28/03 Newbury U13B v Windsor U13B
March 31, 2010
Newbury U13 B – 21 Windsor U13 B 12
After last week’s disappointment against Bracknell, the Under 13 Bs returned to winning ways with a hard fought victory against Windsor – the win was especially rewarding as this was the first time that a Newbury B team at our age group has ever beaten them. Once again it was a great team performance that made the difference in a game which was often untidy on both sides. It is to Newbury’s credit that Windsor were never able to settle into their stride due to the usual tenacity of the forwards and lots of harrying pressure from the backs.
In the first half Windsor had the advantage of a chilly breeze and the sun behind them. As is often the case, Newbury settled faster than the opposition, and managed to score a converted try in the first five minutes. James Lewis’ kick-off went deep and was not taken cleanly by Windsor. Newbury charged forward to pressurise and a great tackle by Luke Hornblow forced the knock on. Newbury drove, winning two consecutive scrums. At the second James Lewis broke through and almost made it to the line. From the ensuing ruck and through a mound of players Zach Stancombe grabbed the ball and dived over. James Lewis converted.
If Newbury thought they were going to have any easy game, the opposition had other ideas. Windsor’s restart kick was fumbled by the receivers and for the next five minutes Newbury were forced slowly back towards their own line. Despite some stout defending Windsor’s pressure eventually paid off. The ball was driven over the line and a conversion levelled the scores at 7-all.
Newbury held their nerve and started to play good attacking rugby again. The forwards began to get the better of the opposition, and Joe Peppiatt at scrum half was distributing well. The ball was steered toward the Windsor line to the right of the posts – from the ruck Joe passed the ball out to James and Newbury had a four to one overlap on the left. Despite the overlap James chose to run at the line himself and was stopped 5 metres out – however Luke Hornblow was following up, picked up the ball and ran between the posts. James converted again for a 14-7 lead.
This time Newbury took the restart well and pushed forward again. It was beginning to look as if they could possibly take charge of the game – however both teams were making a lot of handling errors and neither side could put together consistent fluid passing movements. And despite pressing forward Newbury were let down by the old failing of missing their tackles. A Windsor forward picked up the ball in his 22 and broke across the pitch through the Newbury pack. Despite a crunching tackle from Kellen Keene (by far and away the best of the game) the ball was distributed to their winger who ran from inside his own half to score under the posts. The conversion looked inevitable – however Oliver Norman dashed forward as the kicker took his run up and charged down the kick – a great piece of play that kept Newbury’s noses ahead 14-12 at half time.
At the start of the second half both teams made a number of changes, particularly in the front row. Both sides seemed slow to settle and the first period was quite messy, with a number of handling errors and problems at set pieces. Throughout the half scrums were wheeling and had to be reset. However, just when the crowd was wondering whether either team would get back into its stride Newbury made the breakthrough. Windsor looked to send the ball down the back line – but James Lewis read the game well, put in a terrific interception and charged toward the 22. He was tackled and went to ground, but Newbury continued to press. At a maul 10 metres out Alasdair Gravatt wrenched the ball from the Windsor forwards and drove on. Although the ball was briefly lost close to the line Newbury stole it back and finally Conor Segre crossed to score. James Lewis slotted in a tricky conversion to make it 21-12.
Despite no further points being added in the final 15 minutes, Newbury had the better chances and could have extended their lead. A clever kick and chase by Luke Hornblow almost caught the Windsor defence napping, but the full back just managed to clear. And just before the end Alasdair Gravatt dragged three defenders along with him for 10 metres and crossed the line, but the ball was just held up.
So once again congratulations to the Bs for a great team performance. Special praise goes to Ciaran Ffrench for a great game at full-back on his first time in the position. However, the whole squad should be proud to have battled to a historic win.
Scorers:
Tries: Zach Stancombe, Luke Hornblow, Conor Segre
Conversions:James Lewis (3)
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