with an invite from Cheltenham for a social evening. Pizzas, beer and rounders made for a fun and little bit competitive evening.
Game 1 - Cleve Canons
Game 1 Southampton Stormers came up against a very new touch team, loose on knowledge of the rules but came with plenty of energy. Some good defensive play to start with, a turn over and the team sub quickly allowing some fast play with great hands from Pete to put Stefan into the corner after a nice side step on an oncoming defender to make it 1-0.
Some more quick play catching the canons out of positions and struggling to keep up allowed Stefan again to score two more time’s completing a very quick hat trick. Him and Pete linking up well again with solid hand skills and finishing.
Playing our way into the game after a few explanations to the canons about rules. An attempted chip and chase soon followed, but was soon pulled back. 10/10 for vision! Playing our own game was pivotal here to do what we do best, score tries. Some lovely team moves saw more scores to follow from Dan, Joe, Steph, Rob, Brian and Tom. This allowed us to finish with a strong score line of 9-0. Some positives to take but we knew stronger tests awaited!!
Try scorers: Stefan x 3, Joe x 1, Dan x 1, Rob x1, Tom x 1, Brian x 1, Steph x 1
Game 2 - Revolution
Here comes the tougher test. With knowledge from Rhys we knew Revolution had played in the NTS (National Touch Series) with two teams in good divisions.
Time to bring the energy. A good early defensive play set the tone for the game. Time for the stormers to sub, which Revs saw coming, quick play from Rhys saw him change direction and attack the narrow side catching them off guard and running the length of the pitch, not for a cracking chase of a well spirted Revs lady.
Fresh subs on and Dan got to work. Cutting the gaps and getting 2 extra tries. 3-0 up pretty early. A lapse in concentration saw Revs bring one back. Nothing to panic about. Straight from kick off the team set up their new beginning move. 32 short into 32 long back to short, well that was the plan until Joe got the ball into his hands, some space in front of him from the first 32 saw him run all away around the outside to score in the corner. A little comment, stick to the plan next time but nice finish.
Second half and more of the same. Dan with a full length run through a gap (again well spirted chase and his usual cap flying off) saw him complete his hat trick before another quick fire finish. Our final try came from some great counter attack play, starting on one side of the pitch, Steve and Stefan stretching it to the other side. Before Steve sent Tom over back on the other side. A true coast to coast try.
Although 7 tries scored, it was the defence that won this match with good piston defence from the middles and links stopping the Revs from truly getting going. Final score 7-2.
Try scorers - Joe x 1, Rhys x 1, Dan x 4, Tom x 1
Game 3 - Cheltenham Tigers
Here’s the big group game. Rhys’s ‘other’ team. The Tigers play in 2 different divisions at NTS and although not their strongest team definitely pose our toughest test.
Words for the game, high energy, high tempo and lots of communication. Just what the doctor ordered and just what he received. Shutting the Tigers down early really helped the team set up good platforms. Some speed play and nice hands saw Brian score again along with Sam after lovely footwork put him in the corner.
Tigers keeping us honest and some fast play saw them grab one back. Some good back and forth between both teams… the Stormers go to box and the tigers get caught off guard as Joe goes to sub but finds a gap and goes through. 3-1 up. Tigers again come back and make it 3-2. Some excellent work from our links, Steve again gets us on the front foot for Rob and Tom to get tries down the edges. 5-2 half time!
A good halftime team talk, forget the score line it’s 0-0 and we go again! A quick score by tigers after half time kept us honest but good structure and fast play saw Joe complete his hat trick. Next to follow was Rob, him and Dan building a real solid connection in their middle partnership, couple of quickies got us on the front foot. Followed by a 32 short, Dan dragging for our sharp quick passer Tom to put Rob in with his trademark dive. On his last appearance for the Stormers was doing his best to round off in style.
The finishing touches came from a similar coast to coast play which saw Meg hold her width very well, stretching the tigers and allowing Tom to find Meg to score in the corner. 8-3. Group winners and some really positive vibes going into the semi finals!
