South Woodham Ferrers U12 v Old Brentwood’s U12

South Woodham Ferrers U12 v Old Brentwood’s U12

On Sunday, the U12s travelled to SWF RFC. Both sides were short of players, and consequently, it was agreed that four short games of sevens, ( ok, there were actually 8 a side), should take place.

The four games resulted in 18 tries for OBs with a solitary try in response from SWF.

The try scorers were William (4) James F (4) James M (5) Ross (1) Harry (1) John (1) Freddie (2).

While the score line suggests that it was comfortable for OBs, SWF put up a spirited performance, and were impressive at the breakdown where they were able to compete through some strong rucking. The referee was generous to both sides at the breakdown, which allowed the game to flow, which in turn, allowed OBs room to score. The SWF boys did manage to get the ball down on two occasions thinking they had scored, however the referee felt compelled to remind the boys that the try line was in fact some 30 m further up the pitch. Having taken the refs advice on board, the SWF boys managed a good score of their own, which was greeted with warm applause by OB’s supporters.

There followed a brief game between mixed sides where both sides scored, with Freddie showing that he can side step with the best of them to score a memorable solo try. Throughout the games, both sides played in exemplary fashion, with rugby emerging the winner..

On a more analytical note, the usual OB’s strengths were on display such as tackling, rucking, and mauling.. However, notwithstanding the easy going nature of the referee, the boys need to be aware that they will not always get away with hands in the ruck, coming into the ruck from the side ( all sides, including the oppositions side in this game!), and generally being offside at the breakdown.

Further, Jason and Kevin went to some lengths to get the boys looping in the pre match warm up, specifically in order to create overlaps for OBs to exploit. Curiously, the boys appeared to reason that pre match drills had no place in the actual game, and tended to resort to the tried and tested method of running into contact, as opposed to moving the ball through the hands. To be fair, there were some memorable passes, but not enough when there was clearly space outside. It’s not clear what more Jason and Kevin can do if the boys won’t move the ball. As it seems to be a feature of other teams in this age group, at least there is comfort in knowing we are not alone.