Stroud lose a thriller to Tewkesbury

How ironic. We had to travel from hilly Stroud where we had pitch problems to Tewkesbury-under-Severn where normally it’s a flood zone. We were missing a few players. Arthur was either still stuck in LA at an Oscar’s party, or looking after his Mum on Mothers Day, or still recovering from his leg injury.

We were directed to the full size pitch. Half the kid’s eyes lit up at the opportunity to play their full expansive game. The other kids then realised – big pitch = big match report. Keyan had already complained that last weeks match report was too long and he had resorted to technology to help him read it. An audio translation package was great apart from pronouncing his name as Cayenne, as in the Pepper. At this stage Dave suddenly showed an interest and wondered if we were getting served curry instead of hotdogs. Stu then piped up he used technology to help him read the match reports as well. In his case though it was just searching for the word ‘Stu’ or ‘Evans’ – after openingly admitting doing a Search/Replace operation beforehand to change Dave/Keyan/Will/Arthur etc to ‘Stu’.

To respect the kids wishes for a shorter match report I have investigated this new fangled Twitter phenomenon and come up with the following 140 character masterpiece at #Stroud-U12’s-are-ace

“Stroud U12’s show great resilience to come back from an early Tewks try to take the lead, but at the end lose to an unlucky try. #Next-Time”

For the traditionalists (aka the parents) here is an extended version:

Quarter 1

Tewks kicked off short. In quick succession Stroud were penalised twice which resulted in a Tewks lineout close to Stroud try line. They won this easily and quickly passed the ball out to the right wing. Their player straightened his run and scored a quick try. The resultant conversion was missed giving Tewks a 5-0 lead.

Will kicked off and Tewks knocked on. Stroud won the scrum with a great push. Hilly got the ball out quickly to the backs who attacked to the right. Alex joined the line and took the ball on into a ruck. Liam took the ball on well and a well supporting Cayenne Pepper, sorry Keyan, took the ball on and challenged the line. The forwards won quick ball and the ball came out to Dave who dived for the line and we thought he had scored. As he touched down the ball bounced out and Tewks kicked straight to Alex who ran the ball back down the left wing but as we thought we’d score this way the ref called it back for Dave's apparent knock-on.

Tewks won the scrum and kicked high. Will took the ball really well and Stroud won the ruck with strong support from Stoner and Mr T. Hilly did a great job of digging out the ball. Stroud attacked to the left and Dave was unlucky to miss Archie with a long pass. Tewks won the lineout and kicked deep. The ball bounced around a few times and the game slowed down with both teams taking it in turns to attack and defend. Stout defending by Alex and Finn forced a turnover and Tewks were penalised. Will did a perfect kick to touch. Orgy did a great throw and Stroud attacked from the lineout. This time Finn was unlucky to knock on.

Tewks had a scrum that they won and made a number of probing runs – Joe did a great job with one of the tackles and Mr T also slowed up strong Tewks runs. Tewks were threatening another try but Archie saw the threat and timed his intercept to perfection and ran the ball back half the length of the pitch. Just as he was caught with a good tackle great support up the inside from Stu materialised with the war cry ‘Like Father, Like Son’. The ref somehow managed to eject Stu from the field of play and award Tewks a scrum that they won. They kicked deep and Alex knocked on. Tewks won their scrum and this time Dave was in with a strong tackle. Tewks attacked down the blindside on the right wing but an alert Keyan tackled the player out of play. Tewks stole the lineout and attacked left but good tackling with Stoner and Orgy forced the player out of play. Stroud won the lineout this time and Will kicked for touch. Tewks won the lineout but knocked on in contact during a good Will tackle. Ref’s whistle went for end-of-quarter and this gave Coach Jo chance to settle down the players and remind them to stick to the basics and just relax and play their normal game.

