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U14s Tournament report Sunday 8th October 2006 |
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The Under 14s welcomed teams from Wales and Gloucestershire to this year’s tournament. Dinas Powys made it two victories in succession with powerful performances, but they were made to work hard by all the teams. Maids began very well with a solid win against Briton Ferry, were edged out by Dinas before succumbing to a frustrating defeat against Old Richians. With the U14s injury list including two broken legs, a broken toe, a broken finger and a damaged knee (not all the same player), the depleted squad was called on to step up to the mark – which they did in some style. In the opening match against Briton Ferry, Maids scored in the opening minutes with a penalty try after Jasper van der Walk was scythed down a few metres from scoring. Maids fought hard and kept their opponents on the backfoot for the rest of the half but couldn’t prise open their defence. Michael Habgood’s penetrating runs and good support work from Morgan Davies and Matt Morgan forced the opponents back. In the second half, Briton Ferry reversed the roles and pegged Maids deep inside their own lines. Impressive tackling from Michael James, James Parrott and Charlie Wickham-Smith preserved the home side’s slender lead. The boys played excellently as a team with good support work. They made their first tackles really count and the Backs moved up fast as a unit to deny Briton time on the ball. Maids held their own for much of the second game against Dinas Powys. Two of the three tries conceded resulted from absent defending against the well-organised Welsh team. However, Maids restricted Dinas and were never overwhelmed. Elliott Reid, Alex Jones and Chris Withers were impressive in the mauls and rucks. Paul Sayers and Thomas Simpson provided good linking play but the Backs were continually thwarted by strong tackles. Jack Blumenthal, Paul Sweeney, Matt Quinn and Ridgel Ralhan worked well to keep Maids in the game. The boys didn’t give up as the game ebbed away and were disappointed not to have got something out of this one. The final match against Old Richians decided who finished runners-up. Unfortunately it wasn’t Maidenhead, despite another spirited performance. Old Richians scored in the opening minutes from the scrum but Maids struck back immediately. Charlie Wickham-Smith, James Parrott and Paul Sayers worked the ball well and the Forwards drove the maul towards the Old Richians line, where Alex Jones provided the finishing touch. Maids enjoyed good periods of play but couldn’t finish off a number of promising moves. George Kirk, David Walker and Morgan Davies worked the ball well but were often isolated moving forward. James Parrott nearly burst through and a break from Charlie was halted metres from the try line. A careless error handed possession to Old Richians for their second try and several missed tackles at the start of the second half gifted the visitors their third. The level of competition was very high this year, with all four sides playing pacy, entertaining rugby – and showing plenty of commitment. Squad: Results: |
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