Lions at Chelmsford Festival 27/4/08

Today was the end of an era for the boys. It was our last day of mini rugby, and also Georgia’s last day with us. Unfortunately, we could not provide the fairytale ending her glittering career so richly deserved.

As usual, the lads opened with a lethargic performance, losing 5-0 to Westcliffe.

Next up was a far more impressive 10-0 win over Barking, courtesy of tries from Joe

Byrne and Rory Flood. Chelmsford B were despatched with a minimum of fuss by 35 points to nil. Rory, Josh Preston, George Perkins, Carl Buisson, Thomas Scott, Brad Jordan and Morgan Harris were the scorers.

Then came the semi final. Normally Westcliffe would be the team we really want to beat but today it was Chelmsford. After last months frustrating defeat to Chelmsford in the Essex Cup Final the boys were eager for revenge. At least the boys did themselves justice in this game. There were no missed tackles and their massive talisman, big Alfie was contained thanks to some tough tackling from Shane Brooks, Charlie Gibbs and Casey Morgan. Man of the match Duncan Ward gave his usual brave heart performance at full back. Both sides had chances but Chelmsford converted one of theirs to win by the narrowest of margins 5-0.

Next year the lads will move into the youth section where they will play the full 15 a side game ( they gain two flankers) and play on a full sized pitch.

Lets hope next year is as enjoyable and satisfying as the last five years have been.

Upminster Lions vs Westcliffe Sunday 27^th January 2008

This was an excellent win against our arch rivals.  Our forwards won the battle up front with the front row of Charlie Gibbs, Brad Jordan and Josh Preston dominant.

Having established this platform the boys stormed into a 15-0 half time lead courtesy

of tries from Ross Dobbs (2) and Michael Anon-Calvo.

The second half saw Westcliffe fight back to 15-10 but some big tackles from Georgia

Marston and Calum Grover stifled any hopes of a Westcliffe rivaval.

Upminster Tigers at Harlequins Etihad Cup Sunday January 20th

The Tigers played some good rugby but were beaten by some extremely well-drilled and strong A sides in this A team festival.

Upminster Tigers were unlucky to lose 10-0 to an organised Pulborough side but the teams were fairly even in a closely contested match.

Next up was a very strong Battersea Ironsides side and, depsite some fine tackling from Charlie Slatter and Alex Ward, Upminster lost 20-0.

The last game of the tournament was against an excellent Eastbourne team who played some fine passing rugby and won the game 25-0. Tigers never stopped battling and this was an excellent team performance against a very strong side

Upminster v Chelmsford 20^th Jan 2008

The boys put in an excellent performance against a well drilled Chelmsford side.As usual they started slowly and had to recover from an early Chelmsford score. As the game went on our forwards took control and set up the platform to allow the backs to shine. Michael-Anon-Calvo, Josh Preston, Carl Buisson (2) and George Perkins crossed for well deserved tries. Duncan Ward and Shane Brooks hammered in some fierce tackles to insure there was no Chelmsford comeback.  This was a day  for the forwards however, Casey Morgan was man of the match with massive effort.  Lets hope they can reproduce this form against Westcliffe next week.

Final score Lions 25 Chelmsford 5.

Upminster Lions v Hertford 9^th December 2007

The Lions returned to winning ways with a 15-0 win over Hertford today.

In a game that saw the welcome return of Rory Flood, Charlie Gibbs and Casey Morgan, it was left to Carl Buisson, making his debut, to fire the Lions into the lead with two well taken tries.

Brad Jordan scored the third in the last minute to seal an excellent victory. The weather conditions were atrocious, and not suited to our usual style of running rugby, but the boys showed a lot of grit to grind out a hard

earned result.

Upminster Lions at Blackheath festival 25/11/07

The Lions were shorn of two thirds of their pack for this very high quality festival. Although the replacements did well the quality of the opposition was such that the boys won 1 drew 1 and lost three of their games.

They opened with a 0-0 drew at Blackheath, next up was 5-0 win over Westcombe Park courtesy of a Ross Dobbs try.

However the lack of forward power took its toll as the lads tired and went down 10-0, 15-0 and 10-0 to Brighton, Richmond and Cranbrook respectively, despite some fine

tackling from Conor Dobbs, Steven Weatherley and Cameron Gilmore.

Upminster Lions v Colchester 18/11/07

The Lions paid the price for an error strewn performance against their former Essex co-champions today.  Although the greasy conditions and sub-zero temperatures did not facilitate the Lions style of running rugby it has to be said conditions were the same for both teams.  The lads crashed to a 20-0 defeat despite having most of the possession.  But a combination of dropped passes, interceptions and knock-ons made

it impossible to get into their normal game rhythm.

