YOUTH RUGBY: The damp weather on Sunday did little to stifle the high spirits of Old Albanian U7s B team as they lifted the trophy at the Ealing Festival this weekend. The enthusiastic team started with a 5-0 win over the Bank of England in their first ga

YOUTH RUGBY: The damp weather on Sunday did little to stifle the high spirits of Old Albanian U7s B team as they lifted the trophy at the Ealing Festival this weekend.

The enthusiastic team started with a 5-0 win over the Bank of England in their first game but were held to a 2-2 draw by London Welsh in the second.

A convincing win over Wasps in the semi-final found OA facing a revitalised Bank of England team in a hard contested final which OA won 6-5.

All eleven players in the squad played at least half of every match and it was a great team effort, cheered on by parents and the Under 7s A team who were unlucky to be pushed into third place in their group.

Also at the Ealing Festival were the OA U9s Blue and the Red teams. The Blues played in the B Festival and the Reds played in the A festival.

The Blues showed great team spirit, every single player making a telling contribution, with some great tackles going in from the whole side, and with excellent interaction between the forwards and the backs.

Winning all of their qualifying matches comfortably, and with fantastic support from the touchline, the Blues marched through the group stage to the final, beating a lot of top junior clubs on the way and without conceding a try. They met hosts Ealing in a hard fought final but emerged victors with a 2-0 win, their fine clean defensive record remaining intact.

The Reds came up against some stiff competition in their qualifying group but soon got into their stride winning two out of their three group matches and drawing one. They topped their group and met London Wasps in the semi-final winning 2-0 to set up a final against the home side. Ealing were undoubtedly the form side having sailed through their qualifying group.

The final proved to be one-step too far for a by now exhausted Reds side, but they mounted a valiant display against extremely strong opposition before going down 4-1 in the final.