Unbeaten Romford just miss out

16 October 2009

ROMFORD & Gidea Park under-9s remained unbeaten in a tough pool at Upminster's mini festival, but missed out on the silverware.

Gabe Milne's try looked to have earned Park an opening win over Hertford, but they had to settle for a 5-5 draw after conceding in the final seconds.

Honours finished even in the derby clash with hosts Upminster, as Park rucked and mauled superbly.

Excellent defensive work from the home side kept the scoreline blank until scrum-half Tyler Ford found a gap on the blindside to score.

But Park let their lead slip again as Upminster rallied to level.

Medway opened the scoring in Park's third outing, but Tauren Henwood beat three players to crash over and equalise.

And a bulldozing run from prop Cameron Petrie, who picked the ball up on halfway, saw Park seal a 10-5 victory.

A hat-trick from Ryan Whitcombe proved the highlight in a closing 40-0 win over Aylesford.

Ford opened the floodgates with another solo effort, with Billy Davison, Milne and Petrie adding further efforts.

Whitcombe then took centre stage, with hooker Aaron Stevens setting up one of his scores with a fine run, before Alex Walters produced a mazy run in the closing stages.

The under-12s bounced back from a 5-0 opening defeat against Upminster to draw with Sevenoaks, before closing with two fine wins.

Park totally dominated against Thurrock, with Frank McGuirk (2), Jack Bines, Alfie Law and player of the day George Cavanagh scoring in a 25-0 success.

Another impressive performance saw Park comfortably beat Bishop's Stortford as Bines and Sam Chapman scored braces, with McGuirk and Bradley Connellan completing a 30-0 win.

But it was not enough as Sevenoaks and Upminster drew their meeting to claim the top two spots in the group and progress to the knockout phase.

The under-11s held Southend to an opening draw and beat their Bishop's Stortford rivals 10-5 thanks to tries from George Lock and Cuan Barbeau. But a 5-0 defeat to Chelmsford saw Park just miss out.

The under-8s rallied from a 25-0 opening defeat to Southend to draw 25-25 with Bishop's Stortford.

Fine individual efforts from George Bristow and Thomas Chapman hauled Park level after a slow start and Alex Field made it 15-15 at the break.

Bristow scored again in the second half, before Chapman's jinking run earned his side the draw.

Park lost 15-0 against Chelmsford in game three.