Connor Dobbs and Callum Grover battled well, as did man of the match Morgan Harris, but overall this was a performance to forget.

Let’s hope we’ve got the gremlins out of our system for next weeks Blackheath festival.

SUNDAY November 11 2007


Upminster Tigers staged a strong second-half comeback after finding themselves 25-0 down at the half-time break. The Tigers managed to get the score back to 25-15 thanks to superb tries, and individual running, from Alex Ward, Morgan Attard and Zac Arlett. There was also an excellent defensive performance from Charlie Slatter. Despite the second-half comeback Sevenoaks managed to score two more tries and ran out comprehensive winners.

Upminster Lions v Bishop Stortford and Sevenoaks 11/11/07

The Lions winning streak finally came to an end at the hands of an excellent Sevenoaks side. Strong tackling from Duncan Ward and Josh Preston insured the first half remained scoreless. But Sevenoaks piled on the pressure and eventually ran out 15-0 winners. This match also featured a cameo appearance at hooker from Alex Ward, who deputised for the injured Brad Jordan. He did very well. The team missed

the influence of Rory Flood in the pack, happily Rory is well on the road to recovery

after his midweek operation.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom however, a Michael-Anon-Calvo try was enough to secure a 5-0 win in a tough game against Bishop Stortford. Thomas Scott and Callum

Grover also impressed.

Lions at Ratt Cup Harlequins Saturday November 3rd 2007

The boys continued their good form by bucking the trend of previous Harlequins trips by comfortably qualifying for the next round of this elite compition. They played both Teddington and Whitstable twice in a round robin format.
They got off to a flyer with a 10-0 win over Whitstable, Ross Dobbs and Morgan Harris were the try scorers.
Next up was an excellent 20-5 victory over a much vaunted Teddington side, Teddington beat us well last year so this was a particularily good result. The marksmen were Ross (2) Thomas Scott and Brad Jordan.
The second meeting with Whitstable yielded another win,this time 20-5. Ross, Morgan Harris, Thomas and Georgia provided the tries, Michael Anon-Calvo andHarry Bullimore also shone in this match.
Our final game with Tedddington ended scoreless, despite some fine attacking play from Charlie Gibbs and Casey Morgan.
If the boys continue to show this teamwork and commitment, allied to the technical skill they have always had, the sky is the limit! Roll on next week when we have another tough assignment against Bishop Stortford and Sevenoaks.