Quarter 2

Will kicked off and Tewks gpt held up in a maul with sub Jedd imposing himself straightaway.
The next few phases of plays were messy with alternating scrums and knock-ons and turnovers. The highlight was Will charging down a kick which forced another Tewks kick that Alex ran back well and set up a ruck that Callum and Stoner helped win. In the next phase Stroud were penalised though as they pressured the Tewks line. Tewks kicked for touch and won the lineout and again kicked deep. Finn picked up the ball and attacked well but was held up in a maul. Tewks won the scrum and attacked right but again a Finn tackle and Keyan turnover gave Stroud an attacking choice. Good progress was made with Liam and Stoner but stout Tewks defence forced a turnover and they again kicked deep. This time a retreating Alex caught the ball over his shoulder and attacked the left wing. Joe provided great support and took the ball on. Tewks were penalised and Stroud won the scrum. This time they were unlucky and the ball bounced around on the floor but Alex picked it up and carried on the attack and offloaded to Archie who kept up the pressure.

The game slowed up though and Tewks were given a scrum that they won but Dave showed great technique and forced a tackle and turnover. This released Joe who weaved through a few players. Jedd received the ball and attacked well. A group tackle forced him to the ground and Tewks were penalised. Will did a great penalty kick to touch. Stroud lost the lineout on the Tewks 22 though and Tewks kicked deep again. This time Joe picked up the ball and attacked through the middle. Just as space opened up and he lit the afterburners he was caught with a high tackle and was lucky to not be hurt. Keyan took on the penalty and was slowed up but Callum was in great position to take the pass and keep the attack going. He was slowed up and showed great poise to take the ball to ground and set it back for Mr T and Stoner to then clear out the ruck. Hilly attacked left and Will took the ball on. Just as we thought we’d score Dave was unlucky to receive the pass at the same time as he got tackled so the ball went lose. The ref realised that Callum had been hurt so he blew up for half time.

Quarter 3

Stroud did a few more sub swaps and Tewks kicked off. Sub Jordan showed he was up for the occasion and caught the ball cleanly with his 1st touch. He ran the ball straight back and got slowed up but Lucas gave the attack an almighty shove to keep the momentum going. The maul slowed up and Tewks won the scrum and attacked blindside. They drew the tackler and kicked over his head and attempted to run onto the ball but Alex fell on the bouncing ball and good support from Edgar and Finn gave clean ball to Will for him to kick deep. The Tewks full back did a great run back to the left and a desperate dive tackle by Dave as the try line beckoned forced a knock on. Stroud were proving very resolute in defence and great positional sense – very impressive considering this was their first competitive game on a full size pitch.

Stroud won the scrum and Tewks were penalised for ambushing Hilly as he prepared to launch another attack. Will punished them with a perfect torpedo kick to touch. Stroud lost the lineout on halfway though but Liam put in a good tackle and then Stoner did his customary steal to setup a Keyan and Liam attacking move. Unluckily the ball was knocked on later in the move so Tewks had a scrum but the Stoud pack were imposing themselves on the game and won the ball against the head. Riley received the ball and attacked left. Finn took the ball on and another ruck formed. Riley was again the attacking option and this time the ball came back to Jedd who went on a great run. Play broke down though and Tewks somehow won the ruck and attacked back. Jordan did a great tackle though and forced the player out of play. Stroud won the lineout with a Jedd catch. Keyan took the ball on at pace and ran over a few players. He had outrun the support though and Tewks got the turnover and attacked back themselves. They squeezed through the Stroud line and looked to be in a scoring position but Alex had positioned himself very well and as the player cut past him he dived back and did an ankle tackle that tripped the guy up. Keyan had tracked back well and picked up the ball and ran it back.

The next passage of play was a bit of a blur. We were waiting for penalties to be awarded against Tewks at the ruck but somehow play was allowed to continue and they attacked down the blindside on the left wing and scored in the left corner. The kick was missed leaving the score at 10-0 to Tewks.

Will kicked short and Tewks ran it back but were penalised. Keyan took the tap penalty and again Tewks were penalised. This time Jedd was the battering ram we used. He drew a few players in and then passed to Liam who drifted left. At the perfect time he passed to Dave who straightened his run to score a try while been clattered in the process. He was taken off injured. Will showed great composure to kick the conversion from a wide angle making it 10-7 to Tewks.

