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U12 Match Data 2003-4
5th October U12’s vs Congleton (Home) Won 42-0
Northwich enjoyed their first outing of the season as comfortable winners with 6 tries against Congleton. Congleton started with a few confident runs after a win against Marple last week but the experience and strenght of Northwich showed once they had dusted off the cobwebs after not playing since April. A number of good running moves resulted in tries from Robin Houghton,James Underhill,Jack Thompson and new recruit Warwick. All tries were converted. Return to fixtures
19th October U12’s vs Wilmslow (Home) Lost 35-14
Despite missing a few keys players Northwich played well. This weeks team, with many inexperienced newcomers playing out of position rallied in the second half, after missing key tackles in the first half. A few storming runs and two tries from Phil Williams and James Underhill showed that Northwich could easily match Wilmslow but ran out of time to catch up with Wilmslow's total.
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26th October U12’s vs Caldy/Collegiate (Away) Won 24-7
As both Caldy & Collegiate had lost players due to half term holidays the U12's played a combined Caldy/Collegiate team. Northwich also without some key players though played very well only losing a single try in the early part of the game. Northwich were unable to get continuity of play often losing out in ruck or mauls but eventually the pressure on the Caldy/Collegiate finally started to tell and led to four tries from Ben Jones (2),Phil Williams and Chris Bridle.
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23rd November U12’s vs Manchester (Away) Draw 7-7 & Leigh Won 22-7
Last week was a great game against Manchester, 2 very evenly matched sides and a good ref. It was a contest all the way with Manchester handling the ball well and putting pressure on the Northwich defence out wide. Manchester got the first score which they converted and Northwich realised that they had a game on. The good handling of Manchester forced the play wide and meant the Northwich wingers had to make more tackles than they had needed to produce for some while. However, they were generally up to the task, Lauren putting a great hit in on one Manchester centre and Matthew George putting in a great try saving tackle as he cleaned their winger into touch only yards from his own line. Northwich’s forwards were guilty of letting Manchester get the advantage at the point of breakdown and although they got through a deal of work in rucking and mauling they never really got on top of this part of the game. The scrum was solid, but missed the strike of hooker Mike Jones who was off sick. In the line out Phil Williams showed his presence and skill winning both his own ball and much of Manchester’s.
In the second half Northwich were playing up the slope, but the resolve of the players not to be beaten showed through and eventually Robin Houghton put Ben Jones in for a try and James Underhill kicked the points to level the match. The final whistle brought a huge round of applause from the assembled parents, who were thoroughly entertained by some great rugby. 7 points each was probably a fair result, though I thought we maybe just had the edge in the second half and a little bit of luck would have seen us home.
Leigh had turned up one short and as such looked to borrow a player from Northwich for the Manchester fixture and visa versa. Matthew Wright volunteered to help out Leigh and played Hooker for most of the game, switching to loose head prop for the final few minutes. A valiant effort by Leigh was overcome by the handling of Manchester.
The start of the Leigh game against Northwich saw a very unfamiliar side taking to the field in Black & Gold. 9 of the 12 starters were new players, some only in their second week with the club. However, marshalled by James Underhill and supported by Jack Thompson at full back the guys soon warmed to their tasks. Clearly some of the finer technical points were missing, but for shear guts and effort it was an excellent half. The difference at the halftime whistle was just 2 points as James Underhill missed the conversion of his own try that would have squared the match. The second half saw a bit more “heavy artillery” return to the side and soon Northwich, now playing down hill started to make the pressure tell. Ben Jones ripped through the Leigh defence to open the second half scoring, Robin was asked to take the conversion, but sadly hit the upright.
With Chris and Phil returned to the forwards the play was all going Northwich’s way and twice more Ben Jones broke the line and crossed to score, however, the first of these was disallowed after he took too long to ground the ball and was tackled in the goal area and subsequently lost the ball. James Underhill converted the try that was allowed. In the dying minutes Robin Houghton, benefiting from some well worked ball from the forwards went on a mazy run and snuck in at the corner. Unfortunately a Leigh player took umbrage at this and had to be restrained, the final whistle went and amid the excitement we forgot to take the final conversion.