Try Scorers - Joe x 3, Brian x 1, Sam x 1, Meg x 1, Rob x 1, Tom x 1
Game 4 - Oxford - Div 1 Semi Final
The next step up in competition. Oxford were very fast out of the gates, 2-0 quickly put Southampton on the back foot. A bit of miss communication in the middle and some nice footwork by Oxford. Southampton got back into the game but it was very much, score one and then conceded one. We always felt like we were chasing the game, even with plenty of time on the clock. The communication wasn’t quite what it was. We managed to work some good tries, Stefan with his trademark step and score in the corner, Joe through the middle with a quickie with Rhys and Steph with a well worked play scored in her corner. A miscommunication with subs saw two tries which were very well worked, one from Tom and one from Steve, ruled out with 7 players on the pitch at once. Half time 5-3.
Team talk needed. We seemed to have lost the energy we had in the group games and needed something to change. With only two women available, we were getting substitutions confused a little, so a change in positions with Steph also going to wing to make subs easier.
Unfortunately we weren’t quite able to execute. Much of the same in the second half, you score, we score.
Some great defensive sets, engine man Steve along with daughter Meg kept being pulled all over the place but holding shape and not conceding. Before Meg gets an injury, a big worry. She hobbled back to the subs box, it’s only popped out she says, don’t worry. She’s made of stronger stuff. Excellent attitude and grit shown to play on and not let her team down.
Another 3 tries for both teams. Good speed and quickies got Oxford going forward well. 2 more for the captain Joe and an excellent finish by Sam in the corner. The Stormers go down 8-6 in a game they felt they could have won and done a lot better. But we take the positives and move forward.
Try Scorers - Joe x 3, Stefan x 1, Sam x 1, Steph x 1
Game 5 - Cheltenham Tigers
Div 1 3rd/4th Playoff
The Stormers wanted to bounce back, another chance to play a great team and finish 3rd in a tough division 1. But the Tigers wanted revenge.
The start of the match felt very much like the group game. The tempo was back, communication was solid throughout. Shutting down the tigers first couple of sets and getting a couple of well worked tries. Brian now in link joining up with Steph for one score and then Pete with a ‘Sonny Bill’ like out the back door pass as Brian wraps. Scoring twice to get us ahead.
The tigers came back. Some speedy buddy plays put Joe and Rhys on the back foot and they finished it off nicely…. but like with Oxford, they scored and we fired right back. Meg and Steph, exhausted from all their running, held width really well. Some pressure through the middle saw the space open up and Steve and Tom respectively put both girls in to score on opposite wings.
Half time 4-2. Nothing to change, just keep up the energy. It’s been a long day but time to dig deep.
Much of the same in the second half, Joe and Rhys link up with some lovely quickies to set each other up and extend our lead. But yet again the Tigers weren’t down, they came back to make the game very close.
Some very tired legs out there but some great tries still to be scored. Sam with his speed took advantage of some slow Tigers defence to get another. Joe managed to get his final try of the day with a dive, without injury which was the biggest surprise. The final try… Pete gets the try his hard work deserves. A 32 short with Joe and Rhys, drags the defence, Joe straightens and gives to Pete who uses his last remaining legs to head around the outside and dot down, Meg there in full support but wasn’t needed. Holding her width again making the try possible. Great play by both of them!
Final score Southampton Stormers 9 - Cheltenham Tigers 6. A great comeback performance by the Stormers to seal a 🥉 place in Division 1. Three cheers for Cheltenham for a fantastic tournament, hosts and social event.
Try scorers - Brian x 2, Joe x 2, Pete x 1, Sam x 1, Rhys x 1, Meg x 1, Steph x 1
Recap
Always things to work on, but a lot of positives. Playing against experienced regional players and holding our own is something to be very proud of. Stefan and his team should be extremely proud of the work he and his players have put into the last 12/18 months to be as competitive as we are.
Currently no more tournaments planned so the Stormers are looking forward to a winter full of practice and learning, ready for a debut season in the NTS.
A new tradition to finish the weekend off. We asked for votes from every player for their MVP of the day. A pretty unanimous vote, getting over half the votes… Rhys is our players MVP. He drove the midfield, stayed calm throughout the day and was always the positive energy we needed.
Secondly our a Captains choice. This for Joe was tricky decision, with everyone doing their jobs brilliantly…. But there was a slight edge for this player…. Energy all day long, selfless sportsmanship setting up he can’t remember how many tries and positive vibes throughout…. STEVE.
