Colts go missing from scoreboard in the 2nd half

A lovely crisp November day awaited our visitors Ledbury to Fromehall. The Colts were in re-organise mode again but that was the story most weeks as we adapted to the player resources available. Some of the lads were away at GRFU County training but we still had a squad of 19. The main decision was how to re-organise the back division and who would wear the #12 shirt with its injury history. Alex didn’t step back quick enough so he was given the shirt and Dougie went back to #15.

The captain’s armband this week was awarded to Stoner – hoping for a quiet game and only the occasional chats in the refs ear. The ref was called Mike we think. Must have been Mike as he was mic’d up with his 5 assessment mates and video recording kit from GRFU. Or was it a new World Rugby regulation change and an experiment to have 5 TMO’s help the ref ?

Forwards: Stoner, Freddie, Ryan, Rhys, Darion, Joe, Freddie, Mackenzie
Backs: Lewis, Myles, Alex, Arthur, Beau, Jonty, Dougie
Subs: Ben, James, Callum, Joe

Ledbury kicked off and Joe returned the ball well but Ledbury quickly earnt a penalty and kicked to the corner. They won their subsequent lineout, set up a drive and scored in the corner with their big pack showing their likely mode of attack. A great conversion from wide and Stroud were down 0-7 in less than a minute.

Stroud pressured well at the deep kickoff and forced a turnover that then became a penalty on their opponents 22. They took the scrum option and held their own in the battle of the big bodies. The ball came out to Beau who kicked into space. Ledbury kicked back but that just gave Myles a running start with the ball. The backs quickly moved the ball left with smart hands and passes. Dougie came into the line at speed and powered up the wing. A lovely offload inside to winger Jonty looked to be the opening try buyt Ledbury held firm on their line…..momentarily…. 30 seconds later Joe Rhino’d his way over from close range with 7 forward mates attached to his body. A great conversion from Myles out wide levelled the score at 7-7. Game on. Fast backs and forward power looked to be the order of the day for both teams. It was going to be a cricket score at this rate.

Stroud won a penalty on the next kickoff run back and took a lineout on halfway. Darion won it well in the air, then Rhys went on a pounding run until the refs whistle stopped his progress. The TMO committee (aka GRFU assessment team on the side) debated between themselves and decided it was holding on and not tackler release penalty. A penalty we would see called a lot this afternoon in the melee of breakdown competition.

Ledbury kicked to the Stroud 22. This time Freddie was lifted and stole the lineout ball but it was all to avail as Stroud knocked on in the next phase of play. A scrum penalty was earnt and Dougie’s cannon of a boot knocked it into the Ledbury half. This time Ledbury stole the throw-in and with a gap behind the Stroud backs Ledbury kicked into the space and their pacey winger put pressure on the retreating Stroudie's. A cruel bounce thwarted the hack to touch and instead left an easy pickup for Ledbury to score the next try. The conversion was missed and Stroud were in arrears again.

A perfectly hanging kickoff from Myles was an invitation to compete and Stroud were unlucky to knock-on. Ledbury won their scrum and attacked right through a combination of looping moves and fast hands. They looked to have found a gap but Alex’s head dislodged the ball in the tackle. He then got a knee to the head for his troubles and that was his game finished with a HIA. The #12 jinx had hit again. At least his nose was intact unlike George’s. The subs all went hiding. Joe was the 1st to be found so was given the #12 shirt and told not to get injured.
He heeded the advice for about 20 seconds as the forwards packed down….then he took the crash ball into contact from the Stroud scrum victory. Ouch…..but he jumped up ready for the next injury opportunity…..

Freddie was next to go bouncing through multiple contacts as his trademark running style proved to be a challenge to haul down. Another penalty though to Ledbury and they were back into the Stroud 22. This time an errant throw gave Stroud the lineout on their own line that they managed to win under great competition. Dougie’s clearance kick was charged down but an alert Myles recovered the ball before Ledbury could score again. Ledbury had a great scoring opportunity from an attacking scrum on the 5 but the Stroud pack were immense and won a penalty. The ball was kicked deep and missed touch, but the poor Ledbury winger who kept the ball alive just got poleaxed by Beau for his troubles. Ledbury quickly reformed and went on a driving maul for 30 metres. More players got sucked in to try and slow it down. #12 Joe went innovative and stuck his hand into some ground divots to act as a brake. It worked and Stroud earnt the maul holdup and a Stroud scrum restart. Joe earnt a trip to A&E as he jogged off the pitch looking at his fractured finger that was at 45% to rest of hand. The #12 jinx had struck again. We were out of back replacements so the coaching staff went innovative and decided to retire the #12 shirt from any future games and instead put flanker Freddie out there for rest of game. The GRFU Assessors consulted their rule book. Regulation 24, section 153, appendix Y2 denied Stroud this option. But we adapted to the adaption and declared that #7 shirt + 5 good fingers = 12 so play on!

