Stroud have their bell rung by Tewkesbury

It was half term, it was kids away on holiday, and it was all hands to the pumps as Stroud travelled to Tewkesbury with a weakened team, but a chance to blood the new players who had joined this season.

The day started with an early arrival at Tewkesbury and their waiting coach declaring that Tewkesbury U12’s had travelled to Stroud earlier that morning. Once this panic had been cleared up and another coach had reminded him that U12’s was his age group and they were staying local that the coaches hangover quickly cleared and he declared it had been a heavy night, and that he would be reffing our games! He also then commented that he’d play 3 half’s of 20 minutes and not separate games. I don’t know about you but where I was brought up a game consisted of 2 halfs. Perhaps the Northern Gloucestershire education system has a lot to answer for ?

Stroud were missing a few players in the backs so they improvised with Ryan coming in at scrum half, Dave moving to fly-half, and Alex playing outside centre with Archie and Laurie on the wings. Arthur had been super-glued back together again after his recent run of injuries and was ready to play. Could he make it to the end of the match this week?

As well as a re-organised back line we had to contend with the noisy home atmosphere. Would someone please tell those bell ringers in the Abbey to keep quiet on a Sunday morning as we have lineout calls to make and players to organise. That’s why we tell you kids to shout all the time so you can be heard over the bells!

Half 1

Tewkesbury (aka Tewks) kicked off short and recovered their own kick. At the subsequent breakdown an alert Orgy stole the ball and it came out to Jedd and Finn who ran the ball upto half way. In the rolling maul Jedd was held up and Tewks won a scrum. Against the head Orgy won the put-in and Ryan cleanly fed the backs who got the ball out to Archie who scampered down the right wing and was unlucky to be pushed out of play.

Tewks had a lineout but Stroud won it and the backs set off to the left. The ball was turned over though and Tewks ran it back to their left. Mr T put in a good tackle and a ruck formed. The Tewks scrum half dug the ball out and proceeded to pass it to the ref who took it cleanly in stride, and then realised he wasn’t allowed to play so had to blow up and restart the game with a Tewks scrum. Good job he did stop play as Stoner had his tackle head on and was taking down players of all shapes, sizes and speeds so the ref wouldn’t have scored if he tried!

Tewks won the scrum and their fly half ran a good line and fed a straight running forward who barrelled through some half hearted tackles and bore down on the Stroud line. Luckily Arthur was upto the challenge and tackled him. Tewks recycled the ball and looked to score in the corner but Finn and Laurie combined to push him out of play. Stroud won the lineout and Dave kicked deep. An alert Tewks fullback caught the ball cleanly and at pace weaved through a variety of missed tackles. This time Finn was the last line of defence and stopped him and forced a knock on. Stroud had the put in at the scrum but a big push by Tewks won them the ball and they ran to the right to score in the corner to give them the lead 1-0.

Dave kicked off and a big Tewks guy picked up the bal and ran it back. Stoner was alert to this and managed to rip the ball from him and set off on his own attack. At the perfect time he offloaded to Keyan and we thought he was in for the equalising score but the ref had adjudged it a forward pass. Stroud weren’t disheartened though and won the Tewks scrum. This time Arthur was unlucky to knock on in the tackle. Tewks won the scrum and attacked through the middle. A high tackle by Keyan was penalised with a long kick to the corner. Tewks won the lineout and attacked the try line through the backs both to the left and right. A great defensive effort by Stroud was rewarded by Stoner stealing the ball and Dave kicking deep to relieve the pressure. The full back ran the ball back down the left wing and his reward for this enterprising move was a big Stoner tackle to force a lineout.

Stroud won the lineout and the ball went through all the backs out to Finn who made some good ground down the left. The ball came back out through the backs to the right. Dave was brought down but at the perfect time he passed to a well positioned Alex who backed himself to score and slid over the line as he was tackled. A great attacking passage of play was rewarded with a score making it 1-1.

Tewks kicked off and Liam ran it back. Laurie supported well and took the ball on. Tewks somehow came away with the ball and just as we thought they were going to attack Ryan stole the pass and kept the ball within the forwards with Mr T and Jedd both making up some good ground. Play broke down and Tewks won the resultant scrum. They attacked again but this time an alert Alex went for the rip tackle to force a turnover.

Play settled down with both teams taking it in turns to attack and defend. In one phase Dave got the ball and kicked high. The Tewks fullback took it cleanly under pressure and went on another weaving run. He passed to a big forward who rumbled forward to score and give Tewks a 2-1 lead.

Stroud kicked off and Tewks ran it back but Orgy did his customary tackle and steal. Dave took the ball on and ran down the right but was tackled out of play. The Tewks lineout was won by Mr T and the ball came out to Arthur. He passed onto Alex who straightened his run and made some good distance. He cut to the right and spotted Liam and with a perfectly timed pass Liam was able to cut through the Tewks defence to score the equalising try and make it 2-2.

