And the Magic happens in the stadium !!

What a day for our Warriors who spent a wonderful time at the North Sea Beach Rugby tournament in Scheveningen on June 18th, together with their teammates, but also with their friends in the Turvens-Benjis-Minis age group. Not less than 44 players from the Wassenaar Warriors joined this event across U8-U10 & U12. The club did extremely well by winning both 1st place for our U8 and U10 categories! Amazing achievement which summarizes well our great year and close this season with an outstanding performance from our players. Our U12 finished 2nd in the finale vs. Delft. Well done Warriors!

Wassenaar Benjis 1 and Benjis 2 were in a different qualifying group playing respectively against: Deflt RC1, Rotterdam RC1, Dukes 3 and Oysters RC1 for WW1 and Delft RC2, Rotterdam RC2, Haagsche RC1 and Oysters RC2 for WW2. Wassenaar Warriors 2 delivered few solid games and secured the 3rd place (a close call with the 2nd won by Rotterdam). Unfortunately the journey stopped there for them. Certainly some disappointment could be seen on the faces, but they delivered a very promising performance and many from this group would come back again next year as Benjis.

Our other team, Wassenaar 1 managed to go through and finished 1st from their group by only “giving away” 6 tries to the opposition during the first 4 games. A strong performance which is boosting the team confidence to go higher up in the ranking and win their quarter final against DIOK RC1. Job done! A nice competitive game, but our Warriors made again the difference, winning a ticket for the semi finale against Utrechtse RC2. Utrechtse RC is not a “typical” club we play against during our Saturday district friendlies, as we are in different districts.

The game is about to start and we can see (and feel) a combination of tension and concentration from both sides. Let’s be clear; only one would go and play the final inside the stadium against the winner of the other semi finale. This is the 6th game and it is already mid-afternoon. Playing in the sand is demanding, but it the time to make the difference, take control of the game and get the job done. Both teams are competitive and nobody is letting the opposition much space to score a try. Our Warriors take the advantage by few tries, the collective effort is extremely strong and visible. The message from the coaches is clear: “Play as it is your last game, give everything, no regrets afterwards!!”. Referee whistle!! The Warriors have their ticket to the Finals – they made it and won against Utrechtse RC!

What a journey, here we are, we are going to reach the stadium in 30min and play the final against our neighbours Voorburgse RC2. A short break to hydrate and get energy back for the ultimate game. The group gets together. It is time to listen to the coaches and stay focussed. The other players from Wassenaar 2 are joining the group, it is a Benjis finale, a club finale. 10 more minutes of Beach Rugby and it is over for the day.

Final kicks start at 17:00, both teams are lined up and enter the stadium with the referees, running to the central pitch. Atmosphere is electric with music, parent and friends in the tribune, it is amazing, it is their moment, the moment to enjoy and to remember. After few minutes, our Warriors are ahead by few extra tries and start making the difference by winning balls back from the opposition. Beach rugby is about speed.. they play fast and together. Game is physical with a lot of big tackles, but our Warriors make the ball moving quicker through offloads and benefit from an excellent support to the ball carrier. There is no individual hero, it is one group with a common objective. The 2 times 5 minutes game time appeared to last 20min… While we lost track of the score, the players know and are always counting. The parents and friends in the tribunes are amazing: thank you for supporting us!! We are ahead but it does not matter, we want more, no slowing down. It is the Final, we must deliver our best rugby! Final whistle: Time is over ….. CONGRATULATIONS team!! You made it, you are the Champions of this 2022 edition!

This tournament was an excellent experience and certainly a great club event. Well organized and orchestrated by young, but experienced referees-players. A lot of souvenirs with many photos and videos to play back these great moments. Thank you all for your support and again well done boys and girls!! We are proud of you.

Laurent Minaud
Head Coach – Benjis

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