- Romford and Gidea Park U12s v Old Brentwood Acorns U12s and Witham U12s

Old Brentwoods Acorns U12s v Ongar knights U12s

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime. Babe Ruth - legendary MLB baseball player.

The way the U12s have played as a whole this season is reflected in the results that they have achieved. Nowhere has the ethos of team spirit and determination been more evident than on Sunday, when they hosted Ongar’s U12s.

Firstly, a warm welcome to Alex Pine, who made his debut on Sunday. Alex joins Monty and Freddie, as new and valuable additions to the side this season.

Secondly, well done to Ongar’s U12s, they are a fine side, very physical, with plenty of individual talent as well.

It was apparent from the start that the Acorns were going to have a tough game. In fact even before the start, it was glaringly obvious that Ongar had brought a big bunch of lads with them. The disparity in size wasn’t the only matter worthy of consideration. They had talent aplenty. A couple of our boys play rugby with Charlie at school, and they are only too aware of the talent this fine young player possesses.

A fairly inauspicious start by the Acorns saw Ongar cross the line first. With a certain inevitability, it was Charlie who scored their try, showing real pace from a good 40 metres out. The Acorns then tried really hard to break down Ongar’s defence, but were repelled time and time again. Nevertheless, they didn’t panic or get frustrated. They have been in these situations before, and they knew that the constant pressure would eventually prove telling.

Ongar’s backs were employing something similar to a rush defence. Upon seeing the space behind their defence, James F landed an inspired, and perfectly weighted chip into the gap, which bounced kindly, allowing James Mac to seize the opportunity to level the score at 1 try apiece.

Both sides continued to slug it out, with Neither side giving an inch, but a moment of magic from Alex saw him slice through Ongar’s defence, beating several players, to score his first try for the club, only for Ongar to strike straight back and level the scores at 2-2.

Meanwhile, all of the boys were tackling their hearts out. William, Ross and Sam were taking the big lads down giving Ongar no respite whatsoever. James F didn’t miss a tackle all match and Josh, Frankie, Monty and Alex got stuck into the midfield. Anybody who did break the gain line got nailed by Jack who didn’t miss a tackle all match either. All of the boys deserve huge credit for the way they tackled, with every one of them making telling contributions.

Indeed, such was the ferocity of the tackling, that handling errors from Ongar led to plenty of turnover ball. Alex pounced on one of these errors to run in his second try. 3-2 to the Acorns.

After 20 minutes the boys were relieved to be able to draw breath at half time. The rucks and mauls had been competitive with Ongar in no mood to be pushed off the ball. Jason and Gary impressed upon the boys, the need to move the ball through the hands as opposed to running laterally.

The second half was as unrelenting as the first, with both sides giving their all. A memory that will stay with all of us for a long time was the sight of Nathan putting in a massive tackle on the biggest player on the pitch, said player hitting the ground with a clearly audible thump.

In terms of scores, OBs were next to score with one of the best moves of the season. Having taken on board the coaches’ comments at half time, the boys fought their way towards Ongar’s try line, going through several phases of play in the process. Ongar held firm on their line. Something had to give. The ball went through the hands of nearly every player in the final phase, resulting in a try on the wing in the far right hand corner. It was the epitome of a try that was created by, and belonged to, the whole team. It was, to paraphrase Babe Ruth, a wonderful example of playing as a “whole”. 4-2 to OBs.

Ongar were not done yet. A well worked try of their own narrowed the gap to 4-3.

Desperate to level the scores, Ongar threw everything at the OBs. Frankie could see that all of the Ongar players were committed to trying to get the score that would level the match. There was no full back at home. OBs secured possession on their line. Frankie cleared his line by putting in a huge kick down the middle of the field. Two of Ongar’s backs scampered back to secure possession. One of them wasn’t quick enough, and the other one who arrived on the ball fractionally before JMac,tried to hold onto the ball on the ground, but James ripped it off him and ran over the line. 5-3 to OBs at the final whistle.

Victory for the OBs, and still they remain unbeaten. Despite the fact that it was such a physical game, nobody seemed to suffer an injury, and the discipline from both sides was impeccable. A true embodiment of rugby values, and a great game to watch.

What now for the U12s? Bancroft on Sunday, beyond that who knows. It seems hard to believe (for those of us who are relatively new to OBs) that it was only a couple of seasons ago that this side was regularly on the receiving end of what they now dish out.

As always, thank you to Jason and Ongar’s coach for refereeing this game. All of the boys really appreciate it.