The ref called last play and Tewks kicked deep. Alex fielded the ball and started running straight. Feeling the pressure he arced around to the right and somehow managed to outpace the Tewks defence. With only the full back left to beat he remembered his channel drills and drifted to the left. As the full back commited to the tackle Alex passed right to a well positioned Arthur. Unfortunately as soon as Arthur caught the ball a desperate Tewks tackle from behind caused him to fall and knockon. This exciting passage of play was brought to a halt with the refs whistle.

Final score 2-2 and a very exciting game to watch and it was great to come back twice and show some lovely attacking rugby.

Half 2

Coaches Phil and Mark rang the changes with some of the newer players coming on to experience a full on game.

Stroud kicked off and Tewks ran it back. The game quickly broke down into a series of rucks and turnovers and short attacking runs. Keyan was penalised for a high tackle. Tewks kicked for touch and at the lineout an athletic Jedd tipped the ball back to Ryan. He quickly passed the ball out to the left and James went on a mazy run. He outran the support though and when tackled lost the ball to an alert Tewks player. Tewks attacked back to their left and a combination of new boys Harry and Eddie forced the player off the pitch.

This time Stroud lost their lineout and Tewks threatened the Stroud line. Laurie tackled well. Tewks attacked again and this time Mr T crunched in with a tackle. The ball popped out and it was quickly given to Dave who ran to the left and managed to avoid the last gasp tackle and score in the corner for a 1-0 Stroud lead.

Tewks kicked off and Ryan ran the ball back. Alex supported well and took the ball on. In the tackle he offloaded to Dave who then passed the ball onto Archie. Stroud managed to keep the ball alive through a few more phases. The forwards then took over and also made some good ground and got ever closer to the Tewks line but a lack of support (it was there but watching the play instead of throwing their bodies in!) meant Tewks got the ball.

Tewks kicked deep. Dave ran back to collect the ball and managed to secure position. Just as we thought we were going to attack again an alert Tewks player intercepted a pass and scored from half way line making it 1-1.

Dave kicked off and Tewks ran the ball back through some flailing Stroud tackles. Luckily new boy Jordan showing good technique stole the ball at a ruck and went on his own run. Arthur then took on the attack. A series of high tackles by both sides broke up this flowing play and the game slowed down quite a bit with various restarts. At one of them an alert Tewks player tapped the ball and ran and with the Stroud players walking backwards with their backs to play were lucky that Finn and Harry slowed him up enough for the supporting tackles to force a turnover.

Stroud won the scrum and Arthur decided to run straight. He made good distance and as the Tewks defence collapsed onto him an alert Dave timed his run to perfection and took the ball at pace to score and give Stroud a deserved 2-1 lead.

Tewks kicked off and it skimmed off Harry which meant a Tewks lineout. Stroud again stole the throw in and the ball came out to Alex who ran well. He was well supported by Jordan and Joe and the ball was recycled out to James. He was stopped and Tewks stole the ball and attacked themselves. An alert tackle by Finn forced the player off the pitch.

Orgy was off the pitch so it was upto Eddie to take the lineout throws. Stroud won the lineout and Dave kicked long to relieve the pressure. This time the full back made his only mistake of the match and dropped the ball out of play. Stroud lost the resulting lineout and Tewks ran the ball back. Arthur managed to put in a big tackle though and an alert Eddie picked up the ball and ran off to the right and somehow managed to stay on his feet with a Tewks player hanging off of him!

Tewks were awarded a scrum though that they won. Again Arthur put in a strong tackle. This time he was rewarded with all the forwards trampling over him in the subsequent ruck. Play was stopped and an injured Arthur was taken off the pitch to get his knee seen to. Another tube of super glue needed to get him ready for the next game.

The next few minutes was disrupted with more high tackles. At one penalty Dave kicked long for touch and just missed it (he later claimed as a dog lover he didn't want to risk hitting the dog walkers standing on the pitchside!). The fullback again set off on a weaving run down the left. Mr T was waiting though and forced him out of play. For some reason a penalty was awarded and a quick Tewks tap-and go threatened the Stroud line. Some desperation tackling slowed them up though and Tewks finally knocked on and an alert James dived on the ball. Full time whistle went and Stroud had stolen a hard fought victory 2-1.

As well as a studded knee Arthur was now showing signs of concussion (aka having his bell rung) because he asked the match reporter if he had scored in that game. After checking his notes and declaring that he hadn’t and Dave had scored twice Arthur finally admitted defeat, but then took credit for the pass that set Dave up for the winning score.

Half 3

More Subs were brought on to give players a break. This was always going to be a hard final game with players tiring and a resolute Tewks team not wanting to lose at home.

