Stroud U12’s show their strength in depth to see off Tetbury

This was Stroud’s first competitive game since their strong showing in the County Cup. A full squad of approx 25 was available to choose from. It was going to be a challenge for the coaches to call the subs for this one.

Excitement was circulating for this game. Rumours were abound that there was going to be a special visitor from the Royal town of Tetbury. Would it be Charles, William, Harry, or some corgis?

As warm ups commenced a fleet of Range Rovers swept into the car park and big strong men jumped out. Was this the Royal Protective Squad clearing the way for his HRH? Nope it was the parents of the Tetbury U12’s team. The only Williams and Harrys that turned up were the ones wearing blue for Stroud. Don’t think we had a Charles in our squad, and their definitely wasn’t anyone with the nickname of Corgi……

Warmups finished and the coaches worked out the starting 13. As mentioned sub rotation was going to be a headache for Mark and Phil today and various parents commented that the fictitious match reports would be full of more hot air than normal as I also struggled to keep up, but the match reporter prides himself on the accuracy of his reporting and would not make a single mistake in this report. In fact to prove a point I have made one deliberate error. See if you can spot it kids….

Game 1

Tetbury kicked off and Arthur was unlucky to knock on the greasy ball and Tetbury were awarded a scrum.

Our new scrum half nicknamed Titchy set himself up. Jedd sporting his new crew cut hairstyle on his 4ft 2” frame was ready to set the backs alight. As Stroud won the ball Jedd positioned his size 3 feet perfectly and did the no-look pass to Will. Play broke down and the sub rotation started…..

Jedd walked off to rapturous applause and then changed into his penguin Onesie and jumped onto his bike and rode off into the sunset – job done…. Our normal scrum half, the man with the imposing nickname of Hilly jogged on. His 6ft 6” frame would be a challenge for the Tetbury backs to contend with…..

At the next scrum Stroud won it again – another Orgy great steal at the hook. Ball came out to the backs and they quickly got it out to Arthur who made a good run. The forwards took over and also made good yardage. Play broke down and Tetbury got a turnover. They quickly kicked deep but an alert Alex caught it over his shoulder and turned up field dodging a few tackles. He off loaded to a well supporting Dave who was pushed out of bounds. Stroud won the Tetbury throw in and were quick to get the ball to Dave who straightened his run and scored up the middle to make it 1-0.

Tetbury kicked off and Orgy caught it cleanly and made his own weaving run back. Stoner was in great position and took a well timed pass to keep the forward momentum going. At the resulting ruck quick ball was won and the ball went out to the left and Flash went on a weaving run down the left wing to score a great team try. 2-0 to Stroud.

At the next kickoff it was Joe’s turn to run it back well. A subsequent knock on gave Tetbury a scrum which they won. They did some good attacking play and put pressure on Stroud. A good turnover by Mr T gave Will the chance to kick long to relieve the pressure. A good back chase put pressure on the Tetbury full back and a turnover was earnt. The ball came out to Joe who did a good run down the right wing, the ball came back inside to Liam who went on a typical rampaging run and was going to threaten the Tetbury line but the game was whistled dead for a Tetbury injury.

At the reset the teams took it in turns to attack each other. The highlights were strong tackles by Laurie and Eddie forced turnovers. Tetbury had another good attack and put pressure on Stroud line but Joe forced them out of play close to the try line. Orgy did a good lineout throw and Mr T tapped it back that allowed Will to again kick long for touch. Tetbury missed theior lineout throw and Eddie won it. The ball went through all the backs hands out to Flash who was close to scoring again but was pushed out of bounds. Tetbury won their line out this time and attacked. Stoner and Flash both put in good tackles and an alert Will dived on a loose ball to win a Stroud turnover. The ball came out to the right and Joe did a good run. The ball went loose and Orgy picked it up and went for a great run and scored a try. As parents and brother celebrated on the sideline an apologetic ref ran to the side and asked for a replacement whistle because he had lost his pea and it wouldn’t make a noise. Speaking of pea a Mr Organ made some comments about cleaning the whistle and returning it to Joe in exchange for wiping out his son’s try…..

Stroud had a scrum and won clean ball that gave the backs a chance to try out some of their new moves. 2 missed passes gpot the ball out quickly to the left. Good Tetbury tackling earnt a turnover and they quickly kicked the ball away. Joe picked it up and ran back. A well supporting Dave received a perfectly timed pass and sprinted down the right wing to score. 1 minute later his Dad caught up with play and celebrated Stroud’s 3rd try.

Tetbury kicked off again and again Orgy was hungry for it and did another great run back. Both Keyan and Stoner were there to keep the ball moving by running over tentative Tetbury tackling. Will H got the ball and ran to the right. In the tackle he offloaded the ball to Alex who did well to keep the move going. Unfortunately play broke down with a knock on and half time whistle went.

2nd half started with a number of sub changes . Stroud kicked off and Tetbury had a good run back. They then settled down to their own attacking moves and put Stroud under sustained pressure. Good tackles by Lucas and Orgy helped slow them up but Tetbury were not to be underestimated. They kept coming strong and managed to camp on the Stroud line. Good defensive tackling by Callum and Archie E kept them out but the inevitable happened and Tetbury got their well earnt try up the middle. It was nothing less than they deserved and showed Stroud would need to be on their ‘A’ game for the whole morning.

