We were placed into Pool E, with four matches of five-minute halves, facing teams from Cranbrook, Tunbridge Wells B, Aylesford A, and Southwark. Having only previously played a very closely fought match against Cranbrook, we entered the early stages without a clear idea of how we would fare.

In another tight contest against Cranbrook, Deal took an early lead and went on to win 19–7, with tries from Logan Campling, Jonathan Mattison, and Max Veere.

Our next match was against Tunbridge Wells B. Deal dominated from start to finish, securing a 31–0 win with tries from Jonathan, William Northcott, Stanley Richards, Seb Mugford, and Max.

We then faced Aylesford A. An early break from Stan, following an Aylesford handling error, opened the floodgates, with tries from Sam Kenicer (2), Matthew Cocker (2), Jonathan, and Hamish Cranmer, leading to a 47–0 victory.

Our final pool match was against Southwark, who had also won all their matches up to that point. Southwark scored an early try, making it a tight contest. However, powerful runs from Aston Armstrong and Hamish Cranmer created opportunities for Hamish and Max to score, securing Deal's final win of the group stage.

Deal topped the group and moved into the knockout stages, set to play Pool F winners, Canterbury A.

In the Canterbury match, the opposition took an early lead, scoring three tries through their fast flanks. Deal pushed back hard, with Jonathan scoring just before half-time to bring us back into contention. In the second half, intense defensive pressure rattled Canterbury, but a high tackle led to a Deal player being sin-binned. Canterbury took advantage of the extra player to add another try.

Despite this setback, Deal fought back with determination. Slick passing across the line saw Sam score our second try, prompting a Canterbury sin-binning. With numbers back even, Max caught the ball directly from the kick-off and cut through the Canterbury defence to score Deal’s third try. The final whistle blew with the score an agonisingly close 26–19 to Canterbury.

The narrow defeat knocked Deal out of contention for the main trophy, but we remained in the running for the Plate Trophy. In the semi-finals, we faced Bromley — a team who had comfortably beaten Deal a month earlier in the Essex U14s Tournament.

Deal struck first, with Jonathan finishing off a move in the corner after sustained pressure and rucking. Bromley replied shortly before half-time.

In the second half, Deal scored twice: first through Logan, who forced an error from Bromley’s scrum-half at the back of a scrum before powering over the line; and then from a powerful run by Aston and Hamish, clearing the way for Max to step through and score. Although Bromley scored a late try, the result was already beyond doubt, and Deal secured their place in the Plate final.

After a full day of rugby, starting at 9:30 AM, Deal entered the final match at nearly 6 PM. Our opponents, Tunbridge Wells A, were unfortunately a class above. With tired legs and mounting injuries, Tunbridge Wells used their size and speed to control the game, and despite a resilient effort, Deal suffered a heavy defeat.

Nevertheless, this secured Deal and Betteshanger the runners-up position for the second-highest award of the day — and a shiny trophy to bring home from the event!

Man of the Tournament: Logan Campling (scrum-half), for his outstanding performance, athleticism, and relentless effort throughout the day.

Special credit goes to the forwards; Felix Poynton, Brandon Ashington, Aston, Seb, and Hamish whose powerful scrummaging laid the foundation for the team’s success.

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