So the scores for the day were 7 – 7 and 22 – 7, all in all a good result.
I would like to thank Manchester RUFC for a great morning’s rugby and we hope to be able to host them back at Northwich before the end of the season.
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30th November U12’s vs Crewe & Nantwich (Home) Won 28-19
Northwich welcomed Crewe and Nantwich to Moss Farm on Sunday for a well contested game. C&N had bolstered their side since our previous encounters and proved that they had a very capable set of forwards, putting Northwich under considerable pressure for some time early in the first half. The first score went to the visitors when Northwich were forced to kick, but the clearance kick failed to find touch and the Northwich defence was outflanked by some good running from the C&N winger. The kick was good and C&N took the lead 7- 0. Northwich came back into the play and some strong work by Chris Bridle and Phil Williams got the pack going forward. The ball was put wide to the wing where Lauren Bickerton proved that she should not be under estimated as she ran the ball up and made about 15 yards whilst in heavy contact. Northwich continued to press the blind side and despite the calls from the crowd to come open, Robin Houghton went on a sniping run again up the blind side, crashing through the defence to put Northwich’s first points on the board, he converted his own try. 7 – 7
The score seemed to lift the home side and they started to move the ball about more. Learning from an earlier line out where a tap down had got messy and lost us the ball and many yards, Phil Williams caught and set the ball beautifully, Robin Houghton whipped out the pass to James Underhill who drew his man and put Ben Jones into the gap. Never needing second bidding when the try line is in sight, Ben carved through the defence to score, Robin Houghton again adding the extras. Northwich really started to feel the wind in their sails now and only some heroic defence from C&N stopped Chris Bridle from going over in the centre of the field and then shortly after a crunching cover tackle put him into touch just a yard short of a score.
Half time came and as usual the coaches had to try and work out what swaps could and should be made. A task that gets harder as all the children compete for places.
C&N obviously had a good team talk at the half as they came out fired up and camped in the Northwich half for some time, eventually the pressure told as they created a well worked push over try. The kick was slotted and despite all of Northwich’s earlier superiority, we were back to all square.
However, Northwich were not for rolling over and as they gained the ball they started to work the ball into the wider channels where their runners found more space. Lauren popped up on the end of a fine backs move; finally she had a bit of space to show us her pace. The C&N lads were left grasping at air as she sped into the corner, much to the delight of her coach and her father. The kick was converted and we were 21 – 14 up.
Then the wheels nearly fell off!
A well judged restart kick found Northwich in two minds whether to take the ball on the full or let it bounce. C&N, who had been up rapidly all day were quick to put the pressure on and in a desperate attempt to find someone to take charge of the ball, it was eventually thrown back into our own goal area where it was knocked forward and the surging C&N forwards pounced on the advantage and were awarded the try. Northwich were thunderstruck.
However, the kick was missed, so we still held a slender lead, but the visitors were starting to turn tetchy and the decisions were starting to go against us, so you could feel that 2 points wasn’t a comfortable cushion.
Having finally worked out that there was little joy to be had in locking horns with a competent C&N pack, the guys started to move the ball wider more often. James Underhill popped up at outside centre taking a good pass from Ben Jones, but facing a 2 on 1 defence that was closing him down rapidly. He quickly spotted that there was no cover behind this line and put in a beautifully weighted chip and won the foot race to the corner to touch it down. Only to have the try disallowed for apparently knocking it on over the line….. Where is the video ref when you need him!
So it was scrum 5 and again Northwich came up with the ball and this time Undies appeared to make the line with the ball securely under his body, but the ref decided it was short – oh the frustration.
From a couple of infringements, C&N started to peg Northwich back into their own half, but a poorly thrown C&N lineout went astray, Northwich recovered the ball and again spread it wide quickly. Lauren Bickerton took the ball at pace on the wing and sped for the corner. This time though the C&N defence were awake to the danger and she was bundled into touch just 5 metres short.
