A decade of Ronin Rugby begins two tournaments and two trophies.
Pockington 7's:
What better way to start the season then to head back to where it all began in 2001. After being seeded in the later stages of the tournament the team arrived in plenty of time and raring to go. The tournament saw both old and new faces wearing the yellow and blue. Returning to the squad, one of the originals was Lee Denham ( picture) new comer Adam Nixon and not to mention Jody Peacock who is celebrating his own decade playing with Ronin.
With a bitter wind and some scattering of rain Ronin made light work of the first game in the late afternoon against York, Showing both the opposition and the crowd that this is what Ronin do best. Running in the points was Tommo, with his outrageous side step and lightning pace, he was soon running in the trys. Shortly finished off from the boot of Neil “beany" burnett.
With a mixture of the brutal power of Lee , Ben , Peti and Jody in the front and Emosi, Beany , Alex , Tommo and Clarke in the backs, Ronin had the winning combination to come away with a 26-00 win.
The next round saw a bitter sweet victory as Ronin entered the 2nd half of the game against Sedburgh, an unfortunate and devastating tackle on Alex Gray saw him downed on the pitch with a severe break to his left ankle. The game was called in favor of Ronin as we were leading at the time and also from a great show of sportsmanship by the KS Crusaders who gave up there seeding in the competition , Ronin were now in the final.
Alex was taken from Pocklington Rugby Club eventually, once an on duty ambulance had arrived with the correct equipment. We would like to thank Pocklington RFC and the NHS for their rapid execution and abundance of equipment in this unfortunate event ( note sarcasm).
With the light fading and the team now more determined to win than ever, Ronin headed into the final against a fired up Malton and Norton who had beaten last years winners fiji covenant brothers in a thriller of a semi. From the kick off it was clear who wanted this trophy more, a great high hanging ball saw it scooped out of the air by Lee Denham and shipped out to the Fijian flyer Emosi ,quickly handed to Beany and then out to Jody saw a try within seconds of kick off. After a triumphant first half, Ronin were gunning for a win.
A quick substitution at half time and it was 10 minutes till victory. But the opposition were turning up the heat with points in the second half from both sides coming thick and fast. 2 minutes to go and then in true yellow and blue style Ronin put the pedal to the metal and hit back. Youngster Adam Nixon getting stuck in to feed out to Clarke and clearing out to a pack of screaming forwards of fijian Ben and Peti. Peacock charging forward with Denham saw the opposition commit too many to stop them, Adam shipping out wide a fast ball to the waiting hands of Tommo saw Ronin take the trophy!!!!
An amazing, yet unfortunate start to the season saw a decade of Ronin return to where it all began and to take the silver trophy home once again!!!
Ronin would like to thank all of the Team:
ALEX GRAY . NEIL BURNETT. JODY PEACOCK. LEE DENHAM. PETI VEUTIAROI.
PITA SIATA. ADAM NIXON. STEVE CLARKE. EMOSI NAISARAMAKI. SHAUN THOMAS.
Thankyou to Raging Bull, especially carl , who came in great form to show there support throughout the day!! Glad we gave you a great result!
And most of all the fans and supporters of the club who gave up there weekend to come all the way up to Pocklington to watch. The friends, the family, the wives, girlfriends and the kids!
Heres to a great season,
Be Masterless, Be Ronin
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