1st place for our Minis at Jan van Burg Tournament
Our Minis travelled to Hoek van Holland on Saturday Oct 14th to attend the famous Jan van Burg Tournament at the Hookers RC. It is the first tournament of the season and always represents a good opportunity to gauge how the group is doing 7 weeks after the start of the season. Our 18 players played with their heart and faced the collective challenge, winning their 5 games and beating our neighbours Delft RC in the final 6-1. Very well done Warriors!! A golden 1st place and a very strong start of the season.
Taking control of the game
The group played successfully Voorburg 1, RC Diok and the cluster Waterweg Warriors. The announced qualifying group is challenging and no surprise very competitive. 1st game is won against DIOK RC 1-0. Lots of good actions from our Minis but unfortunately not a lot of success in scoring many tries. The defence was well in place to hold this score until the end following few collective actions from DIOK. Second game against the cluster Waterweg Warriors is won 7-0, giving us a bit more breathing space and allowing more rotations across the players. Finally, the 3rd qualifying game is against Voorburg 1, another well known team we played last year in the semi-final. Our Minis are well in place and the intensity has built up since the start. Tackles are sharper, support quicker and collective actions more structured. It is very nice to see this young group taking control of the game and winning 4-0 against Voorburg 1. Well done Minis you are 1st of our qualifying group!
On to the finals!
The semi-final is then played against Voorburg 2. No surprises here from our Minis, the group remains solid and while game time is accumulating in the legs, the Warriors are still fresh and the team secured another win by beating Voorburg 2 (4-0). Here we are, time for the final against RC Delft who also finished 1st of their qualifying group by winning all their games. Kick off from Deft RC and immediate excellent drop kick reception from our right winger, attacking the line with full speed. Our Minis are moving fast forward, the attack is ready and here we go, 1st try after just a bit more than 1 minute of game. The group is on fire and they won’t let this final go away. The defence remains solid and the ball is moving very well from centre to sides creating multiples try opportunities. Our Minis kept control of the game, giving only very few opportunities to the opposition. The referee blows the whistle, it is the end: 6-1 for our Warriors – it is a win! Very well done Minis, you won the 1st place of this 2023 Jan van Burg tournament. Very proud of you!
Laurent Minaud
Head Coach – Minis
