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U13 Match Reports 2004-5
3rd October U13 vs Ormskirk (Home) Lost
U13s were beaten by a much better side by quite a large score. The result did not reflect the effort from body and soul that the entire team put in compared to last weeks slow start to the season. Ormskirk say they haven't lost in more than three years and the quality of their game showed only when their backs got the ball. The Northwich pack showed great resilience and strength against the much bigger and more experienced Ormskirk winning the ball more often from set play and driving hard when caught in the maul. James Turrell and Ryan repeatedly battered the Ormskirk forwards and deserved the praise they were given at the end. Of the backs James Underhill continued to show promise as fly half kicking when there was no way through the tough Ormskirk defence. Unfortunately the Ormskirk full back was almost untouchable when in full flight. When Ormskirk did kick to get out of trouble Matthew George at full back collected safely and ran the ball straight back at the advancing attack.The score is unimportant, what is important, is the giant step that the team has made since last week. If this continues next weeks match against Wirral should hold no fear for this fast improving team.
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17th October U13 vs Crewe & Nantwich (Home) Won 27-26
Report from coach Ken Houghton
These 2 teams had fought out a very competitive draw at the end of last season, so the touchline was prepared for some close and entertaining rugby.
At the kickoff, Northwich were still asleep and allowed a fired up C&N outfit to reclaim the kickoff ball and place them under pressure in their own 22. Within a few phases C&N had crossed the line and despite the knock on in grounding the ball, the try was awarded but the extras were spurned.
From this point, Northwich dominated the possession for the rest of the first third. After being camped in the C&N 22 for most of the time, they finally drove the forwards in to score. The score would have come much sooner had the backs seen the ball more often. However, on one of the few occasions that the backs saw the ball within 10mts of the line Ben Jones decided to cut back into the traffic instead of working the 3 on 2 overlap out wide. The kick was difficult from the 5 meter channel and went wide.
Late in the period Robin Houghton had worked his way wide on the right wing taking the defence with him. Will Woodhead ran a great supporting line on to his inside shoulder, but sadly couldn't hold on to the pass and a certain score went begging. The second third saw Northwich playing up hill and a some changes to squad and positions were quickly bedded in. Northwich again having the larger share of the possession. At a ruck in the C&N half some very blatent and viscious foul play from C&N had the touchline howling and the referee had no option but to bin the offender for 10 mins. Once the 2 injured Northwich players recovered, the ref bizarely awarded a Scrum to Northwich rather than the penalty. However, the ball was worked wide and Robin Houghton sent Mike Baker galloping under the posts for the score and 7 points. With C&N down to 14 men Northwich became more dominant and only some dogged defence on their part and some slack handling in the Northwich backs stopped it from becoming a rout. However, Phil Williams from No.8 powered in on 2 occassions to keep the score board ticking over. A nasty clash of heads between tight head prop Chris Bridle and stand off James Underhill, whilst going in for the same tackle left both lads dazed for awhile. Chris having to retire and seek a check up at the local A&E. James returned to the fray apparently little the worse for his clash.
Restored to 15 men for the last few mins of the 3rd C& N snatched back a score to salvage something from the period.
For the final third, it had originally been agreed that C&N would field 8 girls for the final 20 as they have fledgling girls team that is keen to play. Therefore Northwich made a number of changes to accomodate what was believed to be happening. However as the teams returned to the field, it was clear that the girls had not been brought on and C&N were sporting a full strength side. Northwich with a number of development players and more established players playing out of position, were put under significant pressure in the final third and conceeded a couple of scores. In order to not let the final third ruin what had been a good performance from Northwich a few changes were made deep in the third to strengthen the team and resulted in another try. C&N claimed the last score and by then most of us had totally lost count of the result. The referees score card showed Northwich the victors by a point.
Again these two evenly matched teams had put in a fine competitve game of rugby and entertained the crowd well.
Report from parent Richard Woodhead
This was the U13’s first win this season and was well deserved.
