4 out of 4 for U12s at frozen Wycombe

Sunday 11th December 2005

The Under 12s turned out for a triangular fixture against High Wycombe and Camberley on the coldest morning of the season so far. In fact it didn’t quite work out like that as High Wycombe were missing some players, so the games played were:

Maids A v High Wycombe

Maids A v Camberley A

Maids B v Camberley B

Maids B v Camberley A/B

The A game v Wycombe was the first to get under way. We were playing on a larger pitch than we are used to and the boys revelled in the space, Sam Maguire opening the scoring after a fine run. Fraser Brooks slotted an excellent conversion from quite far out. The lead was further stretched when Leo Smith cut through the centre, with Will Thompson converting.

In the 2^nd half it was pretty much one way traffic, and although a series of changes were made to avoid the risk of replacements suffering from exposure, Maids played some good flowing rugby. Will Thompson scored after a great weaving run. Fraser Brooks added a 4^th try and Daniel Andrews-Jones rounded things off with a fine change of direction to cut in and score under the posts.

The B squad had kicked off against Camberley B by now. From Camberley’s opening kick full back Steve Carn punted back up field, Shiv Khindria collected and scored and Iain Whiteford converted – a great start! A good contest unfolded with great team play and the first half ended with a reward for some great forward play as George Thomas scored and Iain Whiteford again obliged with the conversion.

In the 2^nd half Camberley were desperate to get back into the game and the level of steam emitted from rucks and mauls was steadily rising. After a period of pressure scrum-half Alice Macleod sniped round the blind side from the back of a scrum to add a third try, which Iain once again converted to make the final score 21 – 0.

Having had a glimpse of the Camberley B side it seemed likely that their A team would provide a stiffer challenge for Maids As, and so it proved, as while Maids had comfortably the better of the game, they couldn’t quite score. Fraser Brooks ran two excellent lines but couldn’t quite get there, Max O’Connor showed tremendous handling ability in freezing conditions but could not escape his man, the forwards battled away, with an impressive return to form from Oliver Bartlett, but all was still scoreless at half-time. We mixed up players and positions to keep everyone warm once again and all concerned showed great versatility and indeed keenness to try new things, Duncan Jones in particular asking to play somewhere he wouldn’t normally play! (He doesn’t normally play in High Wycombe!). Eventually, a move clicked and Chris Dow saved the day with a terrific burst of speed to score the game’s only try. Camberley rallied briefly but Will Thompson’s assured boot put the ball into touch and brought the game to a close.

Maids Bs then played a strengthened Camberley side and understandably found this a harder contest. However it was Maids who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Iain Whiteford got over the line only to have the ref rule that the ball had been held up. 0-0 at half time, a few changes in personnel and a renewed effort saw the forwards in particular come into their own. Blake Nicol for one was rucking very well, with Hal Orchard leading by example. Jake Dawson made a strong run for the line but just stepped into touch. In the end, though, this pressure told and George Thomas secured the ball from a ruck and dived over to score. Inevitably, Iain Whiteford slotted the conversion. 7-0.

B’s man of the match was Iain Whiteford

The A squad: Alex Avery, Danny Keir, Michael Trevena, Duncan Jones, Dominik Bart, Oliver Bartlett, LD Basson, Luke Thomas, Will Thompson, Fraser Brooks, Leo Smith, Daniel Andrews-Jones, Max O’Connor, Chris Dow, Sam Maguire, Thomas Eckles, Will Turner

The B squad: Hal Orchard, George Thomas, Blake Nicol, Daniel Williams, Adam Callaway, Aaron George, Calum O’Flaherty, Jake Dawson, James Balmer, Alice Macleod, Jonathan Perry, Dhruv Surya, Shiv Khindria, Iain Whiteford, Keshav Sharma, Gareth Orwin, Steve Carn