U11s at Dunstable - match report 13 Apr 08

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After weathering the hurricane which came in the human form of the Dunstablians' fly-half, we gradually gained some form of equality and were denied a thoroughly deserved draw in the second match by a conversion on the final kick of the day. It was especially creditable to see the squad pick itself up in such a fashion after having seen one of its members carried away by ambulance.

In the first half of the first match we were caught totally off guard by an exceptional player who produced some phenomenal play to unpick our defence twice with the third and helping to create the third. In the pack however we were more than equal to the task - with our scrums being particularly effective on a couple of occasions and winning more than our fair share of lineout ball.

As the second half went on we started to find our feet more as we found a way to largely nullify their big weapon (although he still managed one last try). In particular Ruiri was brought inside in order that we could level our big tacklers at him: all of Ruiri, Lewis and Dominic in particular lined up to double team tackle. And because the big kid's passing was not so hot under pressure and his running lines weren't the best, this was effective in disrupting their attack.

The development team should be given credit for picking up in the second match where the first team had left off with a high work rate in the pack and the backs too. On several occasions there were some big efforts made to tackle the big kid especially although he still managed to get through our defence despite a fine effort by Simon to catch him.

All this preceded the defining moment of the day which was the injury to Simon. This came after several minutes of increasingly frenetic period of play and should be seen in that context. Simon was tackled very hard by their big lad who followed through, driving upwards and with his height and vastly superior strength picked up Simon and dumped him, with Simon coming down on his head and shoulder. There was no doubt that it was a dangerous tackle though not unequivocally illegal. Play was stopped immediately as it was clear that Simon was in trouble. What followed then was nerve racking and somewhat surreal as we had at one point three ambulances on the ground all on attendance to Hitchin players.

The Hitchin coaching and management team were of the unanimous opinion that there was nothing malicious in the tackle itself. There was no question either that Dunstable condoned the tackle and were swift to point out to their player what he had done. The lad himself was duly apologetic and sought out members of our pack in order to say sorry. He also chose to withdraw from the match when it restarted, which was a sensible move given the atmosphere by then. Any feeling of unease amongst parents was understandable, especially as Tim and Beth were also on the receiving end of some crunching tackles from the same player earlier in the day. However, we simply faced an exceptional opponent with not only size and strength but raw speed and swift movement of feet. Apparently, he has only been playing rugby for a few months which would in part explain the somewhat 'raw' nature of his play.

After the incident the pack especially seemed to lift itself again with a display of intensity that we have too often been lacking on recent occasions, peeling off the opposition and generally imposing themselves physically. It is out of this that we were able to get our first try. Joe was unlucky not to put us ahead, just dropping the ball over the try line after another bout of forward pressure. But the forwards did get their just reward eventually scoring two tries - demonstration if it were needed that the big difference between the two teams on the day was really one key player. Having equalised on tries scored in the match (and having the better of the second half) it was a shame not to have the official and well-deserved draw when the vital conversion kick was missed in the final kick of the day.

Match 40 v. Dunstablians Lost 0-28 (HT 0-21)

Joe, Will, Ellis, Lewis, Jamie, Harry, Dom, James D, Rui, Simon, James W, Tim (sub Peter)

Match 41 v. Dunstablians Lost 12-14

Brandon, Guy, Peter, Calum, Jacob, Chas, Dom, Harry, Rui, Beth, Tom, Simon
Tries:
Brandon - Ruiri made the big territory from out of the scrum, along touch and almost to the try line but Brandon was in behind to support. This was his first try for Hitchin. Con: Dom
Jamie - this time the ground was made by Harry following a big ruck and followed up and over by the pack with Jamie emerging
The incident with Simon took place in the first half at which point the score was 0-7. After it was agreed to play 10 minutes; James D replaced Simon and in the last few minutes the forward pack was replaced by the pack from the first match. This was mutually agreed by all of the forwards before the restart simply and wholly to ensure that everyone, as it were, got back on their bike after falling off.

As a footnote, all parents were relieved to hear that Simon was out of the hospital by mid-afternoon with a very sore neck and a packet of hefty pain killers. It is questionable at this stage however if he will play at the County's. That Simon escaped so relatively lightly was also in no small part due to the swift and appropriate action of our resident "doctor Alex": he did an amazing job holding Simon in exactly the right position for what seemed an incredible length of time.