Last year’s encounter against C&N was very close, ending in a draw. This year’s encounter was no different with Northwich managing to hold on to their lead by one point. It was a bruising battle with Chris Bridle having to go to hospital for a check up after being accidentally hit in the head by his own player, and Mike Baker suffering a kicking by a C&N player who rightly sin-binned for the needless attack. However justice was sweet for Mike as he scored three tries.
Northwich started off badly by conceding a try from the C&N kick off. However by the end of 20 minutes Northwich had levelled the score to 5 –5 after Mike Baker thrust himself over the line after some very tight defending by C&N. Prior to that Mike had a try disallowed when it appeared he had legitimately put the ball over the line.
Getting level seemed to spur Northwich into action. The driving which had not been well organised early on in the match got better and it wasn’t long before C&N were having to defend again in front of their own posts. After a scrum 5m out from the C&N line Phil Williams scored for the blacks. William Woodhead converted to make the score 5 –12.
It was shortly after the second Northwich try that C&N had a player sin-binned. Northwich then made sure C&N were suitably punished, by scoring two more tries. The first was from a scrum and a forward run work by Robin Houghton who picked out Mike Baker who scored with an easy try. Score 5-17.
Northwich then dominated the play with sterling work by Richard Collier and James Turrell. It wasn’t long before Phil Williams picked out the ball from the scrum and made a dash for the line. 5- 22.
At this stage of the game the tackling was good, notable mention to Jack Thompson and the tireless James Underhill who stopped some powerful C&N runs down the flanks.
After 40 minutes the game looked comfortably won and coach Ken Houghton made some further team changes. After the second restart C&N scored a break away try to make it 22 –12, having successfully kicked their conversion. The Northwich tackling lacked the determination seen earlier in the game and C&N scored again. 19 – 22. Don’t panic Ken!
The pressure seemed to have been lifted when it appeared that Northwich had scored again. A “try” by Mike Baker was not allowed. The referee who was somewhat behind the play disallowed it. He decided to give the benefit of the doubt to the C&N players who claimed that the ball had been dropped rather than put down. Northwich lads need to make sure they appeal more loudly next time! Justice however was done when Mike Baker scored his third try from the resulting scrum. 19 –27.
Northwich needed that try because in the last stages of the match C&N started to attack and the Northwich tackling could not keep up. A solo run by C&N’s best player broke easily through the black’s defence.
Although the score was very close, Northwich deserved to win the game having dominated the play. Hopefully this is the start of a winning streak.
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6th November U13 vs Whitchurch (Home) Won 22-19
This was an exciting game to watch with Northwich finishing as worthy winners but the result was very close. The lead swapped hands twice and Northwich came from behind. At one stage, Northwich were 12 nil down. The highlights were a hat trick of tries by James Turrell and some outstanding tackles and running by James Underhill. It was a particularly satisfying win considering the blacks were without two of their regular forwards.
Northwich started very poorly and within a few minutes looked to have gone behind when a Whitchurch player ran over the try line but inexplicably dropped the ball. You would have thought that this would have been a sufficient wake up call to the blacks to get their act together but shortly afterwards Whitchurch scored a try when their player ran through at least five Northwich tackles to put down between the posts. The try was converted. Score: 0 – 7.
Northwich then fell further behind when Whitchurch ran down the wing to score their second try. Score: 0 –12.
At this stage of the match it looked like Northwich would be overrun by a Whitchurch side who were quick on the break.
However, credit to the lads they battled away and James Underhill touched down after Northwich won the ball from a line out. William Woodhead missed the conversion.
Northwich thought they had scored again when James Turrell went over the try line but the referee ruled that Whitchurch had held up the ball. It wasn’t long though before he scored his first try by driving solidly over the line. Mathew George missed the conversion. Score: 10 – 12.
By now the lads were gaining confidence and starting to play to their potential. The third try came after a strong run forward from James Underhill who was eventually tacked by Whitchurch. The ball was picked up by William Woodhead, who passed it to James Turrell to score his second try.
William Woodhead converted the try. For the first time Northwich were in the lead. 17 – 12.
