Alton Under 9’s went one better in 2009 as the runners up in the London Irish tournament, held at the Oratory School, Reading on Saturday 17th January.

With their new tournament shirts and training tops, sponsored by Fabrikuk, the team were professionally turned out and ready to do business.

The squad of 12 started the Pool matches with a 5 tries to 1 victory over Readingensians, they continued with 1 try securing the win over Tadley followed by a 3-0 victory over Aldershot and Fleet in the last pool game. All 8 tries from the Alton squad were scored by different players, demonstrating their depth of talent.

The final saw them up against familiar rivals Farnham, who with some excellent passing ran in 2 tries. Despite some fantastic tackling and two occasions when the Alton players were inches from the opposition’s try line, Alton lost this hard fought final.

The prize for their hard work was a presentation at the home of London Irish, the Madjeski Stadium, with the opportunity to meet star players Peter Richards and Delon Armitage and have silver medals presented to them on the pitch at half time during London Irish’s Challenge cup win over Connacht. For those watching the sky sports highlights on the Sunday evening, the London Irish try shown has a line of red, Alton RFC waterproof wearing 8 and 9 year olds cheering the scorer home right in front of them!