U11 & U13, Rugby Match Reports – Wednesday 16th January

U11A v St Neots won 4-3 and v St Andrews lost 5-2

The boys played very well in some absolutely torrid conditions. Down 2-1 to St Neots at one stage they showed real grit to bounce back and nail the victory. After a break of 20 minutes in the pouring rain and a bracing wind, absolutely frozen, they made a great fist of tackling a big strong and fast St Andrews side who were warmed up from their previous match. Unfortunately in the last two minutes, after some great defense, a late St Andrews try blew out the score of what was a very hotly contested match.

Mr Baldwin

 

U13A v Brockhurst won 5-4.

Daneshill U13A team found themselves in a physical contest against Brockhurst, who were clearly up for the match. Brockhurst started fast and were clearly more physical, winning most of the contact collisions. This resulted in two early tries to Brockhurst. Daneshill realised they needed to increase their physicality, and started to match Brockhurst’s in the breakdown area. Some excellent ball carrying from Jake Davies-Jones, Oscar Petersen and William Beeching gave Danehsill some forward momentum, which resulted in scores from Will Swart and Alex Harker. The game continued to be closely contested with tries being awarded to both teams one after another. With 10 minutes to go the score board showed 4-4, Brockhurst found themselves on Daneshill’s try line and looked certain to score only to be denied by Barnaby Calthorpe’s excellent defensive effort to ground the ball before Brockhurst could manage to. Daneshill found yet another gear in the last 5 mins and continued to carry themselves up the pitch, Oscar Petersen finished off a determined team effort to make the final score 5-4.

Mr Moore

 

U13B v Brockhurst Won

Strong winds and rain that felt like sleet are the exact conditions that the U13B team normally thrive in, but a rushed warm-up failed to do what it was meant to, so blue knees and red hands were the order of the day. Mediocre rucking in the first half meant that Daneshill had to spend most of their time tackling players that were big enough to be intimidating in warm conditions, and they did it very well, and kept themselves in the game. A few wise words (clichés learnt from the television) from the caretaker manager at half time seemed to make a difference, and Ferretti, Horniman and Arnold started to get to the breakdown first where they managed to push the more weighty opposition off the ball. With more possession, the pacey backline, which included a multi-tasking Arnold, started to work their magic. Rattray ran with good aggression and made an impressive number of yards, Thomas jinked and darted through every gap that was in front of him, and Kellard and Sturgis seemed to be in every move – often more than once! Stickland and Groslin did a great job of winning back the ball on the rare occasion that Daneshill did lose it, and Zhang, impressively given the quagmire of a pitch, got his clothes muddy for the first time during the team hug at the end. A very good win by a determined and talented bunch. Scores to follow.

Mr Fradgley