25/10 U13A Newbury v Henley
October 26, 2009
Newbury A 58 - Henley A 0
On paper this looked likely to be a close match as Henley had won all the previous meetings between the clubs. In practice it proved a convincing win for Newbury and hopefully provides a good indicator of how much the Newbury team have progressed this season.
The Henley coaches were looking apprehensively at the size of the Newbury pack before the game had even started and their fears were soon confirmed.
Henley kicked off with a grubber kick and although the opening exchanges were scrappy, Henley were retaining possession and testing the Newbury defences. Louis Lyne made a couple of big hits and the line held firm.
In the fifth minute Jack Davis drove our first bit of decent possession down the middle and the ball was then spun down the line to Josh Lawrence on the overlap. He shot off like a startled hare and outstripped the defence to score. Theo nailed a superb conversion from near the touchline to make it 7-0.
From the restart, Louis cut back and made 30 metres before being hauled down. From the ruck, Jordan Ruddock picked up and ran 30 metres down the wing to score in the corner and make it 12-0.
Soon afterwards Josh caught a kick and ran it back, only to see his mazy run ended by a high tackle.
After 13 minutes Andy Payne and George Bicknell came off to be replaced by our new recruits Alex and his twin, the Hagrid lookalike Will Britton.
Two minutes later Andy was back on to replace flanker Will Rupp who had been at the heart of the early defensive effort but was now feeling unwell.
In the 18th minute Big Will drove from a lineout and perhaps the biggest cheer of the day came as he was brought down by a fantastically brave tackle from the Henley winger. Once the ground had stopped shaking Henley were penalised for handling in the ruck. Will took the tap penalty and charged through the defence like an angry rhino to make it 17-0.
From the restart we rolled a maul and then Jordan Ruddock surged down the line from halfway to score a superb try which was converted by Theo for 24-0.
As half time loomed, Charlie Tillett showed his blistering pace and a neat sidestep before eventually being hauled down by the panic stricken Henley defence. The half ended with Henley fighting back with a series of drives but the Newbury defence held firm.
The second half began with Newbury immediately ending any thoughts of a Henley comeback. James O’Connor made a great run down the wing and when he was stopped short, new cult hero Will Britton was on hand to charge over and make it 29-0.
In the 4th minute of the half Andy Payne made a big tackle on the Henley lock and forced a turn over. The pack recycled and Jack D drove upfield, Theo made a half break and Alex Britton released a superbly timed pass to the overlapping Josh for a touchdown beneath the posts. In terms of all round team play this was undoubtedly the try of the match and Theo converted to make it 36-0.
After 11 minutes another of Josh’s elusive runs was ended by another high tackle. Andy charged upfield and popped it up to Jordan to score his hat-trick. Theo converted from in front of the posts to make it 43-0.
Midway through the half, the Newbury pack won a lineout against the throw and Jordan passed to Will B who drove over for 48-0.
As had happened in the first half a spell ensued where Newbury started to take on a bit too much themselves in midfield instead of releasing the flyers out wide. However it was always just a matter of time before the floodgates reopened.
With 20 minutes gone Henley made a series of breaks but never really looked like scoring. Ollie Nunn drove the ball down the middle, the back row supported well and Andy slipped it to Jordan who had a simple run in for his 4th try, 53-0.
Two minutes later Andy fly kicked a loose ball on and looked likely to score but play was called back for an earlier knock on.
As the game drew to a close, George Bicknell hared down the wing before being scrambled into touch by a Henley defence which to their credit kept going right to the end. From the lineout the game turned into a soccer match and a series of hack ons by Theo and Andy led to a maul from which Oliie completed the scoring with Newbury’s 10th try and the game ended 58-0.
The Man of the Match was Jordan Ruddock who scored four tries to continue what has been a great start for both him and the team.
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