Paulton 'ON FIRE' at the Rugby

Monday 10th June - Norton Hill School

Our team arrived at Norton Hill in high spirits; excited to play their first tournament together.  After a quick warm-up, it was 'game on'.  St Nicholas were our first opponents and the game started quite evenly with both teams getting early tries.  Soon, however, Captain Henry took charge and, with the support of 'set-piece' specialist - Skye, it was soon raining tries.  Win number one under our belts it was on to game 2 - Welton.  By now, the PJS team had really hit their straps and soon enough, our second victory was in the bank.  Josh and Jasper were formidable attackers - terrorising the Welton defensive line, whilst Rosie's tenacious tagging kept the opposition at bay.  Trinity greeted us in our third game and were impressive opponents.  The Radstock team went into an early lead and were on the front foot but were soon being frustrated by superb defence from Jemima, Jasmine and (defensive captain) Colby-Blue.  With the score at 2-3 in Trinity's favour, the last play was called.  After an impressive team move, Bertie jinked and swerved through the gaps in a tiring defence before sprinting into the corner to score the equalising try only moments before the final whistle was blown.  Our last group game was against an impressive Farmborough team who'd notched up 7 tries against Trinity.  However, they found tougher opposition in Team PJS.  William, supported by Bertie and Henry, impressed with some intricate passing and direct running as we romped to a 5-2 victory.  Group stage complete, Paulton topped the group with an unbeaten record (3 wins, 1 draw).  Sadly, the team fell valiantly to defeat in the semi-final against a well-drilled St Vigor's team, whose powerful and accurate running proved too much for us.  Fighting to the end, it was Paulton who scored the final try, but it was too late.  Sporting to the end, Henry led his team in a celebratory 3 cheers for St Vigor's - who later went on to beat Trinity in the final. 

Third place overall was a great result for us and stands us in good stead for next year.  Our team did us proud and can really hold their heads up high!