Congratulations to both lads. Amazing day with the team, we’re really moving in a strong and positive direction going into next year.
Until next time…. Up the Stormers.
Team info
Stefan, Steve, Sam, Brian, Meg, Pete, Steph, Rob, Dan, Rhys, Joe, Tom B
Try scorers
- Joe 9
- Dan 5
- Stefan 4
- Brian 4
- Rhys 3
- Sam 3
- Tom 3
- Steph 3
- Rob 2
- Meg 2
- Pete 1
Tries scored - 39
Conceded - 19
Esher Tournament Report!
Written by Joe - 09/07/23
After a great weekend at Wallingford last time out, our men’s team headed to Esher rugby club full of high spirits and motivation ready to try and grab that elusive 🥇🏆 with nearly a full squad and all positions covered, we were hopeful and optimistic for a good day.
Game 1 - Big Bag of Canned Worms. A union based team, full of physical quick players. It was soon apparent after a few plays that they weren’t driven with plays and moves. Some quick 32 plays early on saw Dan performing the perfect drags to set up Rob and Pete within quick succession. With it being the first game, getting the communication going was key. Worms managed to pull one back before this stormers team blew off the cobwebs, kicked into gear and saw the game off with four more tries mostly with quick play, seeing the opposition being offside, Dan ran through. Followed up with well worked tries for Rhys, Tim and Sam. First win of the day and great start by the boys.
Game 2 - Clapham Feelers. What seemed to be a much tougher test awaited next and we weren’t wrong. The London based team played with a lot more structure and speed than we had seen previously. Some good play again from the middle saw Dan put the stormers 1-0 going into half time. Breathe, drink, reset, same again. Clapham came back, applying pressure making the stormers defence work hard, unfortunately finding a way through after the Stormers were caught with sloppy subs having 9 on the pitch at one time. That won’t happen again. 1-1. Fresh subs after some tiring defence, a quick buddy play from Dan put our speedster Tim in at the corner 2-1 with not much time left. Again the Feelers came back, pressure on with 1 minute left. They worked the ball well to the outside, 1v1 against our Captain Joe on the wing, Feelers with a great step sends him the wrong way, but Joe used the touch line to his advantage, with the Clapham stepping on the sideline. Ref gives the try…. A protest (calmly of course) from our Captain and some honest play by his own team mate, foot in touch, no try. The final whistle goes. 2-1 Stormers. A tight affair won by great defence. Onto our final group game, two for two.
Game 3 - Touch of Class. One more win and the Stormers top the group and progress to the cup semi final. Up step, a touch of class. Starting the game with only 6 players and no substitutes, the stormers couldn’t become complacent. The rain came in and the instructions were clear, no big passes, keep it tight and tire them out. Some slick hands on a couple of occasions by link Brian, saw the Stormers race to a 4-0 lead. A Touch of Class dug in deep, some fast play through the middle and they pull one back, a touch was called but the ref gave a try. 4-1 half time. Tim with a great break through ran the length, Ian through the middle with speed play and more fast play from Dan (there is a theme) with support from our captain. Final play, a drag to the right, ball back to the left and a superb pass from the Joe (who should of been on the wing) to pick Sam out on the wide. Nicely finished off the move. Hats off to the opposition playing with only 6 against 11, they worked really hard. 7-1 and into the Cup Semi Final undefeated. 15 scored 3 conceded.
A nice break, some good food. Plenty of laughs and of course stretching. We’re all getting old.
Onto the Semi-Final. No room for slip ups now or an early beer awaits, which did seem tempting. Up came Cobham, a well drilled touch team with some young talent at the driving wheel. Some more good 32s saw Dan and Sam get a score each. Cobham faught back well and caught the stormers out with some very fast play and miscommunication with positions. 2-1 half time. Regroup and time not to panic. Experience pulled through, Tim with a cracking line from the right wing, through the middle of the pitch and scoring in the far left corner gave the stormers some breathing room. Time for Tim to have a breather. Our most experienced player Rhys stepped up to finish the game with two identical tries, a quick buddy with middle partner Rob on both occasions saw the Cobham defence retreating but too far past the try line. Rhys with two easy dot downs. 5-2, three cheers for Cobham and into our second final in a week.
A bit of a break followed, a quick watch of the plate and spoon finals before we got warmed up. Game faces on, it’s go time.
