Sedgley Park Under 14’s 39 v 12 Bolton Under 14’s

The Under 14’s made the long and arduous trip over to Whitefield to take on neighbours Sedgley Park in a practice game to officially launch their season. It was great to see 20 lads available for selection and also team captain Tom Hill on the touchline supporting his team mates despite being injured.

The game started with the Bolton pack a little disjointed due to a late reshuffle and this really showed as the lads didn’t come out of the blocks at all let alone running! Playing against a strong breeze Bolton were quickly put under concerted pressure by the home side who despite some excellent individual tackling soon built up a 17-0 advantage. In fact one of the few plus points from the opening period of the match was the organisation of the backs defence at first phase.

A quick reorganisation and chat by the coaches at the end of the first quarter certainly had the desired effect and showed just how effective these practice games can be at fixing problems on the fly. As the teams restarted the game the Bolton lads looked a lot more relaxed and 10% more confident. A great break by Danny Turner further brought the visitors heads up and it was only a last ditch tackle by the Sedgley cover that saved a try. Sadly, Danny got hurt in the challenge and had to limp from the field with sprained tendons; he will certainly be missed for the next couple of weeks.

Despite the loss of our centre the rest of the lads rolled their sleeves up and the game became much more even. Harry Stocks and Josh Holmes started to combine well at half back and Danny’s centre partner Dylan Winstanley raised his game another three notches as if to make up for the loss of his teammate. In the pack Elliott Morgan came on to make his debut at hooker and with the great play in the first quarter by Tom McCormick it appears we have an abundance of riches in that position. Wills Brindle gave everything in the unaccustomed role of prop though he was ecstatic at half time when he learned that Joseph Partington was available to take over that role in the second stanza. At full back James Hind worked tirelessly fielding and returning kicks but despite his and the teams best efforts the score was 29-0 as the referee brought the first half to a close.

The coaching team got to work at half time to rebuild some confidence and suggest a few ways to improve play and the lads came out for the second half looking like a completely new side.

As seems to often be the case Nat Hill dragged the team into life with some great “hits” and with the back row of Max Lohan, Firth Lord and Wills Brindle stamping some authority in the loose with half back Joey Gore the game took on a different perspective. As the side began to recycle and steal more and more ball Josh Holmes could release his strike runners Ryan McClusky and Dylan Winstanley more often and to greater effect. Adam Kazmi also got himself more into the action on the wing with some strong runs whilst James Hind and later David Warren found the opportunity to move forward from full back to great effect.
In the forwards Wills McCambridge grew in stature and his second row combination with Chris Kehoe had the Sedgley team in real trouble at times. Up front Joseph Partington was showing Wills Brindle’s faith in his abilities wasn’t unfounded whilst at the opposite side of the front row Jordan Ashton was doing his world famous rock impression and allowing nothing to pass.

It was gratifying to see everyone working hard for each other and also taking individual responsibility for their performances. The squad is made up of some very talented footballers and they are certainly gelling together as a unit. It is also good to see players working hard to cover for each other and developing their rugby brains more and more to be in the right place to break up attacks and pocket probing kicks (well done Joey).

Finally after putting the home side under severe pressure the good defensive work by the backs paid off when Michael Latham’s presence was enough to case his opposite centre to fumble and Dylan Winstanley pounced on the loose ball to race away and score a well deserved try. James Hind stepped up, as cool as the proverbial cucumber, and slotted the conversion to register his first points for the team.
From here on in the game was much closer, with Bolton perhaps being on top. Max and both Wills Mc and Wills B were immense throughout and the determination on their faces when they had the chance to run with the ball was a real revelation. The fire and “they shall not pass” attitude of the whole team was showed in a moment of brilliance when Ryan and Dylan chassed down and corralled the home side’s speedy left winger despite the referee bringing them all back for an earlier infringement.

Max picked up the Coach’s Man of the Match award and his performance was perhaps typified from a penalty move. Joey Gore burst right and Max raced to straighten the play. Joey then took a return from Max and sent the ball spinning out to the backs. Josh revelled in the space created by Max’s play and some slick hands found more space for Ryan to slash through the home defence and touch down. James couldn’t quite control the wind this time and his kick just went wide.

As the final whistle blew on a great game, Bolton had again come back from a poor start and recorded a second half win (12-10) but the home side were deserved winners 39-12. All we need to figure out now is how to play as well in the first half of games as we do in the second! Perhaps a prematch-match is what is required.

All the Bolton players showed some real skill in the second half and the parents’ choice for Man of the Match must have been a difficult one with Harry Stocks shining both in attack and defense, strong work by Wills McCambridge and Josh Holmes and Firth Lord showing he newer members of the squad the full repertoire of their skills. In the end the decisive work by Nat Hill won him the award both for his play and the way he sparked the team’s belief.

The players’ award went to Dylan Winstanley for another excellent performance at inside centre. He worked himself into the ground (repeatedly) and was constantly in the faces of the home side’s attackers and then turning the tables and running strongly and decisively with ball in hand.

Final word deserves to go to Elliott Morgan for a great debut in a tough game against proven opposition. Elliott looked to thoroughly enjoy every moment of the build up, game and after the match too. He looks to be another good find and an excellent addition to the squad. It will be a pleasure to watch Elliott and Tom McCormick work together in the coming weeks to develop the hooking role and bring more and more to the team. All in all it was a very promising start to the new season, an enjoyable morning’s rugby and another demonstration of how close knit the team and parents are and how much they all enjoy each other’s company. Only the slow start and Danny’s injury put a dampener on an otherwise excellent day.