With the clock ticking away it was more grind from the C&N forwards, but their backs spilled the ball and Northwich snaffled it up. Matthew George came steaming into the line from full back and pounced on a short pass and out sprinted the opposition for a clinching touchdown. James Underhill slotted the extras.
So the final score was Crewe & Nantwich 19 Northwich 28.
A good test for Northwich and both sides knew they had been in a game!
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25th January U12’s vs Winnington Park & Sandbach (Winnington Park) Lost 7-0 Lost 19-14
Winnington Park Lost 7-0
This was a game of much rivalry between the two neighbours with school team mates facing off against each other for club. It was always going to be a tight match and on a heavy, narrow pitch, so it proved. Park were, as expected strong up front and rucked and mauled well, leaving Northwich initially with lots of tackling to do and struggling to get hands on quality ball to be able to work with. When the Northwich 3/4's did get the ball they were very keen to test the oppositions first up tackling rather than spreading the ball wide to release the talents on the wing. However, Northwich stuck gamely to their task and started to work the spaces and spent much of the half threatening the Park line. However, the match started to take on a very staccato feel with the ref feeling it necessary to blow up very frequently. The first half ended without a score, but with Northwich having probably just edged the half in terms of looking most likely to score.
In the second half the flow of the game became worse as Northwich were continually pinged by the referee for infringments. This lead to Park getting spells of serious pressure close to the Northwich line. The Northwich defence held firm and finally they were able to break out and started to move and run the ball. With some slick handling and skillful footwork Northwich released James Underhill over the 'Park line for what looked like probably the only score of the game. However, yet again Northwich were thwarted by the referee who had seen a forward pass somewhere in the final move. Northwich heads were falling as they realised that this was not destined to be their day. Finally following a string of penalties close to the Northwich line, Park broke blindside off a scrum, slipped a tackle and were in for what did prove to be the only score. Northwich threw everything at 'Park in the last couple of minutes yet despite being close to the line, they never managed to get the equalising score.
Sandbach Lost 19-14
With both teams fielding development squads, it was always going to be interesting to see how the new guys would shape up. The game was very evenly balanced and both teams played good rugby, especially considering that a number of players had only started playing the game in Sept. The back divisions of both sides lacked shape and structure, but efforts were made by both teams to move the ball from the point of contact and look for space. Well into the first half Sandbach attacked down the Northwich wing and succeded in breaking the tackle which opened up the way for the first score, which went unconverted.
At half time there were a couple of changes made, the most effective was to bring in an experienced scrum half in the shape of Will Woodhead. Suddenly the backline had shape and also Will showed his trademark step and go as he shot through for 2 tries in quick succession, both of which were converted. Sensing problems, Sandbach started to bring back on more exerienced players to stop the rot. Northwich resisted the temptation to do likewise for most of the second half and in general the guys held up well. However, in the end some slack tackling by Northwich allowed Sandbach to recover the initiative with two converted tries of their own. Some extra reinforcements were brought on at the end, but with only a couple of minutes on the clock it was too big an ask to rescue the game.
19 - 14 was how it ended, however, it was a very creditable performance and a number of the development squad are showing signs of putting down markers for selection into the starting line up.
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21st February U12’s vs Ormskirk (Home) Lost 64-14
Northwich had a few key players out on holiday but were still outclassed by a very clinical Ormskirk. Given toom much room to run by Northwich their backs soon exposed Northwich's weaknesses to run in 7 tries. Northwich rallied in the second half with a try from Jack Thompson and some solid forward play but they had a wake up call just in time for the Cheshire Cup.
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29th February U12’s vs Chester (Away) Lost 33-10 & 14-0
Northwich found Chester a pretty tough outfit up front and they had scored before Northwich really warmed up. The B game was much more evenly played with some good performaces from Matthew Sheppard & James Underhill.
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14th March U12’s Cheshire Cup Semi Finalists
The Under 12's reached the semi finals after good wins over Congleton, Ashton-on-Mersey and Caldy then faced local rivals Winnington Park. Always a closely fought game it was a brillant individual try from James Underhill in the opening minutes which in the end put Northwich into the semi final. Winnington Park crossed the line a number of times but the referee only awarded one try and so the scores were even at full time. However as first scorers Northwich went though to play Lymm in a replay of last years final.