The Final - Esher Roar awaited, the host and hometown favourite’s definitely had the crowd behind them. Quick huddle. Captain Joe with the final words, let’s spoil the party.
Our hardest test to date. A team very similar to us, speed, athleticism, some young players with great footwork. A great 32 play saw Rhys dive for the line for an early 1-0 lead. But don’t be fooled they came back hard. Fast play through the middle saw them score quickly. The order of the day called again, a 32 turned into wrap to see Steve go over. Again Cobham came back, they weren’t to be disheartened. A questionable call saw they pull back level 2-2 and half time. Second half the Stormers showed what they’re about, speed, communication, some great play and 32 long this time saw a great pass out to Oli wide, who just stayed in the pitch to dot down. More good attacking play game, saw a quick break, some nice three man drives to get Joe and Dan into the middle. Two quick buddies followed by a step from Joe around his defender saw him dot down in the corner. 4-2, a couple of shouts of ‘We don’t lose this now’. You know what’s coming, Esher came back and caught us offside to bring it to 4-3. With 5 minutes left a comment from Pete (sorry couldn’t miss it out) aimed at player heard by the ref. Stormers lose a player. Time to hold the nerve. Some solid defensive sets (4 in a row from Steve, great shift) saw the Stormers managing to get the ball. Quick play to the other end of the field, great step by man of the final match Rhys saw him dodge the oncoming touch and dot down on the final whistle. 5-3 or so we thought, a ref erroring thinking it was 4-4 before Esher sportingly told the ref the score. SOUTHAMPTON STORMERS CUP FINAL WINNERS.
A brilliant day, well organised. Big shout out to the team, communication was brilliant throughout the day, played for each other and great trust. Onwards and upwards for the Southampton Stormers.
Team - Ian Stuart, Rhys Jones, Joe Wright, Dan Baxter, Pete Belasco, Steve Lines, Tim Bird, Brian Cook, Oli Porritt, Sam Seifoori, Rob Cheetham
Wallingford Tournament Report!
Written by Michelle - 02/07/23
First tournament for the season 2023 in Wallingford with a team consisting of some new members, old members (membership length and age) and some recently trained Southwest Saxons players. Monday night training has been progressing nicely with a lot of emphasis on running touch plays like 32’s and three man drives. With amazing help from some seasoned players, Tom and Rhys the club is building on its abilities and knowledge and for the most part enjoying the challenges of learning a new way of playing touch rugby. Whilst heads up rugby is still a huge part of team plays, due to the high numbers of ex-contact players who have moved to the dark side of touch to be able to continue playing the game they love, you can start to see some touch patterns taking shape. There is potentially less swearing when things go wrong and a lot more shouting ‘I’m your nine’. So with all of this taking place the vibe for Wallingford is certainly a positive one and the Stormers travelled the 1hr 25 min trip in multiple cars with high enthusiasm for putting some tries on the board, a win or two and most importantly a few giggles.
Wallingford Rugby Club looked to be set ready for the day and push people to spend as much money as possible to raise money for two very worthy charities Marie Curie and Chiltern Centre. Four pitches were set up for the two pools and games started at 12 with the volunteer refs having done their briefing and their whistles ready. Game time!
First game against One Foot in the Grave, and our recently appointed coach, Joe Wright, shuffled the first 6 onto the pitch. With 20 minutes per game in the first pool, it sounded long but in fact disappeared within the blink of an eye. A few shaky hands and a miscommunication about where the try line actually was and we were down a try, thinking how did that happen. Note to selves, there is a dotted line showing the 7 metres away from the try line, THIS IS NOT THE TRY LINE!!!! Thankfully it was the only time we let this happen! By the end of the game we had hit our rhythm and clawed back to a lovely victory against a very new team who had never played touch before. It was great to see some of our players passing on knowledge to the opposition team after the game after being approached, as this truly goes to show the fabulous core values of touch rugby. That everyone and anyone can play this game, Diversity and Inclusivity at its best.
