Stroud U12’s Make it Through to County Finals Day

It was the County Cup Festival held at Matson and a chance to show off their fast flowing attacking play, but in challenging playing conditions. Could Stroud beat their Festival phobia and come out of the gates fast? Would their attacking plays work in the windy and wet conditions? Could they defend in numbers when under pressure? Would the gazebo and flag survive the high winds?

On all fronts it was a resounding yes! Let the fun begin…..

Stroud were drawn in a tough group with last years finalists Cleeve, previous winners Stow, a strong Longlevens team, and Old Pats ‘B’ team. It was the classic Group of Death scenario, and we know how well that went for England in the World Cup recently. With a full squad at their disposal it was going to be strength in depth that would help Stroud compete all the way to the end and overcome a few bumps and bruises.

Game 1 vs Stow

Stow kicked off short and quickly got a turnover. Stoner was alert though and tackled well to create a turnover that Stroud tried capitalising on with attacking moves both to the left and right. Liam took up the challenge and rumbled through the middle dragging a few Stow players with him. It was a great opening passage of play with good play by both forwards and backs.

Stroud had a scrum which they won. Arthur ran right and was tackled high so a penalty was awarded. Keyan ran the penalty but was pushed out. Stow had the lineout throw but Laurie timed his jump to perfection and stole the ball. Keyan ran onto it and took the ball through the middle avoiding some desperate Stow tackling to give Stroud a 1-0 lead.

Stow kicked off again and Archie E ran it back well. A well timed pass to Dave kept the move going. Then a lovely interchange to Keyan and back to Dave opened up the Stow defence but an untimely knock-on stopped the attack.

Stow had a lineout which they won and ran right. Good stout defence then caused them to come back to the left. Mr T put in a great tackle and caused a turnover. Stroud then quickly attacked to the left and Flash made some good ground. As he looked to be held up the ball came back through the backs to the right sensing an attacking opportunity. An alert Stow defender saw the danger though and gambled on an interception and timed it to perfection to give himself an easy run to the line while Stroud rued their missed opportunity. An opportunity for 2-0 had become 1-1.

Will kicked off short and Stroud competed well for the ball but were adjudged to have hands in the ruck so Stow had a penalty. They kicked long to put the pressure back on Stroud. At the lineout Stow won it and put in their own attacking move but knocked on and an alert Will H dived on the ball and the ref blew for half time. Stroud had been the better team. Could they keep it going?

Will kicked long and Stow fumbled the ball on their own line. They managed to keep it alive though and ran to the right. A good attacking move opened up the Stroud defence but Alex timed his tackle well and forced a turnover. The ball changed possession a few times. Will H put in a great tackle and somehow caught the ball as it came loose. Orgy and Stoner secured the ball and setup an attacking platform. The Stroud backs again attacked strongly and this time another Stroud overlap was denied by a desperate Stow defender knocking the ball forward.

Stroud had a scrum that they won and Tom H cleanly fed Will who then judged his pass to Dave with perfection as a big Stow tackle came in. Dave took it on but ball was knocked on in the tackle. Stow won the scrum under intense pressure from Stroud shove. More strong tackling from Laurie and Arthur stopped the next Stow attack. Stroud had the next phase of play and were awarded a penalty that Will kicked long for touch. At the lineout Orgy called his Audi call but Stow had it worked out and stole the throw on their own try line. Somehow they managed to kick the ball for touch. This time Orgy’s line out throw found Mr T and he tipped it back to Tom H who then quickly got the ball out to the backs. Another attacking passage of play was denied by a knockon in a strong Stow tackle.

Stow again won their scrum while under strong Stroud shove. They ran to the left but Archie E forced them out of play. Another great Orgy line out throw to Mr T set up another attack. The ball was shipped through all the backs hands to Flash who was on the left wing. He went on a mazy run and managed to stay in touch but just as we thought Houdini was going to score for us a great Stow cover tackle forced him into touch and the ref blew the full time whistle with the score at 1-1.

Stroud had been the best team in both halves and had plenty of attacking opportunities but a stout Stow defence had kept them out and denied them the win.

Game 2 vs Longlevens

Will kicked off into the wind and a great chase by Stoner won Stroud the ball. Stroud attacked through Finn but Longlevens were alert to this and quickly forced a ruck and stole the ball. Jedd put in a good tackle but in the ruck Longlevens were awarded the scrum. The scrum was won and they attacked down the right. Their winger got past some hesitant tackles and got upto full speed down the right wing. An alert Alex playing full back had seen the danger though and positioned himself well to bring the player down as he had the try line in his sight. Stroud managed to get the ball away though to relieve the pressure.

Longlevens won the lineout but themselves were forced out of play by joint team tackling. Stroud won their lineout but the next passage of play fizzled out. Longlevens had a scrum and the ball came straight back out to the scrum half. Stroud were expecting a reset but the scrumhalf ran blindside to give Longlevens a 1-0 lead.

