U11s - Cambridge at home - match report 18 Nov 07

« U8's Match Report Sunday | Main | Stockwood U13s 0 – Hitchin U13s 39 »

We have always had close matches with Cambridge so the convincing manner of our performance suggests that Hitchin U11’s really have made good progress this season. Also on such a bitterly cold day it became clear why tackling hard is so important in rugby not only because passing and catching was so hard but also to keep yourself warm!

Cambridge presented our team with possibly the fastest opposition all season yet, with some swift movement of the ball, although the impact of this was dissipated by not taking advantage of running down the lines more often and instead moving it back inside. However it was likely also that Cambridge's game plan was disrupted somewhat by the strength of our tackling and no matter how fast they were, in the first couple of matches it never really felt that they would break through and our control seemed to be almost total.

Against the Cambridge first team our pack was relentless in its pursuit of the ball, getting over it to secure it, as well as tackling and pounding the rucks and mauls. Three forwards, Joe, Peter and Will, were rewarded with tries for their efforts on the day, however, all the pack seemed to step up a gear and Brandon, Calum, Jamie and Lewis each made notable contributions of their own.

There was only one occasion when Cambridge got close to breaking through but Tim, who at fullback had had hardly anything to do, made the vital tackle. This occasion was typical of the backs' general level of tackling and team play. Retaining focus and concentration on days as cold as this requires a different sort of toughness, mental as well as physical.

Harry is looking increasingly comfortable in the scrum half role and coped well with his opposite number; one of Cambridge’s better players. (I wonder if there is a video somewhere like “How to be a terrier-like scrum-half the Peter Stringer way” that Harry could borrow?). On Harry’s outside, Dom’s role at fly-half (aka outside-half, stand-off or first five-eighth??) is pivotal to make the connection between the pack and the backs, with some well time and accurate passing. On one occasion in particular he came up with a well-taken and intelligent kick out of defence to gain significant yards and reversing the pressure being put on us.

By the end of second game the dominance of the pack became increasingly clear as each forward took at least one opportunity to have a long solo and by the end they were running practically at will. Possibly in the first match there were one or two opportunities that went missing for want of an earlier pass but it was hard to deny the team during this match. Ruiri most notably made hay whilst the sun didn't shine, often benefiting from some excellent interplay with Simon and Kate, where he was able to run on to the pass after having the defence drawn out of shape. Tom also took advantage of Ru's presence on one occasion taking the ball nimbly down the line, keeping just inside just!, and had to be tackled to stop the try. In any case the scoreline of the second match improved the season's stats no end, taking us over the 100 points scored for the season.

Unfortunately the complete set of victories was denied us as, in the third match, Cambridge put out in their first team once again whilst we rested several of ours. Given the mismatch in the second it's hard not to believe that we would have won again if we had rejigged our teams a bit more, but it was instructive to come up against a stronger team. For much of the game we made it hard for Cambridge to score and there was some dogged defence. This made the two tries that were let in seem all the softer especially as they both came from pushes over from the 5 yard line. Near the end, Lewis almost managed to score with a forward push through of his own, but it was adjudged (rather hastily perhaps?) to have been held up. He deserved the try for the hard work he put in during the day - just getting on with the job of securing the ball and peeling off the opposition etc etc.

One final thought. It is becoming evident that players are increasingly aware of each other's performances when it comes to team selection. This is as it should be - everyone is competing for a spot in any team. It is even more impressive then to also see the team spirit emerging (Andy especially revels in the bonding before each match). All of the coaching team would echo the following: “Keep it up!”


Match 12 v. Cambridge Won 14-0 (HT 7-0)
Joe, Calum, Peter, Lewis, Jamie, Harry, Dominic, James D, Ruiri, James W, Simon
Tries
Ruiri - not for the first time in the day Simon made extensive yards almost to the try line to pop up for Ruiri to push over
Peter - a classic forward's try, an elegant swallow dive over the ruck and just reaching over the try line, rolling the ball over
(Peter converted both tries)

Match 13 v. Cambridge Won 49-0 (HT 21-0)
Joe, Will, Brandon, Jacob (sub Jamie), Calum, Guy, Harry (sub Chas), Kate, Ruiri, Ross (sub Beth), Tom, Simon
Tries
Ruiri - forwards won the scrum and quickly out to the backs; Ru made a typical strong run and reached over
Joe - a physical run round the side of the pack - even with the hand-offs that the ref failed to spot (Joe: "Two hands on the ball!")
Ruiri - we won the scrum against the head which seemed to put off Guy (playing scrum half), not knowing whether to go in or not, but fortunately Harry kept his head and got in there to move out the ball allowing Ruiri to run down the line
Simon - a classic full-back's try run in from our own 10 yard area
Will - picked off the ball at the maul and pushed forward by the pack in sheer determination and finally reached through with half the Cambridge team team hanging off him
Ruiri - a lovely run and pass by Simon, simply finished off
Ruiri - an opportunistic try picking up a loose ball dropped in the tackle from another strong Hitchin 'hit' to run in from 10 yards
(Guy converted all tries: watch out Peter!)

Match 14 v. Cambridge Lost 0-12 (HT 0-5)
Peter, Will, Brandon, Lewis, Jamie (sub Jacob), Chas (sub Kate), Dom, Ross, James W, James D, Harry (sub Tom), Beth

Season so far: Played 14, Won 6, Drawn 3, Lost 5, Points for 129, Against 99


Finally let us congratulate two of our squad, Kate and Beth, who stayed on to play two more games in the afternoon for the Herts County U12 girls. Along with Aless Stevens and Bryony Pomfrett they helped steer the Herts girls to two victories. Check out the report elsewhere on the website and here: http://hertsgirls.blogspot.com/