The Clifford Chance Touch Tournament 2017 was hosted here in Turf City on the TRC fields on 30 September and 1 October.
This year saw four teams compete under the Centaurs banner, out of the 70+ teams that joined this year. The Saturday was a hot day full of excitement, with very muddy conditions due to a heavy downpour in the early morning. Playing conditions were tough for Touch, but all our teams made it out the other side with no major injuries.
For this competition, we played as separate girls and boys teams.
We had two male teams who’ve been playing Touch in support of their contact rugby training with us. Playing as Centaurs XLR8 in the U12 and U14 categories, for many of our boys this was their first official tournament as a team. Both teams finished mid-table, but came out on top as the spectators’ favourite – praised for holding their own despite many players being well under the age cap of their age group.
The U16 ladies started off rocky since it was their first time many are playing together. With great enthusiasm and integrity, they came together as a team and were supportive of one another. Under Coach Audrey’s guidance the girls stuck to a tight game plan. Gaining momentum after a few games, the girls developed well over the weekend.
The U16 boys, led by Ethan, flew through to the finals without having a touch down scored against them throughout the entire competition – wow! This young team got better and better, finishing strong in the finals with a score of 8-0, the biggest margin of any final that day.
A successful competition all-round and a fantastic opportunity for new Director of Touch, Matt to get to know our teams and players. Well done to all who played!