Stroud kicked off and Tetbury ran it back but Flash was there with another tackle. A messy passage of play ended with a reset Tetbury scrum that Orgy had to win twice to prove a point that he was up for todays game. The ball came through the backs and the royal princes HRH Harry and William combined well to keep the attacking move alive. Good Tetbury tackling forced a turnover that they were going to capitalise on but Laurie did well to slow them up. A subsequent penalty gave Tetbury the chance to kick long for touch. Stroud again stole the lineout with a good take by Keyan. The ball came out to Dash who did a good run. The forwards were playing well and won the ruck with a great clearout by new boys Lucas and Jordan. Riley got the ball and ran well but was forced out of play. At the lineout Lucas stole it and this gave Arthur a chance to go on a good run. He passed to Dash who then kept move going and just as we thought he was going to light the afterburners he opted to kick instead. Finn was supporting well and picked up the bobbling ball and kept the attack going. Tetbury slowed it down illegally and Stroud were awarded a penalty.

Orgy took the tap and go and was held up. Tetbury won the ball and kicked deep. Finn did well to get the bal and ran it back and passed to a well positioned Laurie. Riley supporting well then took the ball on and earnt a penalty. Will kicked for the corner butTebury won the lineout and kicked to relieve pressure. Stroud ran it back and it came through all the backs to the left. Edgar timed his pass to perfection and released Arthur who scored in the left corner to finish off another great attacking move. 4-1 to Stroud.

Tetbury kicked off and the ball bounced out of play and the full time whistle went. Final score was 4-1 to Stroud but the second half had been a real battle and it was great credit to Tetbury that they kept playing well and didn’t let their heads drop and made Stroud earn their victory.

Game 2

Again the subs were rotated and only an alert parent spotted that we’d only sent out 12 players. Looks like Phil needs to grow 3 more fingers to help him send out the right squad….. Dave had been asked to play fly half and the look on his face said it all when it was announced.

Tetbury kicked off and Liam ran the ball back. The ball came out to the backs and Harry went on a good run. Hilly then made his own good run. The backs cycled the ball left and right and Keyan then took over and straightened the run to score in the centre for a 1-0 lead.

Tetbury kicked off and Dave ran it back. He was held up but a rolling maul kept the ball alive. The ball was recycled through the forwards a few times and Orgy and Stoner both showed good hands to keep the ball moving forward. Then the ball came out to the backs and they ran to the left and Alex timed his pass well to Archie E who sprinted down the left wing for a 2-0 lead.

Dave caught the kickoff and in the tackle passed to Mr T who kept the move going. Mr T then passed back inside to Dave who ran up the right wing and then passed it back inside to Arthur. Arthur spotted a weakness in the Tetbury line and barraged his way through to score Stroud’s third.

Another Tetbury kick off and another Liam run back. Tetbury won a turnover though and attacked the Stroud line. Good defensive work by Jordan and Callum earnt a Stroud scrum which they did well to win. The ball came back to Dave who kicked long for touch. Dave was enjoying this fly half role after all……

Tetbury won the lineout but Keyan was strong in the tackle. The ball was turned over by Liam who passed it to Stoner who made some good moves and then offloaded to Hilly. Speaking of moves he showed his best shimmy and cut inside an over running Tetbury defender. As the next defender closed in Hilly passed left to Dave who ran down the left wing to score a fab try – best one of the day and there was some competition for sure.

Tetbury kicked off and forced a Stroud knock on. Tetbury won the scrum with a strong push and attacked again. Arthur put in a good tackle, followed by Harry. Tetbury were not to be denied though and kept the ball moving left and scored in the corner to make it 4-1 at the half.

2nd half kick off from Stroud forced Tetbury to get stuck in their own 22. They kicked well though to give them some breathing space. A messy passage of play ensued with scrum resets, lost lineouts and knock-ons in the tackle. Tetbury seized the initative and made some good attacking runs to find a few weaknesses in the Stroud tackling. They got close to the line and only determined tackling by Alex and Finn slowed them up. A Tetbury penalty gave them a tap and go which they didn’t waste and barrelled over for a 4-2 scoreline.

Stroud kicked off and it was Laurie’s turn to put in a good tackle. Stroud won a penalty and Keyan went on a good run. Will took over and did some good moves. The ball ended up in Keyans hands and he didn’t miss this chance and scored to give Stroud a 5-2 lead.

Tetbury kicked off and Keyan ran it back. The ball came out to Dash and he did his Jonny May impression and ran at speed weaving back to the right and again showed his football prowess with another kick and run. This time the ball went too long and Tetbury touched down in their end zone to give them a drop out. Instead of losing the scoring opportunity Will charged down their kick and kept the pressure on Tetbury. Both Harry and Edgar then put in good tackles. Riley went on a good run. Then Lucas took the ball on. Play was whistled dead though to allow an injured Riley to be taken off the pitch.

Tetbury won the scrum but were forced backwards, eventually then ran out the back of the try zone. At the reset Stroud won the scrum and Flash went blindside and scored in the right corner to make it 6-2. Final whistle was then blown.

Final Score Stroud 10-3 Tetbury, aka 50-15.

Both teams applauded each other in the great spirit the game was played. Both teams had played well and showed good attacking play with the backs and strong forward play. There were always things to improve upon but considering the mount of sub churn we had the continuity of play was good and the new boys showed they were growing in stature game-on-game which is great to see. We certainly have good strength in depth with our large squad.

The team huddled up and the coaches banged the drum of winning the rucks and clearouts. Speaking of drums and Tom-Toms the man of the match awards were given to Orgy in the forwards and Hilly in the backs.

For those of you still trying to spot my one deliberate mistake it was at the start of the first game. As we all know Jedd is 4ft 1” and not 4 ft 2”.

And that’s all folks…..fun coaching next week. Will the kids gang up on the parents? Will Jenks damage his back again? Will Jonathon wear his white Xmas jumper again and regret it? Orgy certainly learnt his lesson and didn’t wear his Spurs footy hat this week……