Tewks kicked off and Keyan caught the ball cleanly and ran it back. Tewks stole the ball though and attacked the Stroud line. They were held up on the Stroud line by tackles from Jordan and Joe. Again Stroud managed to steal the ball and on their own try line Stroud still wanted to attack. The ball came out to Archie who tried to kick but a superb dive by Tewks player blocked the kick and it bounced back into the try area. He then jumped up and dived on the ball to give Tewks a 1-0 lead.

Dave kicked deep and Tewks ran the ball back but they were penalised. At the penalty Stroud did a short pass to Liam who rumbled forward and taking 3 Tewks players with him, plus good supporting play from most of the forwards managed to force his way over the line to make it 1-1. The comeback was on…..

Tewks kicked deep and the ball appeared to go straight out, but John McEnroe who was running the line declared he had seen chalk dust so a Stroud lineout was the outcome.

Tewks won the lineout and went down the blindside to score to make it 2-1 to them.

Dave kicked deep and Tewks ran the ball back – partly helped by some poor tackling technique. A scrum was awarded and Tewks won this and ran to the left. They pulled the Stroud defense out of position and an alert Tewks player saw this and cut all the way back to the right to score in the corner to make it 3-1.

Stroud kicked off but the inevitable happened and Tewks ran it back again and this time all the Stroud tackles missed so Tewks scored an easy try and a 4-1 lead.

Dave kicked off again and a Tewks knock on in the catch gave Stroud a scrum. Tewks were showing good strength in the scrum push but a resolute Stroud pack still managed to hook the ball and Ryan managed to extract it and give the ball to Arthur. The ball was turned over and Tewks attacked back. Again more Stroud tackles slowed down play.

At a subsequent Stroud lineout Keyan took the ball cleanly and Jordan got the ball and went on his own run with the parents shouting encouragement from the side. Play slowed up and Tewks had some chances to attack. Somehow Keyan ended up with the ball in his hands. Showing a new technique that no one had coached him he decided to kick the ball. Dave did a great kick chase and stopped the Tewks player before be made much ground. Archie picked up the loose ball and made his own moves but as he was tackled he looked for another offload pass and was unlucky to have it snaffled by a Tewks player instead who seemed through on the Stroud line. Somehow Eddie managed to wrap him up and force him to ground with a great tackle. Stroud were penalised in the breakdown. Tewks had a scrum which they won and ran to the right to score again for a 5-1 lead.

Dave kicked off again and the game broke down into a few messy phases. Both teams took it in turns to have scrums and penalties in equal measure. The highlights of this were more Stoner and Keyan tackles and steals, some alert kicking by Ryan and some lovely interchange between the backs trying to keep the ball alive while under heavy Tewks tackling pressure. Ref called last play and Stroud were not going to go quietly. Finn attacked down the right. Sensing the danger Tewks managed to stop him and steal the ball. The Tewks player threw the ball out of play hoping for the final whistle but the ref reminded him this was illegal and it had to be a kick.

Stroud took a quick tap-and-go and a customary Liam attack threatened to setup another Stroud score but this time Tewks forced a turnover and the final whistle went giving Tewks a 5-1 victory.

Wrap Up

Both teams formed tunnels and clapped each other off the pitch. Although there had been a few high tackles the Halfs had been played in great spirit and no ill feelings were held between the players. Both teams realised they had taken part in some great rugby. Stroud had acquitted themselves very well against a strong Tewkesbury team that had recently won a festival in Cheltenham and beaten Cinderford.

Final score over the 3 Halfs was Tewkesbury 8-5 Stroud but as we know a game only consists of two Halfs so based on that Stroud won the first two Halfs so the final score in the ‘Game’ was Tewksbury 3-4 Stroud……the 3rd Half just been a wind down session that didn’t count……

….Sports psychology at its best.

In the team huddle ideas were exchanged about what we did well and what could have been done better. All the new boys got a mention for their efforts against a strong team. Man of the match for the forwards was given to Eddie, and for the backs it was given to Dave.

And as we walked away the bells finally subsided and quietness descended on the Abbey meadows once again. The Stroud players went home to nurse their injuries and rest their weary limbs. More superglue needed for Arthur! Some of the players must have run the equivalent of Stroud half marathon by having to play the full 60 minutes without any sub breaks.

Tewkesbury also have a match report on their web site at Tewkesbury U12 match report

Its a bit shorter than mine but that's because the ref wrote it up and his on-pitch notebook is smaller than mine! It has complimentary things written about us though which is nice. We do agree on the score though so it does show I don't make up these match reports ;-)

PS - In the interests of a Health & Safety message kids please don't use superglue for fixing your injuries. Please speak to our super qualified medic Delia for advice, or cover yourself in Deep Heat like Mark swears by!