Stroud kicked off and Longlevens attacked well. They made some ground up and then strong tackling by Orgy and Liam forced Longlevens to change tact and kick long. Alex fielded the ball and went on his own weaving run. Keyan supported well to take the ball on but was forced out of play. Keyan made amends with a great steal from the Longlevens lineout. Dave took the ball on and then passed onto Arthur who was unlucky to knock on as he weaved through a few players.

Longlevens won their scrum and attacked both left and right. Resolute defending kept them in check though and Finn caused a turnover. Stroud attacked and Liam made some good yardage. Stoner then picked up the ball and kept up the momentum. He passed to Arthur who kept the move going. He was tackled though and was taken off injured. Half time was taken with score at 1-0 to Longlevens.

2nd half started with Longlevens kicking into the wind. Dave ran the ball back and steered left. The ball came out to Dash who showed his enterprise and kicked over the top. The fullback caught the ball well and ran back and tried his own kick but Dash timed his jump to perfection and blocked the kick. Will H caught the ball cleanly but was unlucky to have his momentum take him out of play.

Keyan won the lineout throw. Flash had moved into scrum half for this game and got the ball out to the backs cleanly. Dave took on the challenge and attacked down the right. As he was tackled all the players crashed together to take out the linesman. Longlevens won their lineout and kicked deep to relieve the pressure. Dash caught the ball really well in the swirling winds and ran it back and Longlevens were penalised for an infraction. Keyan took on the tap penalty and made good ground. It was now Finns turn to attack and he was caught by a high tackle. Another penalty and another Keyan run and another high tackle ! Will H took a quick tap and go and he was also tackled high to deny us a scoring opportunity.

This time Dave attacked to the right. Longlevens defended well and forced Stroud to come back to the left with Joe and Callum. Dash did some great attacking steps but was forced out of play. Longlevens won the throw and their scrumhalf took the ball back into the try area and touched down. Stroud were awarded a scrum and the ref called last play. Stroud won the scrum and attacked to the right. Joe did some good attacking running and was caught with a high tackle that wasn’t called. Longlevens recovered the ball and kicked it out of play to escape with a 1-0 victory.

Stroud had lost a close game, but again had put in a great performance against a team they normally struggled against.

3rd game vs Old Pats “B”

This was a must win game for both teams to keep their chances of qualification alive. It was time for the rain to turn up as well as the match reporters notepad and scrawled hand writing bears testament to.

Will kicked off and Old Pats recovered it well. A few attacking phases ended with a Stroud lineout which they won. Stoner attacked strongly, well supported by Keyan. Old Pats were penalised and Stroud won the resulting scrum and attacked to the left with Archie E. Keyan was all over the field and took the ball on and attacked down the right to score a diving try. 1-0 to Stroud.

Old Pats kicked off and Finn ran it back well. Play broke down and Old Pats were awarded a scrum. More Stroud forward pressure forced a heel against the head. Tom H passed out to Dave who attacked right and left. Stoner timed his run to perfection though and took the ball at pace and ran straight to avoid the sliding Old Pats defence. He then adjusted his run to outrun the full back and score in the right corner and give Stroud a 2-0 lead.

Old Pats kicked off and Finn was there again to run it back. As play slowed up Jedd took the ball on and made some good yardage. The ball came out to Dash on the left wing. He realised he had no space to attack so quickly threw the ball back inside to the support but it was taken by the wind and bounced around a lot and put pressure on the Stroud line. Old Pats were awarded a scrum which they won. Old Pats then attacked left, right and centre and strong team defence held them at bay. Just as we thought we had escaped Old Pats found a gap and forced their way over to make it 2-1.

Stroud kicked off and a few messy passages of play took us to the half time whistle with Stroud in the lead.

For the 2nd half Old Pats kicked off. Eddie ran the ball back to give Stroud a good attacking platform. Will H took the ball on and a ruck ensued. The ball didn’t come out so Stroud were awarded the scrum. Stroud won the scrum and Flash went on a sniping run. Dave took the ball on and kept the attack going to the right. As we thought he had been denied the ball popped out to Finn who scored in the corner to make it 3-1 to Stroud.

Old Pats kicked off again and Joe ran it back strongly and was rewarded with a high tackle. Will kicked long for touch. Stroud won their lineout with Callum and Liam combining well. Liam took the ball on and timed his pass to Dave to perfection who scored to make it 4-1.

Old Pats kicked off and Lucas was unlucky to knock it on in the difficult conditions. Old Pats won their scrum but good combination tackling from Harry and Laurie caused the ball to come loose. Lucas saw his opportunity and picked up the ball and went on his own attacking run. Dragging 2 or 3 players in his wake he did really well to relieve the pressure and force Old Pats to go defensive. Play broke down and Old Pats had a scrum but more great scrummaging by Stroud got them the ball. Laurie saw his opportunity and attacked. Eddie supported well and cleared out. Archie E then ran the ball himself. Just as we thought the fifth try was coming Old Pats forced a turnover and attacked themselves. This time it was Alex’s turn to put in a strong tackle and deny Old Pats a scoring chance. Full time whistle went and Stroud had played well again and were rewarded with a 4-1 scoreline.