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21st March U12’s vs Crewe & Nantwich Draw 35-35
“What a great game!” - “Best game I’ve seen all season” - “very enjoyable” .Just three of the quotes heard as the crowd departed from the pitch side having seen Crewe & Nantwich and Northwich battle out a 35 points a piece draw over 3 x 20 sessions of great rugby.C&N kicked off and it was painfully obvious that they were the team not suffering from an hours less sleep last night. They followed up the kick off at tremendous speed and the Northwich catcher wondered what had hit him as first ball and then player arrived in quick succession. C&N’s turnover ball was quickly worked wide and despite some last ditch defence from Northwich C&N squeezed over in the corner.This served as a wake up call for the Northwich team and they quickly shook off the cobwebs and went on the hunt themselves. Ball was well worked from contact situations and the point of attack kept switching. However, Northwich contrived to get turned over at critical times and it was clear that C&N were going to hit them hard and wide when ever the opportunity arose. This kept both wingers on there toes and caused Lauren Bickerton to have to make some crucial tackles on some big guys.
However, through some determined driving from fly half “Undies” Northwich finally penetrated the C&N defence and equalised the score. The remainder of the first 20 was a forwards dominated battle for possession until right at the end of the first half when Northwich worked the ball nicely along the line, created the overlap and scored in the corner.With 20 + players in the squad and only 12 on the pitch there was a rash of substitutions, but that did nothing to weaken Northwich’s attack as they put 2 more try’s on the board in quick sucession. Full credit to C&N though as they stuck to their task and levelled out the score by the end of the second 20 through some fine handling and direct running.The injury count was growing by the end of the second 20 for Northwich and some of the cutting edge had dulled as Crewe looked like stealing the game as they took the lead deep into the final 20. However, stung by going behind, Northwich upped the ante and a driving maul reminiscent of Leciester saw them drive half the length of the pitch. Only stopping when adjudged to have hit touch. From the resulting line out Northwich stole the ball and worked it along the line for Tuzza to score in the opposite corner.Tensions were high going into the last 5 mins as Northwich laid siege to the Crewe & Nantwich line. Dogged defence was met by committed attack and there were some heavy hits as Northwich threw themselves in to claim the game.
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4th April U12’s vs Lymm Won 31-28
Easter Holidays, the temptation to be doing other things rather than playing rugby was clearly too much for most of the squad, only 10 turned up! However, sometimes in life things happen that are just fortuitous and so it was this week. Following a little recruiting from our chairman, we welcomed 3 new players to the squad, all from the Verdin High School in Winsford. As luck would have it we were short 2 forwards and a back, and that was exactly what turned up. So that was just perfect and the new guys were thrown into the thick of it from the off. Northwich had a basic 13, so rather than leave one person on the bench, we agreed to play 6 man scrums, with both sides playing a number 8
New Scrum Half Thomas, (instantly nick named "splosh" by the wags of the team, due to his highlights) started in the 9 position with Robin moving to 13. Ryan and Josh fitted in at prop with Matt Wright hooking, Matt Sheppard joined Sam Connell in the second row with Phil Williams playing No 8. Undies, Ben, Robin, Steers, Jack T and Tom Curwell made up the rest of the backline.
So with a scratch squad we trooped on to play Cheshire Champions and our nemesis in the last 2 Cheshire Cups - Lymm. They were also short a few players as they could only field 18 out of their squad of 40!
Lymm kicked off and soon the pattern of play was established, Lymm kept ball alive very well, drove in hard and tight and then, released the back line. Northwich's defence was soon under pressure and Lymm were on the board with 2 converted tries in quick succession. Northwich started to get some go forward, from their forwards in the second part of the first third (we'd agreed to play 3 x 20 min thirds) and were unfortunate not to have scored when Phil drove for the line. However, it was Lymm that came up with the next score and at the whistle, Northwich looked all at sea 21 points adrift.
