SAMURAI Judo Club’s boys lightweight A team stormed to gold at the Bev Price Team Championships.

The A line-up of James Hemer, Nathan Gallacher and Matt Hemer lived up to high expectations but also went on to win their category in style.

It was a spectacular performance from the Samurai team, and it was made all the better because the opposition were not average clubs but some of the best clubs in Britain.

The team started off by demolishing Wirral and Waterloo 3-0, then clobbered Pinewood B by the same scoreline, and then took apart their own B team, again 3-0, to reach the final.

So far they had won every match 3-0 and only dropped five individual points out of a possible 90. Could even Pinewood, without doubt the strongest junior club in Britain, stop them?

The first contest was between two British Champions, with Hemer up against the British Champion in the age band and weight category immediately above his own, and the combination of age and weight was too much.

However, Gallacher didn’t take long to equal the scores at 1-1 and then Matt Hemer took just 17 seconds to win his contest and give the Samurai a 2-1 win and the gold medal.

In the girls’ lightweights, the trio Bonnie and Lily Deeming-Lane and Ellie McAteer reached the semi-final before losing to Pinewood, and then came back well to win the bronze.

In the boys’ heavyweight teams, Samurai fielded Jake McAteer, Andy Calloway and Callum Fletcher team.

That team did record two fine wins but defeats to Coventry and London’s Enfield club ended their chances of getting into the medals.

Despite missing Darcie Hancocks, Samurai boasted a very strong line-up inSophie Deeming-Lane, Olivia Turner and Sophie Pollitt .

Toni Poulsom, Bryony Griffiths and Becky Hobby powered to gold, while there was a sixth place finish for Leah Grosvenor, Ellie Arnull and Hetty Tinsdale.

In the senior mens’ teams, Greg Adams, Alex Poulton and Nigel Tinsdale were in a very strong category and did not get out of the pool stage.

There was also a silver for Becky Hobby from the girls team.

This accompanied Frankie Marston and Laura Dangerfield in the senior women.