The lead changed hands shortly after the restart in the second half. Whitchurch scored a try and converted. Score: 19 –17.
Northwich’s winning try came from a Whitchurch line out. Northwich won the ball and James Turrell drove over to complete his hat trick. Richard Hart failed to convert the try. Score: 22 –19.
By now, Northwich were looking the stronger side and James Underhill nearly scored again when he made a strong dash down the right wing but was pushed into touch just 5m from the try line.
With only a few minutes remaining it was getting very tense. Whitchurch were piling on the pressure to gain that vital winning try and Northwich had to defend on their line. In the end it was Northwich who were relieved to hear the final whistle after the ball was kicked out into touch by Richard Hart.
Report from Ken Houghton.
It was "Lights Camera Action" in more ways than one on Sunday when Whitchurch came to visit. As part of the run up to Northwich's bid for the BBC Community Club of the Northwest, BBC film cameras were seen around the pitches on Sunday.
Neither side had been told before hand, so it was not the cameras that created a sparking and well balanced match. From the start Northwich put themselves under pressure with some poor ball from 9 to 10 and all pre match planning was soon forgotten in a scramble to try and re-dress the situation.
An early scoring opportunity for Whitchurch went begging when, having crossed the tryline they shunned putting the ball down immediately in an attempt to improve the kicking angle. Northwich's defence then bundled them out over the dead ball line. However, things were still going the way of the visitors and shortly after an enforced change of Referee Whitchurch worked their way through the still sleeping defence to score. Extras added Northwich restarted.
Sleepiness seemed to be the order of the day for the defence and after more sustained pressure Whitchurch again crossed the line after a great run from halfway where no fewer than 6 Northwich players failed to execute anything that looked like a tackle. This time the scorer made it under the sticks, much to the concern of his team mates. However, the effort was in vain when the kicker missed the extras.
Whilst the kick was being organised the voice of Robin Houghton could be clearly heard laying into his team trying to get them to wake up and respond. What ever was said by him (and a few parents) seemed to have done the trick as Northwich started to come to life. Underhill started to add some pace to the previously pedestrian attack and the rest of the team seemed to follow his example.
Northwich started to ask questions of the Whitchurch defence and finally fly half Underhill was driven over towards the left hand corner. Woodheads attempted conversion only narrowly missing the target, a good attempt from out wide.
A stong drive by Turrell was defended on the line by Whitchurch, but shortly after the big forward, who was starting some of his old skills and purpose, barged his way in for a score. Matthew George attempting the conversion, without success. With another Northwich score on the stroke of Half Time again from Turrell, Northwich were back in the game.
Early in the second half Whitchurch pulled one back, but a sustained period of pressure from the Northwich forwards saw Turrell thunder in for his hat trick. The willey Whitchurch lads slipped a hand under the ball after it was grounded but the referee had witnessed the grounding and was not to be fooled.Whitchurch, desperate for a win after six consecutive losses through everything at Northwich for the last 5 mins in an attempt to get the winning score however, Northwich held firm as Hart cleared to touch and the sound of the final whistle.
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28th November U13 vs Congleton (Home) Won 46-5 Cheshire Cup – First Round
A bright and cold morning saw Northwich put on a commanding performance against Congleton.
From the kick off, Northwich were straight into the attack mounting strong pressure on a fumbled retrieval. A Congelton knock on lead to scrum on the far right of the pitch, Matt Sheppard came up with the ball and broke blind to score his first try for Northwich.
From the restart, Northwich were quickly back in the Congleton 22, more pressure leading to another scrum. Northwich swapped their back row around with open side flanker Houghton swapping into the number 8 slot. Houghton picked up and flew out of the scrum and burst through the defence to crash over the tryline. However, in his desire to get under the posts his legs crossed the dead ball line and the try was disallowed.