Lions v Wasps 28/10/07   The Lions continued their winning streak today when they took the very big scalp of Wasps. With the home team back to full strength the visitors pressed hard and led 5-0 at half time. But the Lions continued their winning habit during a ding dong battle in the second half. Tries from Thomas Scott and Ross Dobbs (2)  saw the scores level at 15-15 before another Scott try in the last minute gave the Lions a famous victory. This was another excellent team effort from 1 to 13, with Casey Morgan and Morgan Attard in inspirational form. Lets hope the boys can reproduce this in next weeks RATT cup at Harlequins. Upminster Lions win Thurrock festival on 21/10/07   The Lions added the Thurrock Festival to the Upminster Plate they won last week with an excellent all round team performance.  This was a great achievement, particularly as we were missing three of our best backs, Callum, Ross and Duncan. They got off to a flyer against Eton Manor, courtesy of a George Perkins try, to win 5-0. Next up was a 5-5 draw with Stanford-le-Hope. Billy Mullen and Ollie Prudence tackled well, and George Perkins crossed for the all important score. They beat local rivals Romford 30-0 thanks to tries from Rory Flood (2), Joe Byrne (2), Thomas Scott and Morgan Harris. Another 30-0 victory, this time over Chingford saw them top their group, Byrne (2), Perkins, Flood, Georgia Marston and Josh Preston were the try scorers. They faced Westcliffe in the final; once again it was that man George Perkins who bagged a brace to win the game 10-5. This victory showed how important forward play is; we had the best pack in the tournament, which insured plenty of possession for our backs, who, even allowing for the absentees made the most of this possession. If we continue to play like this, there will be many more trophies to come. Upminster Lions at Upminster festival 14/10 /07   The boys were very unlucky not to retain their title this year.  Despite finishing the day unbeaten and failing to concede a single try they were pipped in their group by Medway and had to settle for winning the plate final. They opened their group with a 30-0 victory over Westcombe Park, courtesy of tries from Duncan Ward, Josh Preston, George Perkins, Ross Dobbs and Joe Byrne (2). Next up was a 15-0 win over Westcliffe, Ross, Josh and Callum were the try scorers. This was a particularly sweet result given that Westcliffe have been our bogey side over the years. An even better result was the 0-0 draw with Medway, especially as they had beaten us 25-0 just last week. Excellent work in the forwards from Rory Flood, Brad Jordan and Charlie Gibbs earned a well deserved point. The final group game was against Chelmsford, a win would guarantee top spot and a place in the final, but Chelmsford hung on and we just could not break the stalemate despite some fine attacking play from Georgia Marston and Casey Morgan. A last minute try from Josh Preston ensured a 5-0 success in the Plate final. With a bit of luck we can go one better next week at Thurrock! Upminster Lions at Medway Festival 07/10/07 The Boys enjoyed mixed fortunes at this festival. They cruised to the semi finals before crashing out to the eventual winners Medway. First up was a 0-5 reverse to Sevenoaks. This was disappointing as we beat Sevenoaks 10-5 last season. However the Lions just could not clawback their opponents first half try despite some good forward work from Casey Morgan and Josh Preston. They followed this with a convincing 25-0 win over Gravesend. Tries from George Perkins, Callum Grover ,Joe Byrne (2), and Rory Flood were the rewards of some excellent forward play. Another fantastic performance, this time involving some great handling from the backs saw tries from Perkins (2), Morgan Harris, Brad Jordan and Ross Dobbs round off a fine 25-0 victory. Unfortunately, the boys could not reproduce this form in the semi final and eventually went down 25-0 to a well drilled Medway side, despite the best efforts of Thomas Scott, Shane Brooks, Charlie Gibbs and Duncan Ward. Upminster Lions v Cambridge 23/9/07 The lions opened their campaign with a tough workout at Cambridge. They stormed back from 10 0 down to equalise at 10-10 only to concede a late try to go behind again. However they kept their heads up and equalised in the last minute through Ross Dobb. Alex Ward and Joe Byrne scored the other tries. Charlie Gibbs and Morgan Harris also impressed. Lions at Westcombe Park Festival 22/4/07 The Lions endured a disappointing day at Westcombe Park, losing 3 of their four games. They went down 5-0 to Brentwood, a team we beat 15-0 last month at the Essex cup. They also lost 5-0 to Cranbrook, conceding another early try. George Perkins scored an early try against Blackheath but two late scores condemned Lions to a 10-5 defeat. We had drawn twice with Blackheath in January. They finished with a 20-5 consolation win against Tonbridge Wells, courtesy of tries from Ross Dobbs (2) Thomas Scott and Shane Brooks. Cambridge Festival 1st April 2007 Upminster Lions enjoyed mixed fortunes at Cambridge Festival on Sunday. They beat Bury St.Edmunds 15-5 thanks to tries from Ross Dobbs (2) and Georgia Marston. Next up was a 20-0 victory over Ely courtesy of great tries from George Perkins, Ross Dobbs, Georgia Marston and Brad Jordon. They lost their only game of the day to Diss 5-0 despite some fine tackling from Conor