30/11 U12’s v Wootton Bassett
November 30, 2008
Newbury U12 A’s Vs Wootton Bassett (0-0)
On a second consecutive Sunday of atrocious weather the U12 squad took on a well organised Bassett side at a neutral ground in Hungerford.
Playing down the slope but against the freezing rain, it was never going to be a free flowing running game and it was the forwards who took the battle to the opposition. Newbury won some great lineout and loose ball and spent the first quarter of the game pressurising the Bassett line. However, Bassett put up some solid defence and Newbury failed to score on a number of occasions due to a loose pass or lack of support for the player with the ball. Newbury’s scrum was solid but lost the ball on a number of occasions when the ball failed to channel back to the scrum half as quickly as it should have done.
With the rain unrelenting, Bassett found another gear and started to attack the Newbury line with some great forward running and fine support play. Newbury’s defence wasn’t pretty and a number of first time tackles were missed but they didn’t panic and managed to keep the now marauding Bassett team at bay.
The last few minutes saw some great running and tackling from both sides spoilt by the occasional poor selection of attacking option and the odd cold hand unable to hang on to a wet and slippery ball.
When the early final whistle went (a very good decision considering the conditions) the honours were even at 0-0. Credit must go to both teams for an entertaining game in difficult conditions. Newbury forwards will have to work on their scrummaging and be a bit more aggressive in the ruck, while the backs should note that they really only made advances when they ran at the opposition with plenty of players in support!
A final word of thanks to the supporters who maintained their touchline position despite the attractions of a warm and dry clubhouse!
Newbury U12B’s Vs Wootton Bassett (0-20)
Another ‘fine’ cold rainy day at Hungerford as the Wootton Bassett pitches were water logged saw the team start well with some good forward play that almost led to a try for the forwards but they were held up over the line.
Bassett started quickly winning a scrum on the right side of the pitch and with some quick passing down the line they scored on the far left for the try. Newbury applied good pressure after a good restart with George Bicknell and Conor Segre making excellent runs down the line breaking a few tackles on the way. Newbury kept pressing in Wootton’s half of the pitch but Wootton eventually cleared their lines with a long kick. Newbury won the lineout and again made progress up the pitch with some good rucking from the forwards. Wootton again cleared the line with a good kick which lead to them again scoring a try in the corner despite some desperate tackling by Newbury.
The second half was always going to be more difficult than the first with the cold and wet really starting kick in. Despite this the boys from both sides showed great spirit and enthusiasm! Newbury dominated much of the possession and field position with some tough battling in the forwards. Wootton defended well and twice Wootton put together excellent breaks through the line to score. Newbury had a couple of chances but were unable to break the well organized Wootton defence down. George Bicknell had an excellent game making one fantastic run through the middle breaking 4 or 5 tackles. Wootton pressed strongly at the end but some last ditch tackling prevented Wootton scoring again before the end. A well deserved win went to Wootton for some good defending and quick breaks.
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