Two sides from the Saints region took part in the Rugby4Heroes festival held at Old Leamingtonians RFC at the weekend.
On Saturday, Olney Rascals travelled to the festival to play in the men’s social 10s, whilst COYS took part in the Warwick leg of the Development Touch Series (DTS). In their three pool matches, Olney secured a 31-5 victory over hosts Old Leamingtonians with a loss against Leamington RFC and a defeat in the last minute of play to the University of Hull.
Those results put them through to the Plate semi finals, where they came up against Kenilworth Barbarians in a match which saw them defeated 17-5.
Olney Rascals captain James Harken, said: “The basic idea is to blood some of the young players.
“It was an experience for them. The experience for them is massive. They get to play against bigger, stronger guys and learn the skill set they need for sevens or tens.”
In the DTS event, COYS finished in 7th place with 16 teams competing in total. During the pool stages, COYS won one, drew one and lost one (to eventual winners Bournemouth Titans). Having reached the wild card play offs, COYS went through to the Shield semi final but were beaten by Warwick Touch.
Toby Horrigan, captain of Northampton COYS, said: “It was a good day.
“We’ve come a long way in a short space of time and to finish seventh in a national tournament is a big achievement for us. We’ve got other England Touch national tournaments coming up over the summer, which we’re looking forward to."
Rugby4Heroes has been held annually since 2009 following the loss of military personnel from the Coventry and Warwickshire region in Iraq and Afghanistan. This year, the festival raised money for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, Help for Heroes, Royal British Legion and the Warwickshire-based charity, 353.
Touch is a great way to meet new people get involved with a team sport. For more information on how you can get involved, visit www.englandtouch.org.uk or www.in2touch.com/england