Dobbs and Josh Preston. Cambridge held them to a 0-0 draw despite some fine attacking play from Shane Brooks and Duncan Ward. Tries from Perkins and Dobbs ensured they finished with a 10-5 victory over Hertford, to finish the festival in third place. Lions at Essex Cup at Westcliffe 25/3/07 Lions were very unlucky to lose their title as Essex champions at Westcliffe on Sunday. They drew their first match 0-0 against Chelmsford, despite some fine attacking play from Calum Grover and Harry Moseley. Tries from Rory Flood and Ross Dobbs were enough to beat Upper Clapton 10-0. They finished the group with a 10-0 victory over Romford, with Dobbs and Flood scoring again. Unfortunately they missed out on qualification for the cup final on points difference and had to settle for a place in the plate semi-final . A Ross Dobbs brace and a Morgan Attard try ensured a 15-0 semi final win over Brentwood. They had the consolation of winning the plate final 15-0 against Stanford-le-Hope 15-10 courtesy of tries from Dobbs, Flood and George Perkins. Upminster Lions v Blackheath A Sunday 28th January The Lions and Blackheath A emerged with honours even in two keenly contested games at Blackheath. Georgia Marston’s second half equaliser ensured a 5-5 draw in a tight first game. The second test was an even closer affair. Thomas Scott and Ross Dobbs gave the Lions a 10-5 lead but a resilient Blackheath side scored a late try to secure a 10-10 draw. Casey Morgan and Conor Dobbs also shone for Lions Upminster Tigers v Blackheath Sunday January 28th TheTigers were in outstanding form as they defeated strong opposition 20-0 and 25-5. Tries were scored by Michael Anon-Calvo (3), Josh Preston (2), Alex Ward, Steven Weatherley, Connor Dumbrill and Harry Bullamore. Player of the Week was Michael Anon-Calvo. Upminster Lions v Woodford Sunday 21st January The Lions had a comfortable 20-5 win over Woodford. Despite windy conditionsThomas Scott, Ross Dobbs (2) and Duncan Ward scored well worked tries.The forwards dominated up front with Zak Arlett and Josh Preston particularly impressive. Upminster Lions v Romford 14th January 2007 Upminster Lions beat Romford in a hard fought derby game at Crow Lane.Georgia Marston scored the first try and man of the match Calum Grover created the second for Shane Brooks to seal an excellent victory. The Lions also beat the Tigers 20-0 in an interclub game.Rory Flood, Casey Morgan and Joe Byrne (2) were the try scorers. Upminster Lions v Hertford and Biggleswade 10th December 2006 Upminster Lions won both their games at Hertford on Sunday. A Georgia Marston brace accounted for a 10- 0 win against Hertford. Calum Grover also produced some fine tackling. Brad Jordan scored in a 5-0 victory over a well drilled Biggleswade side. Conor Dobbs and Thomas Scott also shone. Upminster Lions v Brentwood Sunday 3rd December 2006   Upminster Lions defeated Brentwood 10-5 in a hard fought game at Hall Lane.Joe Byrne scored both tries. Harry Moseley and Josh Preston also shone. The Lions also beat the Tigers 10-0 in a well contested game. Alex Ward and Joe Byrne were the try scorers. Upminster Lions v Colchester 19th November 2006 Upminster Lions stormed back from a 10-0 deficit to defeat Colchester 20-10. A Brad Jordan try and a hatrick from Ross Dobbs settled this clash between the co-holders of the Essex cup. Upminster Lions at Harlequins RATT cup 4/11/06  Upminster Lions enjoyed mixed fortunes at the RATT cup at Harlequins.They were held to a   0-0 draw against Tonbridge Wells despite some fine attacking play from Harry Moseley and Georgia Marston.They went down 5-0 to Dorking. Thomas Scott was unlucky to have a try disallowed.They finished with a 20-0 victory over Blackheath courtesy of 4 Ross Dobbs tries.   Upminister Lions under 11s at Thurock Festival 22/10/06 Upminster Lions finished runners up in the Thurrock Festival on Sunday.  They beat Romford 15-0 thanks to tries from Morgan Attard, Ross Dobbs and Brad Jordan.  A Morgan Harris try was enough to defeat Stanford 5-0.  Next up was a 5-0 victory over Sidcup courtesey of a George Perkins try.  Fine tackling from Casey Morgan and Harry Moseley secured a 0-0 draw with Brentwood.  Chelmsford nicked the final 5-0 despite some fine attacking play from Zac Arlett and Conor Dobbs.    REPORT ON TIGERS GAMES AT HARLEQUINS B FESTIVAL   1st APRIL 2006 The Upminster Tigers were drawn against Westcombe Park, Teddington and Hastings & Bexhill & went into the tournament full of confidence knowing that they had beaten Westcombe Park twice this season already and felt that with a good start they could match anybody. After completing an energetic warm up, it was time for the 1st match. The Tigers started very well, dominating the scrum & winning nearly every put in to give us plenty of ball. One Rory Flood run resulted in the Tigers leading however Westcombe Park came straight back at us & while we were still celebrating we conceded a soft try to level the game up. The Tigers continued to press for the winner however it came the way of Westcombe Park. Final score 2-1. There were some lessons learned by all in never being too over-confident beforehand because you can never tell which team will appear against you! Also we learned that celebrating too long after a try is never a good thing. The 2nd pool match was against Teddington who were much too organised for us & after not shrugging off the disappointment