There followed a series of simple errors by Northwich which saw them conceding ground and were soon being pressured in their 22. However, the defence held and finally the backs saw a sniff of the ball and made plenty of ground in a smooth running and passing move. Finally the move ran into touch. The throw favoured the Congelton side of the line, but the ball was gathered in by Turrell who blasted through the cover and was only just stopped short of the line. However, the sigh of relief had hardly escaped the Congelton lips when Turrell was back on the ball and his power and guile paid off as he blew another hole in the defence to score Northwich’s second.
Again George was unfortunate with the conversion.
The third try was a dream score for Bridle as Houghton gave a master class in putting away a 2 on 1 and the big prop found himself on the wing for the easiest of scores.
Another missed kick meant that the score was now 15 – 0.
As the game now started to open up, No 8 Baker started to find some gaps and with his pace it was not long before he was running in the fourth under the sticks. George made sure of this conversion and at 22 – 0 the games was rapidly getting away from Congleton. However, Northwich had not finished and “Rhino” Barlow was the next on the score sheet as his burst of power and speed for the Congleton defence.
At halftime, second row Connell was replaced by Collier, but this did not alter the power of the forwards with Collier making some strong runs.
From a lineout on the Congleton 22 the ball went to ground and as the defence were thinking about gathering it, Houghton fly hacked it on, another deft kick and he just had to drop on the ball to finally get on the score board.
At this point the coaches decided that they wanted to give first timers Ashton (2nd row) and Blears (wing) as well as McCosh (Wing) a run out. Steers, Curwell and Underhill making way for the newcomers. Thompson was pressed into the flyhalf slot with Ben Jones going to full back. However this proved not to be a happy combination with 2 key players taken so far out of position and the loss of Underhills ferocious tackling, Congleton were able to weave their way through 5 or 6 tackles to get on the score board, much to their delight.
This proved a wake up call for Northwich who were starting to take their foot of the gas. Thompson swapped back to his preferred full back roll and Jones took over at fly half.
Northwich were quickly back in their stride with the rangy Baker again putting in a solo try from long range, George getting the conversion.
Another good take from the restart saw Northwich straight back into Congleton’s half and in a rare moment the backs actually got to see the ball and Philips powered towards the sticks, however, it was Ben Jones that became the only back to get on the score sheet today.
So Northwich ran out winners 46 points to 5, a confidence building win, but by no means a polished performance. There was too much spilled ball and a lack of determination at the break down. The ball rarely got cleanly out to the backs, who when the ball did come were still too lateral. However, there were plenty of signs that individually people are starting to take responsibility for the ball and are trying to play as team.
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5th December U13 vs Caldy (Away) Lost 17-15
Northwich appeared at Caldy without 4 of the starting pack from last weeks victory over Congleton and with no reserve forwards at all.
From the kick off Northwich pressured Caldy hard and were only denied a score by a short margin. However, penalty followed penalty and Northwich were marched back up field. for some time the match hung in the balance before Caldy broke the dead lock and opened the scoring. A number of "interesting" refereeing decisions had lead to the position from which Caldy scored from and this served to further the gloom in the Northwich camp. Devoid of the go forward normally delivered by Bridle and Turrell the two missing props, Northwich struggled to gain any quality ball, when ball did come it was too easily surrendered. Caldy's second came deep into the first half, when the cover in the backs failed to get across in time and was out flanked.
Caldy thought that Xmas had come early when following the second score there was a mix up at the restart and Scrum half matt George kicked the ball straight to Caldy's big centre. With half the backs out of positin this guy just ran through some very inefectual tackling and scored under the sticks. This was the only try to be converted.
Half time could not come soon enough for Northwich as they tried to regroup and work out where things were going so badly wrong. Flanker Connell reported in sick, so changes had to be made to provide forwards cover. Ben Jones was pressed into the forwards as cover and Woodhead partnered Philips at centre. Hart came on at scrum half in place of George.
Jones soon made his power felt in the tight and slowly Northwich started to see a bit of ball. A little clean ball was all that Fly Half Underhill wanted and soon he was tearing up the pitch daring the Caldy defence to tackle him. A good chip ahead had the Caldy cover scambling back and their big centre dropped on the ball 5 meteres out. Underhill and Houghton were there in a flash, however the stayed on side and on their feet. The Caldy centre made no attempt to get up so the Northwich pair attampted to retreive the ball. However, the ref then blew up and to the dismay and disbelief of the Northwich crowd the penalty was awarded to Caldy for "not letting the player get to his feet" even though the player made no attempt to do so.
