AROUND 650 children attended the Staines Minis Festival including teams from Brighton, Farnham Royal, Slough and Windsor.

The Slough under-8 team made a slow start to the festival but Caleb Donohoe and Hector Madumere scored for the young Greenies in a loss to Brighton in the first match.

Donohoe then touched down their only try in a loss to a very strong Hammersmith side.

Hayden Karize added a hat-trick to the scoresheet in the third game for a narrow win over hosts Staines.

Slough just lost out to Farnborough in the final game. Ali Minhas and Donohoe kept the scores at level pegging until a nice side-step from their opponents took them over the edge to win on the final whistle.

Greenies coach Mary Blumbergs said it had been a pleasing performance overall by an inexperienced and young team.

She said: “We let our heads drop quite quickly in the first two matches but managed to pull it back enthusiastically to take the game to their opponents in the last two.

“We saw some great tagging, passing and game-play throughout and the players grew in confidence as the Festival went on, ending with smiles and a strong sense of a team.”

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