Quarter 4

Stroud were going to need to play really well in the last quarter to have a chance of winning the game. The backs were re-jigged with Joe and Finn taking the centre positions. Will kicked off and Tewks knocked on. Stroud won the scrum and Finn attacked down the centre and he was brought down with a high tackle. Keyan took the tap penalty and ran down the right wing, over the Tewks full back and then into the corner. Showing great thinking he then managed to get a bit closer to the posts before touching down. Will again showed no nerves and split the posts with another difficult kick. Stroud now leading 14-10.

Keyan caught the kick-off and ran the ball back but he was held up in the maul. Tewks won the scrum and attacked left but more good defending held them up just short of the line. Stroud managed to turn the ball over and Mr T under great pressure was unlucky to miss his pass to Will which resulted in a Tewks player diving on the loose ball and giving Tewks an easy try which they kicked the conversion to re-take the lead at 17-14.

Stroud didn’t let their tails drop though. Hilly forced a turnover at the next Tewks run back. Tewks were getting desperate and were penalised. Will kicked deep with another perfect touch kick. Stu showed great poise to catch it cleanly and even have time to call for the mark. Then he realised he was a parent and not a player and gingerly gave the ball to Orgy to throw in. Mr T caught the lineout cleanly and set up an attacking platform but Tewks won a turnover and this time attacked through their backs again. They got upto half way and saw a gap at the back so they kicked for the corner. Alex tracked back and got the ball and under pressure from the Tewks winger and centre he faked inside and then turned back outside and put in a low gruber kick that found its way to touch.

Tewks won their lineout but Liam put in another devastating tackle and also showed great prowess to force the turnover. Keyan and Finn took it in turns to attack. Tewks were getting desperate and were penalised again. This time Will missed his only kick of the day but quickly made up for it by tackling the runner. He was injured though and the game stopped while Delia administered more first aid. The game restarted with a Tewks scrum and win and they attacked blindside left. Alex was waiting though and stopped the attack with another strong tackle. From the ruck Tewks attacked right and were just about to score when Riley’s head came to the rescue. He showed immense bravery to dive in and put in a great tackle on the line and force the Tewks player to be held up. The game was stopped as Riley and the pole-axed Tewks player spent a few minutes receiving treatment. The ref decided time was up and the players formed tunnels and showed great camaraderie for the great spirit the tough game was played in. For a large pitch with plenty of space their was lots of hard contact and resulting injuries. Instead of it being a try-fest with large areas of pitch to cover it had turned into a defensive battle with all the players putting their body on the line – or in Riley’s case his head as well!

Final Score: Tewkesbury 17 – 14 Stroud

Wrap Up

Team debrief was held and the coaches praised the whole team for their resilience to stay in the game and get stronger as the game went on. It was our best performance of the year against a very strong Tewks team that had won the County Cup when at U10’s age group. Defence was outstanding by everyone. The strength in depth with the subs coming on showed how everyone has come on leaps and bounds this year - new and existing players. Although we had lost we had learnt so much from the game and give us great confidence for next season. If we had started a bit quicker or had some of the reffing decisions go our way we could have easily won this game.

Man of the match for the Forwards: Went to Liam for all round play and encouraging the team. Special mention to Lucas.
Man of the match for the Backs: Stu – then someone pointed out that it had to be awarded to a child on the pitch, and not a 40+ parent. Riley’s head got special mention for stopping a try. Award finally given to Alex for his full back play on the large pitch and positional awareness.

After the game it was noted that Mrs Organ had a black eye. Orgy denied it was his pre-breakfast line-out practice to blame. Witnesses declared that Stu might have been to blame when fighting to catch the ball, then eventually Sam declared it was a netball injury. These ladies can be vicious in a non-contact sport. Perhaps we should sign them up to play rugby……

Everyone left to go home to dump their dirty kit on the floor and patch up their sore bodies and demand food to replenish the energy expended. So much for a quiet Mother’s Day……