The remainder of the 1st half was punctuated by lineouts and scrums mainly with equal territory share. A good attack from Stroud was led by Mackenzie at 8 smashing up the middle, Jonty and Lewis combined well to keep the ball up the left flank. Then Ben got the ball into the 22 but Stroud were again penalised for holding on. Ledbury ran it out but the ball went to ground and Mackenzie hacked it on and gave chase as another try scoring opportunity presented itself but Ledbury defended well. They kicked deep and this gave Beau and Arthur space to work some attacking magic and another try looked to be on. Darion went on a charge and Ledbury's defense was creaking. Stroud kept the ball alive with the forwards but then the refs whistle went for another knock-on and the half time break.

Half Time: Colts 7 – 12 Ledbury

The game was finely poised. Could Stroud get the next points and take control again? They had the wind behind them so that was going to help.

The 2nd half started promising. Beau caught the kickoff and went on a run/kick/recover move but the ball was jarred loose in the Ledbury 22. Ledbury won the scrum and kicked to halfway. Stroud's lineout wasn’t straight so Ledbury took the scrum option. They worked another backs move that Freddie and Arthur nullified with good tackling, but the inevitable happened and the ball came out to their winger who weaved up the line and scored under the posts. Easy kick and 19-7 to Ledbury.

Stroud needed to score quickly. They competed well at the next breakdown and Stoner won a turnover penalty. Stroud got into the Ledbury 22 and camped in there for the next 5 minutes – scrums, lineouts and penalties. Good runs from Joe and Darion. Arthur looping left but Ledbury still held firm. Illegally. So Stroud had an attacking scrum close to the try line. Somehow Ledbury pushed us off the ball and launched an attack from deep. 90 metres later their winger had avoided 3 desperation tackles and crossed the line for a stunning score. Kick missed with Ledbury now taking control at 24-7.

Still Stroud had a chance……again the next 5 minutes was controlled by us and we worked our way into the Ledbury half. Myles went for a diagonal kick and all Ledbury could do was run it into touch close to their line. Ledbury stole the Stroud throw though and kicked deep and kick tennis developed for a few phases. Ledbury earnt a penalty and again tried kicking deep but the ball was kept alive by Jonty who did well to keep it in play, and inside pass to set the next kick was the right idea but Ledbury read it well and charged down the kick and ran it in for another try and conversion. 31-7 was the lead now.

The match reporter was looking for a way to spin the match report into a positive message and another great Stroud comeback victory after the Minch heroics 2 weeks earlier. The GRFU assessors agreed that “next try wins” was preferable to a 2 hour 2nd half so the message was passed onto the ref and players. That must have been why he spent so much time explaining messages to the 2 captains as Ledbury wouldn’t accept our proposal. So much for a quiet game for captain Stoner.

To Stroud’s credit their heads didn’t drop though. Still players went looking for the ball. Mackenzie had a big run swatting away defenders as if they were flies. Arthur and Freddie worked the ball well through the centres. Callum had a great run. The scrum was working well giving #8 Mackenzie pick options from the base. The lineout was a work in progress with Laurie missing and Freddie in the backs. Ryan won the next throw close to the Ledbury line. Ben had a good run. Stoner too smashed into contact but couldn’t get over the whitewash. Another Stroud penalty and Darion went tap and go. Somehow Ledbury held him back but James and Freddie supported well to win the ruck. Ledbury were combative throughout and still had enough energy to stop Mackenzie's next run. Ledbury were holding firm so Stroud went out to the backs and Lewis excellent passing at 9 throughout the game looked to have set Stroud off again. Jonty was denied a try in the corner with a great cover tackle. The ball quickly came back left and prop Ben was waiting to repeat his Minch try-scoring heroics. He got past 2 tacklers and threatened to score but Ledbury defended stoutly and earnt another penalty.

Another long kick missed touch and Dougie kept it alive. “Next try wins” as he charged into contact. Freddie then kept the ball alive with a swerving run. An offload to Arthur and he spun around like his dance moves of old. CRUNCH ! as he got levelled by a Ledbury rib breaker. Stroud earnt a penalty but missed touch. Ledbury ran it back up the middle and in the next breakdown the refs whistle went again. The players were working out who the penalty was awarded to but Ledbury took advantage and a quick tap and sprint up the middle was the last play of the game. The last words uttered as the player dived over the line was “Last try wins”. OK you win. Easy kick and game over.

Full Time: Colts 7 – 38 Ledbury

So a disappointing 2nd half but at least we only came 2nd and not 3rd!. Also didn’t get any more injuries! Plenty of learning opportunities to work on. It was also only a friendly. Well played Ledbury in the forwards and their backs. We look forward to a return fixture in 2022 and a competitive league fixture!

Everyone went off to the clubhouse to enjoy the catering of the kitchen staff. Ledbury had brought a sizeable contingent of parents and players so the bar made a good profit and everyone went home happy.

Special mention to the Ledbury players/coaches for keeping the changing rooms so clean and offering to brush up everywhere, plus also their medic who spent most of her time attending to our players!

Next week another home game vs Wootton. Lets get back to winning ways.