Billericay RVC vs. Old Brentwoods RFC

The latest cohort of Old Brentwood’s U12s made the most of the fine weather with a trip to Billericay RFC for their opening game of the season.

The summer break, several training sessions in glorious weather (and dare we say a sprinkling of Rugby World Cup fever!) inspired the team to a strong start. A step change in defensive line speed and strength at the ruck were instantly obvious. From kick off, the first 5 minutes of the game was phase after phase of live ball.

OB’s soaked up the pressure from a sustained Billericay attack which was finally blunted by a counter-attacking try down the right wing. This gave Old Brentwood the toe hold they needed in the game and a break from ferocious defence.

From there, they never looked back making attacking inroads down the wings with even the odd Marcus Smith-inspired “goose step” thrown in to try and befuddle the defenders.

The new 5-person rucks were taken in their stride by OB’s and the new tackle height guidance also had the desired effect of reinforcing the teams’ already good tackle technique.

By the end of the game, it was obvious this felt like the most “structured” game of rugby the Old Brentwood U12’s team had played, knitting together all of the rugby fundamentals in a solid and enjoyable style which deserved to be televised as much as any RWC match.