It was a bit of a damp and early start on Saturday, with 23 boys and 30 adults including 6 coaches departing the club at 7am en route to the first major tournament of the season, the Land Rover Cup 2014. Despite the rain, there was a buzz in the air as we arrived at Mill Hill RFC a tad early (sorry about that), but with plenty of time to warm up and get a bit of practice in. Despite only 14 boys being eligible to be registered to play, almost the entire under 11's squad turned out and the support was phenomenal. The pools had been drawn by the tournament organisers the week before and we were to meet previously beaten Brentwood and Worthing and unknowns Hitchin.

The opening match was a goodie. Braintree played Worthing who we met at the Bognor Tour tournament earlier this year, where we beat one of their teams and drew with the other. Braintree put the pressure on from the outset, forcing their opponents to make errors all over the place and Mack Darroch took the opportunity to get the ball and run from the halfway line to score the opening try of the match in it's opening minutes. Shortly after the restart, a penalty was won near the Worthing try line and Samuel Everitt pushed through a crowd to put the ball down for Braintree's second. No Braintree changes were made at half time and Worthing appeared to have woken up. But, Braintree did not let off and with forceful tackling from Max Barnes-Grimes and Sam Waud, super rucks with Nathan Bossert passing the ball out with precision, Worthing were making more errors, which finally gave Mack another opportunity to put the ball down over the line for Braintree's winning try. Final score, Braintree 15, Worthing 0.

Match two was a blinder against Brentwood 1's. With Jack Raine's breakaway try from the off, the scene was set. Three minutes later, outstanding driving from George Clarke and Alfie Hume helped create a chance that Nathan Bossert did not fail to grab and Braintree score line began to soar. Half time saw squad changes and a couple of fuzzy bedding in minutes, but again the pressure built and Braintree continued to excel to the line and pop the ball down with assurance. Great communication from Sam Smith, confident tackling from Alfie Davis, accurate passing from Matthew Brookes all helped in the resulting score line of Braintree 30, Brentwood 5.

The last match of the pool was against unknown team Hitchin. With a reputation for being hard to beat, being in the top three in their county, there was some anticipation in the ranks. But, all worries were unfounded. Sam Ball started the game off with a sprint from the halfway line and when he was tackled hard just before reaching their try line, a great ruck got the ball out to Oscar Letch who duly opened up the score card. Sam Ball was undeterred and not long after, scored a try of his own. Some hard work ensued as Hitchin fought to keep the Braintree boys at bay. Lots of toing and froing followed and Hitchin snuck in a try. Braintree held their ground and dug deep. With some winning scrums, great communication and accurate passing, the boys just kept scoring. Despite some dubious tackles from the other side and some Hitchin substitutions to replace tired legs in the second half, Braintree continued to do what they do best and did not let them through. The final score was a fantastic Braintree 25, Hitchin 5. Only two tries conceded across 3 matches, the under 11's were on fire and were one quarter final match away from being through to the semi finals, which were to be played on the pitch at Saracen's Allianz park prior to their Aviva Premiership match against Gloucester.

At this point, the tournament was running over time and there wasn't much chance to chillax before the quarter final which was against pool D winners Bishop's Stortford. The start was tense, as one of Braintree's stalwarts Oscar Letch took two injuries in a matter of minutes and time out being called while he was seen to by veteran Braintree medic Vince. Both teams wanted the result badly and fought for the ball every second of this edgy match. But Braintree kept the pressure on and forced Bishop's Stortford to make errors. Max Barnes-Grimes tackling was outstanding and with great teamwork, Braintree scored going into half time 5-0. In the second half, Braintree forgot themselves for a few minutes running into trouble and giving the ball away, but in true form, they stuck their chins out and got their form back. Fabulous passing the width of the pitch put the ball in Samuel Everitt's hands and with a cheeky dummy, he popped the ball over the line to score the winning try. Braintree were through to the semi final, the final score, Braintree 10, Bishop's Strotford 0.

The semi final was against Sevenoaks, again a team that the under 11's had never faced. With pool matches running over, there was a mad dash to get the boys to Allianz park for the 13.06 kick off. Many of us didn't make it there in time to watch the start, but I understand that the match was gritty from start to finish. Braintree determination to get to the finals and fantastic team spirit won through. Sevenoaks kept making errors and a panicked kick landed straight in the hands of our Jack Raine. He then proceeded to sprint the length of the pitch to score the only try of the match, putting Braintree in the final. Absolutely amazing hard graft from all the team and the boys, not to mention the coaches and families were delirious with delight!

The final was to be against the boys nemesis, Old Albanians.

Having watched the grown ups show off and Sarries take the lead over an initially powerful Gloucester, it was the boys turn again. The announcement came over the tannoy for them to make their way down to the pitch and after a break from play of some 2 hours, the nerves were starting to show. There was no time for a team talk as the officials were lining the boys up on the pitch in front of a 9000 strong crowd. Music pumping over the sound system, the play began. Braintree's under 11's fought as hard as they could, stopping many opportunities that Old Albanians found, but alas they got past the defence and scored. The under 11's continued to hold their heads up and much of the play was in Old Albanians half for the rest of the game with a near try from Braintree in the closing minutes, but the whistle was blown and having conceded only 3 tries in the entire tournament, Braintree took a superb well fought for second place.

What a day! As Jamie Clarke put it 'A great effort from all our under 11's and a wonderful experience for them all - punching way above your weight lads!!'