of losing the 1st game we went down heavily 5-0 after never really being in the match. Again, the lessons were simple & the boys learned a tremendous amount. Teddington held their line, didn't commit too many to the rucks & mauls where we all pile in & simply passed the ball along the line for the wingers to run in open field. We were also picking up injuries as well and were beginning to get stretched with players playing back to back games & out of positions. Our 3rd pool match was against Hastings & Bexhill and as they had had similar results to us we thought we again had chances to secure our 1st win. Upminster Tigers again had most of the ball & even with vociferous support from the touchline, couldn't convert their superiority into  points. The game ended 0-0 & was very well contested. There was one final match for the 3rd & 4th placed teams which pitched us against Hastings again, much to the jubilation of the boys who were convinced they should have beaten Hastings previously & wouldn't fail this time round. The boys played like Tigers & the commitment & effort was superb. We defended well & attacked from depth with Duncan Ward giving us a well deserved lead which again we failed to hold onto for long enough. But this time round there was no giving in & after conceding another unchallenged try, back came Duncan Ward to score his second to level up at 2-2. We were all convinced it was just a matter of time for the winner but some good Hastings defence kept out every Tigers attack. Final score 2-2. Man of the day was awarded to Michael Anon-Calvo especially for one try saving tackle on one of the Hastings boys which was top drawer & his overall effort in each match. Special mention as well to Duncan Ward for his all round game & 2 excellent tries & to Rory Flood who kept on  improving with every game & won plenty of ball in maul situations. Although we finished 4th in the group - we wasn't that far away from being a good runner up. Should have beaten Westcombe Park & just came up short against Hastings. After the mornings events it was off to watch Harlequins demolish Sedgley Park & in the process gain promotion back to the Premiership. An excellent & enjoyable day was had by all & much was learned that willstand us in good stead for the future. Upminster & Upminster Barbarian games against Westcombe Park and Westcliffe on 22nd January 2006. Upminster enjoyed mixed fortunes in their three games. They beat an Upminster Barbarian side 15- 0 thanks to tries from Casey Morgan, George Perkins and Joe Byrne. A Ross Dobbs try was enough to defeat Westcombe Park 5-0. However, fine tackling from Kieran Highman was not enough to prevent a 5-0 loss to Westcliffe. An Upminster Barbarians side beat Westcombe Park 15-10, Conor Dobbs, Thomas Scott and Shane Brooks were the tryscorers. Morgan Attard crossed for the Barbarians as they went down 30-6 to a well drilled Westcliffe side.  Upminster Tigers under 10s won all three of their games against Westcliffe B and Westcombe Park B without conceding a try. The first game, in which Upminster beat Westcliff 5-0, the only try was scored by Michael Anon-Calvo with excellent defensive displays from Joe Blake. Harry Bullamore (three), Arnie Cook (two) and Matt Kent were try-scorers in the next game as Upminster beat Westcombe Park 30-0. Harry Bullamore added another to his tally with the sole try in the second game against Westcliff B which Upminster won 5-0. There were also good performances from Tom Greenwood, Jack Taylor and Charlie Gibbs. Upminster Lions/ Tigers under 10s V Romford and Chingford on Sunday 15th January 2006. Lions won all three of their games against Romford and Chingford. They beat Romford 15-0, thanks to tries from Steven Weatherley and Joe Byrne (2).A Rory Flood try was enough to beat Chingford 5-0. They then defeated Romford a second time. This time the score finished 25-0.   The tryscorers were Georgia Marston (2), Ross Dobbs (2), and Brad Jordan. Conor Dobbs also shone for Upminster. Tigers Match Upminster B  5 v Chingford 20 Billy Mullen scored the only try in this match but there were some excellent defensive performances from Duncan Ward and Jack Taylor   Lions v Brentwood Sun 12th February 2006 Upminster Lions won both their games against Brentwood. A Kieran Highman try and a brace from Joe Byrne were enough to beat Brentwood a 15-0. They then defeated Brentwood B 20 - 5 thanks to tries from Ross Dobbs, George Perkins, Joe Byrne and Kieran Highman. Thomas Scott and Harry Moseley also shone for Upminster. Sunday 19th   March 2006  WORTHING B FESTIVAL Upminster B under 10s were in impressive form as they won the under 10s Plate at the Worthing Festival on Sunday. The team played impressively and soon recovered from going down 15-0 to Haslemere in their opening game. A   5-5 draw with Haywards Heath Vikings was followed by another draw against a strong Westcombe Park side 0-0. That was enough to see Upminster through to the semi-final where a fantastic team performance saw them beat Heathfields 15-5. Upminster then beat Petersfield 10-0 in the final to secure the Plate. Tries were scored throughout the festival by Alex Ward (three), Connor Dumbrill, Billy Mullen and Zack Arlett. There were excellent defensive displays from Jack Taylor, Tom Greenwood, Cameron Gilmore and Charlie Gibbs. Captain Zack Arlett proudly lifted the trophy at the end of a good day's rugby.