On 28/02/2024, the Essex Saracens PDG selected 25 players from across the County to travel to Dartford Valley RFC for a county’s rugby festival. Of the 25 players selected, 5 of the boys were long standing players from Chelmsford RFC, who have been with our club right from the beginning in the minis section.
Approximately 120 boys turned up from the 3 different Counties, however the boys were told that just 50 players would be selected from the festival to go onto join the Saracens DPP.
Each team played 3 games, which were 30 minutes long, and as expected, the opposition was extremely strong in all 3 games. Essex was up first and had a very close game v Kent -which ended in a draw with 4 tries each.
After a short rest, Essex then had to face the Barbarians team. This team consisted of players who were already part of the Saracens DPP, some players who had already been identified as likely to be selected, and some of their academy players to make up the numbers. This was a tough game for the Essex boys, and they lost 4 tries to 1
The final game for the Essex team was against Herts. As with Kent, this was an extremely close game, however Herts just managed to sneak in the final winning try, ending the game Essex 2 / Herts 3.
The boys will find out whether they have been selected in due course, but regardless of the outcome, the boys did themselves and CRFC proud.
Well done to Connor, Louis, Dan, Josh and Liam