A slightly warmer March day was a good occasion to showcase the Red’s rugby skills at the County tournament and to have some fun. It was windy but dry.

In the tournament group of the Reds were four more teams: Hucclecote, St Brendans B, Stroud and Longlevens, providing worthy opponents.

The first match against Hucclecote got off with a strong pace. The ball was kept close and some good runs from the Reds until halftime. It often took quite a few opponents to bring a Reds run to a halt. After getting back into the game, Hucclecote began to score tries despite some good tackles from the Reds to a final score of 4:0 to Hucclecote.

Some brilliant coaching led to the Reds starting off the second match against St Brendans B with confidence. Great tackles stopped the opponents and fast passes down the line led to scoring two tries till half time. After the break and bringing in subs the Reds got back into the game hoping to win.

However, St Brendans B started to score and in the last minute, they scored making it 3:2 to them.

The Reds started the third match against Stroud enthusiastically, showing strong team spirit and racing into the lead with three lovely tries till halftime. Stroud then gave the Reds a hard time to score two tries. The Reds brought home a well-deserved 3:2 against Stroud.

The fourth match started with the Reds getting a lot of pressure from Longlevens from the start. The Reds couldn’t convert runs into tries. On the contrary, Longlevens scored 3 tries until halftime. It was amazing to see a Reds team with a completely changed spirit coming back into the second half. The

Reds stood strong. Good defence and confidence in taking opportunities led to a brilliant performance and a try in the second half to an overall 1:3 score.

The come-back of the Reds in the second half of the last match was amazing to watch and a demonstration of a resilient team spirit.

As ever, the players, coaches and supporters were amazing.

Henning Schmidt