Lewes RFC under-13s end on high notes – as do East Sussex Barbarians

The U13s have had a great season, full of huge growth and personal development for both the team and coaching staff.

The support from parents has been an enormous factor in the success of the team, with many volunteers giving time to raise money for tours, help with the organisation of events and support the team during matches.

The team ended the season as runners-up in Pool B, having only been defeated by Jersey in all their league games, with very positive wins against excellent teams such as Hove and Brighton.

Over this year the team have also focused on fundraising and the organisation of two big events at the end of the season. These were the Lewes U13 sevens competition, involving a large range of teams from East Sussex, and the team’ s tour of Jersey.

The seven s competition was an event aimed at both raising money for the team’s tour and setting up an event that would bring together some of the great teams in East Sussex in one venue.

It took Kieran Wood weeks of organisation to put together and involved five different squads playing at the Stanley Turner Ground.

An enormous number of volunteers ensured that the evening ran smoothly and there was a great atmosphere during the whole event, which ended in a highly competitive final, under floodlights, between Hove and Haywards Heath.

There was no rest for the Lewes squad as they completed their final tour fundraising activity on the Sunday of the same weekend.

They completed a mammoth 24km sponsored walk, raising an unbelievable £2,035. All participants completed the distance in just under six hours.

With all the sponsorship efforts over the year the team were able to raise over £10,000 towards travel expenses and a team shirt and hoodies for the players for their Jersey trip.

The tour was a fantastic way to end the season.

Over three very active days, parents, players and coaches had a chance to further cement the great team spirit that had grown over this season.

The tour culminated in one of the best matches the team have played over the season.

They were able to beat an excellent Jersey squad in a match where the team played their style of rugby.

All members of the team contributed and the final score line of Lewes 20, Jersey 5 – against the only team that had defeated Lewes in the league.

This will give the whole squad a huge confidence boost moving forward into next season.

It has been a great year for the U13s, and all of this would not have been possible without the hard work and passion of the players, coaching staff, parents and other volunteers.

The sportsmanship, growth and team spirit demonstrated by the players has been immense and they are all looking forward to preparing for the new season.

Horsham Girls U12s 6 East Sussex Barbarians 10

The East Sussex Barbarians U12s ended their successful first season with victory over inaugural county champions Horsham.

The U12 age group is a new one in girls’ rugby and Horsham have established themselves as one of the powerhouses of the girls’ game.

The BaaBaas have brought together the girls and coaches of Seaford, Lewes, Uckfield and Haywards Heath to create a vibrant, talented squad.

This match saw the first use of team's new jerseys, combining the club colours of the partner clubs.

The BaaBaas’ first match in February brought a narrow defeat to Horsham and both sides had remained unbeaten since, with Horsham taking the league title.

The match was a fitting finale to a terrific season, with both sides showing how far they have progressed, producing rugby of great quality, physicality and flair.

All were grateful for the availability of Horsham's 4G pitch to allow this game to go ahead. Rain persisted throughout, making handling difficult, and the referee did a great job of keeping the game flowing.

The BaaBaas went ahead a try from fly-half Lily. With each BaaBaas score Horsham responded to keep in touch and the first half ended 6-4 to the BaaBaas.

The half-time team talk was led by the players and allowed them to refocus.

Attack and defence were increasingly relentless after the break, with the BaaBaas’ ability to consistently break the gain line going forward and strength and good technique at the ruck the key to their success.

The lead was stretched by a superb pick-and-go try from Dottie, four strong close-range finishes from Sophia, two excellent tries from Annie, one from Faye and a second for Lily, while a last-play length-of-the-field kick chase and finish from Bethan proved a fitting finale.

Thanks went to Horsham RUFC for hosting, as well as congratulations on their successes.

Thanks went the BaaBaas' coaching team especially manager Victoria.

If there are any girls aged 10-14 who would like to give rugby a try, email [email protected]