Melton RFC Under 9s edged out in county cup final

Leicestershire RU representative Brian Hesford presents Melton Under 9s with their trophy EMN-160419-123458002

Despite the 3-1 loss to Hinckley, finishing as county runners-up was a superb achievement, a culmination of a season of hard work by the boys and their coaches.

Unbeaten in the league since the autumn, confidence was high as the team systematically demolished the opposition with exceptional rugby, conceding only once in the qualifying stages while scoring 18 tries.

They went into the semi-finals with a points difference of 17, while none of the other teams had reached double figures.

Melton breezed past the hosts Leicester Forest in the semi-finals with a convincing 6-0 win to set up a final against a Hinckley side whom they had beaten in recent weeks.

The first try came from Hinckley despite a fast start, but Melton responded quickly with an equalising try.

A few decisions simply did not go Melton’s way, leading to a second Hinckley try, before handling errors were punished with a decisive third try.

But Melton had demonstrated their dominance in the tackle and their stunning performance in the qualifying stages was undeniable.

This weekend the team will be on tour, playing in the Leicester Tigers Challenge at Minehead where they will be looking to add more silverware to their collection.