All Souls End-of-Summer Touch Rugby Tournament 2006
The All Souls End-of-Summer Touch Rugby Tournament provided a fitting end to an exciting summer of Touch Rugby at Wandsworth Common, Hyde Park and Regents Park, with eight teams from around the country setting high standards of technical skill and entertainment!
The tournament, marshalled by Nick Martin-Smith and an army of helpers, attracted teams from as far afield as Bath and Guildford down to Wandsworth Common who entered two group stages, with a further cup and plate competition for the best sides.
The day began balmily with warm temperatures and sunny skies providing a passable impression of June, however the players soon had to contend with stormy rain showers that made handling difficult and the going slippery. Despite this, spectators enjoyed the surging running and passing skills of “The South Pacific Islanders” and the hard driving elitism of the several England international touch players on display.
The finals provided a thrilling contrast in styles and approach for the Touch Rugby connoisseur. In the plate final, won 3-2 by Guildford Touch with Angela Holt as captain, provided the days tightest game, but also the biggest contrasts. The Bath side, marshalled by Mathew Reid, proved a very professional and drilled unit with a great deal of focus on quick movement at the break-downs. The Guildford side, generally a scratch side, delighted with neat, off-the-cuff passing movements and individual initiative from two or three players.
The Cup final, between Something Witty and Hands Up had a deceptively one-sided scoreline of 7-3 to Something Witty. Something Witty contained several England Touch Rugby internationals and this was clear from the overwhelming speed that the team attacked from the tackle area. However Hands Up (sponsored by Hands Up Holidays) gave a creditable account of themselves, with Andy Harris in particular using all his pace and feints to try and turn the tide. Hands Up never came to grips with Something Witty’s passing and movement, however, and sheer displine and stamina won out at the end of the day.
All in all a great day that finished with the customary barbecue at The Hope pub, who also kindly donated all the Orange Juice & Lemonade (standard post-Touch refresher!) we could drink in order to raise further funds for this tournament’s beneficiaries, The All Souls Clubhouse*.
The final results were as follows:
Plate Winners: Guildford
Cup Winners: Something Witty
Referee’s Best Female Player: Gin Lacrosse (Bath)
Referee’s Best Male Player: Kier Mather(Wandsworth Common)
Touch Base UK would like to thank the tournament speaker Steve Jones, Scores ‘n’ Draws Co-Ordinator Jo Harris, Referee Co-Ordinator Mo Williams, Referees Matthew Reid, Dave Donaghy, Karl Serevena, Gin Lacrosse, Marcus Girvan, Chris Hill, Jamie Doyle, and Mo Williams, Pitch Managers Vicky Mitchell and Dave Bennett, Timekeeper Stewart Bathgate, Snack Shackers Elaine McCord and Trinh Huynh, gazebo suppliers Herman Ser and Ros Tamblyn, and set-up/clear-up crew Chris Stansfield, Jillo Masterson, and Collette Aubert for gratefully received service and commitment on the day!
Above all, we thank God for every blessing!
Julian Hoffman (Regents Park) & Nick Martin-Smith
*This tournament was a not-for-profit event. We are pleased to have been able to pass on £592.81 in proceeds to The All Souls Clubhouse’s Touch Rugby after-school club for primary schoolchildren
