All age groups, from Under 6’s to Under 12’s, were well represented with a team from every club playing in the Under 12’s competition.

It was day full of fun and filled with fierce competition and proved to be a successful Gala Day for the Scone juniors.

The next Gala Day will be held in Narrabri on Sunday June 17.

It was the biggest Gala Day yet for the Under 12’s with all 11 teams from the Central North region travelling to Scone. Each team played three 30 min games with 18 games of rugby played from 10am to 2.30pm. Scone entered two teams for the day with Scone Blue and Scone Gold being a good mixture of the 11 and 12-year-old boys.

Playing first up in a local derby against Quirindi, Scone Blue had good possession early which allowed the forwards to roll up the field.

This set up the outside backs for some quality ball. Hamish McCrae found the line a couple of times in the first half to allow Scone Blue to lead at the break. Quirindi came out firing in the second half and managed to pressure the line early. Some last-minute defence from Max Paterson and a smart turn over from Harry Faulkner saw Scone regain possession. A swift backline move and good handling allowed Scone to march forward and cross the line to relieve some pressure. It was a credit to Quirindi who never gave up but a great game from a few of our boys: Will Crompton, Louis Bottomley and Hamish McCrae.

The second game for the Blue side against Gunnedah was more of the same; good forward play laying great foundations for our backs. Charlie Mitchell, Elliot Bull and Henry Hubbard worked well in the pack during this game. Max Patterson found plenty of gaps in and around the rucks and this saw Ollie Dart cross the line for the first time this year. The third game against Armidale was set to be a test. Tommy Burnett tackled and pilfered well during this game and Elliot Bull showed real commitment at the breakdown allowing Scone Blue to retain solid ball during the first half. Harry Warner and Blake Grimes worked hard during this game and came away each with a couple of tries. Scone Blue finished the day with three solid wins.

Scone Gold had a tough draw against Coonabarabran, Inverell and Tamworth but was up for the task.

In their first game against Coonabarabran, the forwards led by big Sullivan Brooker and Andrew Harris laid a great foundation all game for the speedy backs of Dan Crowther, Cal Winter and Will Officer.

 Scone Gold enjoyed a good win in their first game. Their second game against a well drilled team of Inverell was a different story. Inverell had solid possession for most of the game which made it very tough for the boys. Will Nugent, Rourke Sharpe and Matty Edwards tackled their hearts out in this game but unfortunately, the boys fell one try short in the end.

The third game was against old foes Tamworth - this Under 12s team have some big forwards and strong running backs so we knew it was going to be a tough task.

Being the last game of the day, the team threw together whatever players they had left and had a real crack. Some solid tackling from both teams early saw the game go from end to end. A nice backline move saw Scone cross the line first and move into the break up one try. Tamworth composed themselves well and had a lot of ball during the second half and was up two tries to one with about a minute to go. Camped in our own half we needed some inspiration from our senior players. Snowball Crowther grabbed the chance and saw an opportunity with the Tamworth back line all up. The ensuing kick downfield saw a fast finishing Max Patterson and Angus Beard combine to level the scores right on the hooter. The crowd cheered and clapped a really entertaining game of footy and a level score was a great result.

A massive thankyou goes to all the parent helpers, referees and coaches of the Under 12’s.