Howls from the crowd were seemingly ignored by the ref, however, following the kick to touch a penalty was then awarded to Northwich for an apparent offside at the kick.No doubt the ref had thought about his decison and tried to make amends, however much of the advantage had been lost by then.
Northwich set up to take a tap penalty but the move was interfered with by a certain front row forward getting in the way a spoiling a well rehearsed move. But heads were coming up and Northwich realised that all was not lost and that with some application they could get themselves back into the game.
First to score was Underhill, another searing break was too much for the Caldy cover as he crashed over the line. Then more tradgedy, "Rhino" Barlow received a nasty kick to the side of the ankle and wasa forced to come off. So Matt George was now pressed into service as Blind Side Flanker and gave him the opportunity to take up the challenge once more.
Quite what had been in the water at half time is still a mystery but now playing up hill, Northwich started to really dominate the game. Some surging runs by the forwards really put the pressure on, Ben Jones getting over the line, only to be brought back by the ref. Finally Phil Williams made his way over the line for the second score. The kick was close, but not quite big enough.
Now the Northwich heads were up and they went out looking for the 3rd try. George collected the kick off and took off up field with purpose. Whereas in the first half Northwich had taken ball into contact, now we started to recycle it quickly and soon they were back in the Caldy half pressing for a score. A blindside run was only just bundled into touch, however, Northwich recovered the ball and moved it wide. A ruck formed about 5 metres out and Scrum Half Hart dummied to pass and sprinted in to score.
3 tries a piece and just the kick to come. Woodhead stepped up and smacked the kick, however it just sailed wide. The ref decided that was full time and Northwich watched an epic recovery slip away.
So at the end of it all it goes down as a loss and the first half was one of the poorest Northwich have produced this season. However, the character of the side came through in the second half and with a little more luck in the decisions could easily have taken the game. So we now will have to wait for the 13th February to redress the balance when Caldy come to Northwich
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12th December U13 vs West Park (Home) Won 46-10
Its often an onimous sign when the phone rings early on a Sunday morning, it usually means someone unavailable. This week Jack Thompson and Richard Collier were the ones reporting on the sick list.
However, on the plus side we saw our regular props of Turrell and Bridle pack for duty, though we knew That Turrell and Woodhead would only manage the first half due to football commitments.
From the off Northwich looked a more fired up outfit than that which showed up at Caldy last week. For the first time this season the back row sported, Baker (8) with Williams (6) and Houghton (7) and they were quickly into their stride. Williams running very direct and committing lots of tacklers with Baker and Houghton on hand to carry the moves on. Hart started at 9 and ensured that the ball was kept on the move between backs and forwards. For the first 5 minuetes West Park held firm with some great cover tackles. Bridle was unable to repay the service he received last week when he popped up again on the left wing and just went one pace too far before trying to give the scoring pass.
Northwich were applying huge pressure and something had to give, first onto the score sheet was James (Tuzza) Turrell, crashing through the cover to open the scoring. Woodheads conversion attempt was close from out wide.
From the restart Baker decided that he would take the game to the opposition and powered through the defence, it seemed he would go all the way, but was hauled down short, off loaded to the supporting Underhill, who dived in under the posts. Woodhead made no mistake with this one and Northwich were on a roll 12-0.
There followed a period of sustained pressure from West Park, which started from a deep kick off and a superb chase by one of West Parks backs. Full Back George was caught in possession and was lucky to retain the ball, as Northwich's forwards were slow to come to his aid. However, Northwich were not interested in giving anything away and stuck doggedly to their defensive task with some important tackles from Jones (Ben) and Baker.
Before long the normal order of things was restored and Northwich were driving back down field. Phillips opened up on the right wing drew the cover and layed the ball off to Underhill for his second. Again the conversion sailed by agonisingly closely.
