What price dedication? It has certainly served Maurice Nwakor, one of the stalwarts of the promoted U16s side, very well as the forward has reaped the rewards of his impressive commitment by picking up a trophy named in his honour, writes Jonathan Landi.

Coach Rob Madle: "Maurice is very much a gentleman and he travels long distances to be at training. Very dedicated, he attends the London Oratory School which is south of the river but invariably is always at training after commuting from his Hackney home. Neither will the trophy will be a one off as it is set to become an annual fixture."

The fired-up Maurice also proved himself on the field and particularly as a ball carrying forward.

Madle added: "It has been a tremendous year for the U16s. In addition to promotion {to Herts-Middlesex Division Three}, a 30 plus squad now enables us to run two sides. Furthermore, the team were also unbeaten in a pre-Easter tour of East Anglia. I would likes to thanks all those who made the season such a big success."

The other award winners in the U16s Dodos (first team) were Miles Wotherspoon (coach's Player of the Year), Ryan Browne (most improved) and Tim O'Toole (players' player). Sam Bucknall, the nephew of Leicester Tigers' prop Pete Bucknall, and Chieka Ogadigbo each scooped a best trainer award.

The U16s 'Phoenix team, which is effectively the 'B Team', had three award winners. They were Owen Newport (coach's player), Sam Harmer (players' player) and Stephen Hall (most improved).

It proved to be some evening for the Hall family as Aidan Hall, Stephen's father, a dab hand when it comes to sorting out fixtures, netted the Pa Wells Trophy for his outstanding contribution to the youth section.

The contribution of the colts side to the club was acknowledged by club president Martin Baker. He said: "They are proving indispensable as many have gone on to make their mark at senior level by turning out for the twos, three and fours."
Jamie Forrester (coach's player) and Jack Stockman (players' player) were the main recipients. They were joined on the rostrum by Jamie Newport (most improved), plus Owen Clayden and Adam Prangley who both claimed trainer of the year awards.

The U15s award winners were Dwayne Turner (players' player), Kerim Salih (coach's player) and Matthew Maloney (most improved).

The silky distribution skills of scrum-half Nathan Colletta helped him snare the U14s Player of the Year in an age group in which Charlie Briers (players' player) and the speedy Ayden Ozsakin (coach's player) also enjoyed immense seasons.

Luke Njoku, a convert from basketball, also walked tall by taking the best newcomer title, and Alex McCall, an omnipresent on the training paddock, came up trumps in the best trainer category.