At the break, Robin was restored to scrum half and Steers came into centre, with Thomas moving out to the wing. Matty Shppard and Matt Wright swapped positions and we were off for the second third. There must have been something in the water at the break, as Northwich looked far more purposeful in the second session, new prop Ryan, started to carry the ball into the attack and go forward ball, Northwich started to look more like their old selves. Some terrific forward drives, started to see Northwich take more time in the Lymm half and finally when a drive had been held up just short of the line, Northwich broke off the side and Matt Wright fed Ben, who powered over from short range to score. The try was converted.
Lymm kicked off and the ball found its way into Ryan's hands again, he powered off up feild and sucked a whole pile of defenders in to him, before slipping the ball to Robin. Robin spotted a gap and went for it, with support out on his right, there were lots of screams for him to pass the pall, however, the lad had faith in his own ability, he stepped through a tackle, stood the full back up and romped in for a great individual try. Again the try was converted and the score at 14 - 21 looked much better.
Lymm kicked off again, this time the ball was coming down short and whilst most of the Northwich team stood and watched it falling short, Ryan shot forwards and gathered it in, with out breaking step he ploughed into the Lymm defenders, who had been caught a bit flat footed by the short kick off and were, along with the majority of the Northwich team already thinking about the next restart. Fortunately Undies was awake to the possibilities and he appeared on Ryans shoulders just as the big guy was starting to loose momentum. With a little dummy undies was away up the blind side and once he'd stepped the winger there was no one at home and Northwich were back on level terms.
The spring was back in the Northwich step now and they started to dominate possession and field position another great drive wsa held up just short of the Lymm line, however the ball found Robin and with tacklers going in low he went high over the top and was able to get the ball down. Ben stepped up for the conversion, but pulled it wide.
So into the final third, just 5 points to the good, but the mood in the team was much more positive. From staring at a 21 point deficit they had just scored 26 unanswered points.
The final session was hard fought with Lymm working the ball skillfully along their backlines and threating wide. However, hard work by the Northwich defence kept them from getting too close. Northwich were looking for the killer blow but could not get clean ball out of the contact area. Undies cleaned up a bobbling ball and Lymms defence were up quick to cover the backlines attack, but rather than feed the back line, Undies went back to the blind side and powered his way over the line despite some intense and intellegent cover tackling from Lymm.However, this kick was also missed.
With 5 mins left on the clock, Northwich were desperate to hang on for the win, but Lymm are not Cheshire champs for 2 years running without good reason and they piled the pressure on.Northwich held them out for the majority of the time, but at the death a couple of sloppy tackles allowed Lymm to break through for a final score, right on the full time whistle.
So final score was Lymm 28 Northwich 31.
It was another great game, played in very good spirits. Northwich were pleased to get revenge on their old adversary and we all look forwar to our next encounter.
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18th April U12’s vs Wirral Lost 7-0
A heavy overcast morning saw us roll out to face Wirral. Maybe the state of the weather reflected with the kids or maybe they were still suffering from an excess of Easter eggs, but they were not up for this one.Wirral on the other hand were keen to get stuck in and whilst Northwich were still waking up to the task, Wirral had pressed home their attack and got an early score.This seemed to rouse Northwich from their slumber somewhat, however despite Wirral having a considerably lighter pack than Northwich, but they rucked and mauled far better, though they always gave best in the scrums.The result was Northwich backs were starved of ball for long periods and even when they did get it the Wirral players were up so quick it was generally a tough job to use it. There were some good individual performances, but they were just that – individual. The cohesion that had seen them pass Lymm 2 weeks previous was lost as the half back axis failed to function properly in the first half.Some positional changes were made in the first half and that seemed to steady the ship, but the few chances to score were snuffed out by poor decision making and good tackling from Wirral. The second half was scoreless and so it finished 7 – 0 to Wirral.We then played a development side game, which Wirral took 21 – 0. Again the Northwich forwards were all at sea in the rucks and mauls and Wirral capitalised on the extra possession.
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