U12 State runners up

Hope everyone enjoyed the day on Saturday. I am immensely proud of how the kids played and conducted themselves throughout the season. I am grateful to have got to know a great group of kids and parents.
Saturday was, as usual a mix of exhilaration and disappointment. We had a strong squad of 19 players. We welcomed Will Cooper, Jacob Wideski and Gus Meymandi to the team.Our first game was against an inexperienced Dragons side. Regardless, we played really well and won handily.  
The second match was against a Cobras team who were ranked higher than us. This was an exciting back and forth match but we pulled it out in the end with great tries from Jalen and Will.
The final was against our familiar opposition - Clayton who were top ranked going into the tournament. We played them close but did not have enough gas in the tank to close it out. Clayton played well and got the ball in the hands of their best players at the right times.
All in all, finishing #2 in the State is not bad considering where we started. Virtually all our players are new to rugby this year.
I want to apologize to the younger players who did not get much playing time. I promised them a match at the end of the day and I did not make that happen - lesson learned. I am so proud of the younger kids. It is not easy to tackle and ruck against much bigger kids and takes a lot of courage. Joshua, Dylan Koons, Genie, Hanna, Rudy, Colby, and Rufus - your time will come.
For the leaving sixth graders - Dave, Murray and Toby are getting a talented group. Dylan,James, Cole, Trey and David tackled and ran hard all season. Henry and Grady had a solid midfield partnership. Gus will probably move up with his buddies if he can stay on his mountain bike.
Thanks to everyone for renewing my enthusiasm for rugby - 'the game they play in heaven"  Thanks also for the generous gift. It is perfect - my wife loves Target and I love the Hibernian. Thanks also to Heather for stepping up and handling administration - much appreciated.
I will see everyone at the barbeque and Saturday touch.
Regards,
Ivan