Hampshire Special Schools Rugby kick started into action again this season with a Tag Rugby Festival on 6th June, held at Tottonians RFC. The festival proved a huge success with nine schools in attendance.

The festival proved a huge success with nine schools in attendance, from Baycroft  School and Redwood Park School Portsmouth, to Oak Lodge in the New Forest- giving a good representation of the County. Each school brought a squad of ten players, with the competition open to both girls and boys.  The rugby was of a very good standard with each participant putting in every effort to ensure success for their team.

The competition consisted of two pools, the winning teams of Melbourne Centre and Great Oaks met each other in the final. The last game of the day saw two very competent teams faced with fairly even opponents. The Melbourne Centre took the lead with some strong running by Steven Lang who bypassed Great Oaks’ defence with a deceiving side-step. However, it did not take Great Oaks long to counter attack with some great play by Lee Carter and Scott Holley who were well supported by their team. The battle continued with Melbourne coming back into the game with a second try, yet it was not enough to over power Great Oaks’ flowing phases of play as they went on to triumph 4tries to 2. This year’s win makes it three in a row for Great Oaks- showing just how great they really are!

Newly appointed RFU Hampshire Community Rugby Coach for Special Needs, Nicola Vaughan said “ The day has been a great success with around 90 children turning out to represent their school in a sport which is not easy to grasp, yet there was great individual and team play seen today, with alot of potential for the future. The children all fully enjoyed themselves and I hope the next event will be just as successful.”

Schools in attendance:-
Baycroft, Lakeside, Osborne, Great Oaks, Sundridge, Coxlease, Oak Lodge, Redwood, Melbourne Centre.