U11s at Ampthill - match report 4 Nov 07

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A really satisfying day all round and excellent preparation for the rest of the season, where against perhaps one of the best organised and certainly the biggest opposition we have ever faced, we won two and drew the third. We also took the bonus chance to experiment with team positions, and to top it all the weather was glorious (with free cups of tea laid on by our generous hosts.....

..... and the author is a fan of Adnams (for those who were to be found at the clubhouse afterwards ;-)

Whilst the forward pack did not have one of its more commanding performances, this was more than compensated for by committed support play especially by the backs. What was characteristic of each of the matches was the never say die attitude of each player, with the result that the squad came from behind in two of the day’s matches.

The first game was possibly key to how the rest of the day went*: it turned into a veritable game of two halves. We started slow and so allowed Ampthill to get the upper hand for much of the first half. As half-time neared there was a feeling that we were starting to control our game much better, making much better use of body angles and mobility to secure the ball, and after being given a hard time at half time, full credit to the team as they upped their game in the second half. Though we felt as though we were in control thereafter, the scoreline demonstrates how closely fought this match was (think England against Australia in the world cup quarters).

What prevented Ampthill from fully capitalizing on their early advantage was the level of commitment shown especially by our back line, as they put in a number of crunching tackles. Throughout the day there was dogged defence combined with some flowing movement. On several occasions it appeared that Ampthill had created the overlap only to find either the winger or fullback tracking around to pick them off - Simon, Tim and James - were noteworthy in this respect but none of the team failed us. Tim especially deserves credit - making his debut in the fullback position in the second match where he was tested with several high kicks (more so than the other matches) which he caught with confidence. It was good to see the fullbacks starting to think first and running the ball back rather than simply attempting to kick it back.

There were other signs too of team thinking about what they were doing before acting and here are just a few more examples

* Dom asking the ref before drop-kicking the conversion that it was OK to do so
* Kate watching the ball go into the dead ball area from a long kick allowing us to regain territory and relieve any pressure at the end of the final match
* Lewis and Ruiri not only pushing the attack back but turning the tackled player round away from the try line
* Simon rushing up to harry the Ampthill attack, to make amends for his less than successful clearance kick, win back the ball and then make territory in counter-attack

Match 9 v. Ampthill Won 7-5 (HT 0-5)

Ellis, Calum, Peter, Jamie, Lewis, Harry, Dominic, Tim, Ruiri, James D, James W, Simon

Try: Simon – an amazing turn of pace, evading several tackles. An important conversion by Peter, unphased by Ampthill rushing the kick, which, at the end of the match, made the difference between the two teams. Ruiri was unfortunate to not get a second when he touched down in the dead ball area after the try area got a little too congested.

*NB It wasn’t so much the result of the first match as the style of the play that was important. In fact Alex confessed afterwards that it wasn’t until well into the third game that he realised that we had won it!

Match 10 v. Ampthill Drew 7-7 (HT 0-0)

Brandon, Will, Guy, Joe, Ruiri, Chas, Simon, Kate, Dom, Ross, Beth, Tim

Try: Simon – a try out of nothing to even the score. Will cleaned out to release the ball against the head in a ruck, which Joe picked up and deftly passed to Simon who, not for the first time, threaded his way through the defence. The try was nonchalantly converted by Dom with a drop-kick which seemed to bemuse the Ampthill rush.

Match 11 v. Ampthill Won 14-0 (HT 7-0)

Ellis, Will (sub Brandon), Guy, Lewis, Joe, Harry (sub Chas), Peter, Calum, Beth, Tom, James D, James W (sub Kate)

Tries: Joe – Ellis took a break and ran on, turned round and presented, Joe scooped up and ran in over the defence (perhaps this was justice after being denied the previous week.) Ellis – from the second half kick-off, James D rushed up to put pressure on and take the ball with excellent support from Ellis. Both tries were converted by Peter again disregarding the rush. Last but not least, Tom, one of our newest squad members, also almost managed to sneak in with a score.