Game 4 vs Cleeve

Stroud had their own destiny in their hands. If they could beat a dominant Cleeve team they could go through as group winners. Cleeve were the runners up last year so were going to be formidable opposition. Arthur was ready to go back into battle having recovered from his back injury and the whole of the Stroud squad was going to get chance to have a good crack at this team.

Cleeve kicked off and Dave ran it back. Cleeve were very quick to force a turnover and they capitalised immediately with a score in the left corner giving them an early 1-0 lead.

Will kicked off long and Cleeve cleared their lines with their own kick for touch. Stroud won their own lineout but Cleeve immediately pressured the Stroud players and turned the ball over again and ran back through the centre to make it a 2-0 lead.

Stroud kicked long and Cleeve ran it back out but were forced out of play. Stroud lost their lineout but Mr T was quick to stop the Cleeve attack with 2 strong tackles. Cleeve changed it up with their own long kick. Alex chased back to recover the ball and go on his own weaving run. The ball came through the backs to Dave who timed his pass to Arthur who was left with plenty to do before he touched down to make it 2-1.

Cleeve kicked off and Joe caught cleanly and ran back. Cleeve were strong in the tackle and forced a turnover. They attacked the Stroud line and thought they had scored but good defence held up the attacker. Cleeve won their scrum and attacked again. Arthur was there to put in a strong tackle to deny another try scoring opportunity. A few more attacking phases by both teams ensued. Cleeve were penalised for a forward pass. Stroud won their scrum. Will H kicked long and unluckily the ball bounced out of play before Dash could force the Cleeve player to make an error. Half time taken.

2nd half started with mass changes on the Stroud side. Stroud kicked off and Cleeve ran the ball back but Keyan responded with his own big tackle. Cleeve were not to be denied though and just recycled the ball to another large forward. This time Alex brought down the player and the ball came back on the Stroud side. Keyan attacked with good support from Eddie. Cleeve were getting back into their stride though and fast hands by both forwards and backs opened up the Stroud defence and Cleeve scored to make it 3-1.

Stroud kicked off and Cleeve ran it back down the left but knocked on in the tackle from Harry. Strouds scrum was stolen by Cleeve though. They saw an opportunity though and kicked deep. Alex chased back and was pinned on his line. He managed to run to the right and a well supporting Finn was there to help relieve the pressure. Cleeve kept attacking though and camped themselves on the line. The ball came lose in a lineout and as Stroud tried to kick it clear the ball bounced loose and Cleeve jumped on it to make it 4-1.

Stroud kicked off and Cleeve attacked again. Keyan was there to stop them making as big gain. At the next lineout Stroud won it and good attacks by both Dave and Keyan gave Stroud a chance. Cleeve were very alert though and forced a turnover. Eddie was waiting for them and slowed up their attack. Cleeve went right and left looking for space. Stroud managed to win a scrum but Cleeve just pushed us off the ball and won the scrum and ran left to score and make it 5-1.

Stroud kicked off and Cleeve knocked on. Stroud won the hard fought scrum and Dave passed out to Archie E who attacked well. The ball went through various hands to keep the pressure on Cleeve. As we started to gamble with throwing some long passes Cleeve saw their chance and intercepted a pass and scored to make it 6-1.

Stroud kicked off again and play broke down with various turnovers and scrums. It coincided with another low point with Callum going off injured after making another good tackle. Stroud won the resulting scrum but play fizzled out and final whistle went with the score 6-1 to Cleeve.

Wrap Up

The team huddled together and coach Jo expressed his pleasure with how well the team had played in all the games and every player had done themselves proud. Various teams and supporters had been very impressed with how we played on both sides of the ball and played the game the right way. Even the interception tries we gave away were down to us wanting to attack ourselves and score spectacular tries.

Man of the Festival for the Forwards was Keyan. Man of the Festival for the Backs was Alex, but all players deserved special mentions for their overall level of play.

Stroud thought their competition was finished so headed off in random directions to go home. A frantic set of phonecalls ensued as we realised that we had got through to the Plate knock-out round. Luckily we managed to turn around a few cars and get a scratch team together. We jogged back to the pitches and awaited our opposition. Warm up drills ensued to re-focus the minds. Then we found out that our opposition North Bristol had also left the ground and didn’t fancy coming back to play us so we were awarded a bye through to the County Finals weekend in the New Year.

Played 5. Won 2 (yes I know one is a bye!), Drew 1, Lost 2. Scored 6, Conceded 9.

We stayed on to watch a few other games. Minch lost their Plate game against Longlevens 1-0 so were knocked out leaving Stroud as the only 5 Valleys team still in the competition. I am sure there will be plenty of school playground banter on Monday to windup the Minch players that we still have the chance of silverware this season !

Onwards and upwards. Perhaps Stroud U12’s have got Festivals sussed now. Watch out Weymouth. Here we come !