“Young boys” came next with a little trepidation from us as they were a very young team, with what looked like very fit contact players who could probably run around us and keep going whilst we were tucked up in bed. However the true adage of knowledge versus youth worked wonders and we stormed through for a 7-1 victory. However it didn’t feel much like a victory when one of our star players went down with a knee injury part way through the game. A potential patella relocation meant that Tom was out for the rest of the day with his two trusted crutches aka Ian and Joe (yes our coach does get around) on hand to move him around the club, but the team was down a sub.
Third and final game in the group stages, The Duckies. No coach to help guide us as he was off reffing another game, however the team pulled together and played a bit more free style. Unfortunately the defence suffered and we didn’t hold our line or push up enough and The Duckies took advantage. A few frayed tempers came into the Stormers side as we got frustrated and a big team boost was needed. We were however through to the semi-finals on the first and second pitches in front of the BBQ and bar. Now most players would probably hold off at this point, maybe a light snack to get through the next match, but not our Lucy. The call comes that we are playing in 15 minutes and she’s sat under the gazebo chomping her way through a burger the size of her face, with the comments of “I’ve already burnt 2000 calories I won’t last if I don’t eat”. Now the Mum in Michelle is thinking “she’s going to be sick if she eats that” the Nutritionalist in Ian is thinking “that’s not the best thing to eat, Stefan is thinking “I didn’t get there quick enough to buy one” and Kev’s stomach is just jealous. And the team was all agreed that if Ben had been with us, he would have been three burgers down and a plate of chips to go!!!!
Semi-finals, the one to win!!! The group winners from the other pool and a new player steps up for Stormers!!! Coach Joe is allowed to play, whilst Stephanie and Michelle both start to panic that he’ll do something stupid whilst trying to be “good” and further damage his old knee. This game can only be described as hot and heavy. The sun was out, we were all getting hot under the collar (literally, the heavy rugby kit tops doing nothing to keep us cool). However the victory was in sight, an amazing 32 short set up by Ian and Michelle and a Stefan dive scored one of the best touch play tries of the day. A big phew from all of us that we know had about 45 minutes before the final, and the slight panic that this was going to be a 40 minute game, 20 minute halves with a 5 minute half time. Proper food time, tops off and enough time for everyone to stiffen up and start to feel old, apart from Tom who was happily still icing his knee on the side working on his tan.
The Final, and this team knew what to expect. The Duckies were back. We started well, defence was back and loads of chat. Miss Scoopy was back with us AKA Steph and by the end of the first half we were 3-2 up. Now at this point both teams were glad that the games had been changed to 15 minute halves. Both teams were down on subs due to injuries and we knew we would struggle with stamina in the second half. Second half started to the tune of the opposition shouting “we know what to expect” every time we hit the line. They had worked out our 32’s and how to defend. A couple of long passes on our wings would have been lovely tries but unfortunately we weren’t able to touch them down quick enough and the legs just weren’t holding up for most of us, especially Sam who decided that every touch on the line deserved a dive, and after about 5 dives on the trot the ball was turned over as they couldn’t get past him. A sad loss at 7-4 but a lovely team to play against.
Silverware received by the Stormers, photo ops done and a round of 1,2,3 Stormers completed, its time to hit the bar and raise the money for charity. Next week is the men at Esher Rugby Club with a team that has knowledge, skill and age…sorry Steve, maturity. Go Stormers!!!!!
Southampton Touch Players Representing England SouthWest Saxons!
Posted by Stephan - 12/04/2023
We would like to congratulate the Southampton Touch members for making the England SouthWest Regional Teams!
Huge congratulations to Michelle Stewart (Women’s 40’s), Oliver Porritt (Men’s 40’s), Stephanie Thomas (Women’s 27’s) for making the squads and Dan Baxter for being a first reserve for the Mixed Open squad!
Well done to you all and everyone else who attended the trials!
The National event took place on the weekend of the 29th April to 1st May. Some great results were had by all.
Stephanie and the Women’s 27’s won 3 out of 4 of their pool games, unfortunately losing in the final - it went to 6 all, narrowly losing in a 4v4 drop off! Steph also scoring in the pool games!
Michelle and the Women’s 40’s won 2 out of 4 of their pool games, unfortunately losing in the final. She did however bag herself a try during the pool games!
Ollie and the Men’s 40’s came 3rd overall grabbing himself a couple of tries during the tournament!
A fantastic effort by all 3 for their first outings in regional team’s and first appearances at the Nationals!
Great work!