Further first half tries from Williams and Barlow should have seen us turn around the half 27 – 0 up, however a late loss of concentration and some slack tackling out wide saw the half time score at 27 – 5.
Half time brought some enforced and some tactical changes. Turrell and Woodheead departed for soccer, Underhil was complaining of an ankle injury and both he and Hart had soccer that afternoon so they were rested.
George came to scrum half, Houghton to 10 with Baker and Philips in the centres. Ben Jones went to full back and Riddle and McCosh took up the wing slots. In the forwards Dale went to loose head with Ashton into the second row. Connel slipped out to Blind Side Flank and Sheppard stepped into the openside flank. Williams moving to 8 to replace Baker
So second half was started with a number of people in new or development positions which took a few minutes to settle in. George at 9 brought a lot more use of the boot to the backs, not always to good effect and left the back line somewhat wanting for ball. However, one moment of inspiration saw him chip the charging defencive line, Matt Philips was quick to spot the potential and with a couple of deft little kicks of the ball and all he was left with was to drop onto the ball for his first Northwich try. Matt George took over the kicking duties and slotted a kick that the Northwich First team would have paid good money for the day before.
The second score of the half went to West Park, some could attacking work had Northwich pinned in their own 22, the ball came out to George, who tried to kick clear, but ended up finding their best player who skinned the out wide defence for a try. The conversion was missed.
Stung by the rebuke, Northwich turned up the heat and a break from Houghton was off loaded to Sheppard, who went high over the defence to score. Having waited 2 years to score, he has now recorded 2 scores in 2 games. The kick slid across the front of the posts.
The day was rounded off when Northwich were awarded a penalty, Houghton took a quick tap and went, Sheppard was on his shoulder to carry the move onward. A thumping tackle stopped him in his tracks, but Bridle was on hand to tidy up and smash his way over for Northwichs 8th try. George added the extras and the score stood at West Park 10 - Northwich 46.
Our thanks to Referee Paul Taylor and to West Park for travelling to visit us and playing the game in great spirit.
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9th January U13 vs Wilmslow (Home) Lost 45-5
It’s hard to write many positives for Northwich in a game where they were thrashed by a strong Wilmslow side. Although Northwich finished the stronger side in the last ten minutes and managed to get a try on the scoreboard, the rest of the game was spent in their own half trying to prevent Wilmslow from breaking away to score further tries. Thankfully Wilmslow missed all their conversions. At half time Northwich were trailing by only two tries. This was a reflection of the balance of play where the blacks had rarely ventured into the Wilmslow half. However shortly into the second half Wilslow scored two tries in quick succession which killed off the game. Northwich have a large squad of players and the opportunity was given for all those that turned up to play in the game. Most players were substituted in the second half, which made it harder for Northwich to salvage something from the game. Wilmslow scored five tries without reply and were able to run through the black’s defence with too much ease. With ten minutes remaining, those players that had played in the first half were brought back on and there seemed to be a bit more determination to salvage some pride from the game. From the kick off Northwich managed to force Wilmslow to defend just in front of their line. On three occasions it appeared that Northwich had scored only for the referee (Ken Houghton), to rule either that the ball had been held up, or that he was unsighted. But at long last, after a succession of 5m scrums, John Dale managed to drive the ball over the line just before the final whistle. William Woodhead missed the conversion. After the game, the coach Ken Houghton, asked the players some searching questions about themselves. With the notable exception of a few players, the necessary drive and commitment was lacking today. The next round of the Cheshire Cup against Lymm, looms in January and Northwich will be playing no further part if they play like they did today.
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23rd January U13 vs Wirral (Away) Lost 12-0
Northwich’s last game resulted in a heavy defeat against Wilmslow. Although the blacks lost this game they did play with more determination and effort. Although they failed to score they came close to getting a try at the end of the second half when Phil Williams and James Underhill drove hard at the Wirral defence. However Northwich were always second best in the match and unable to play as a cohesive unit. There was more individual effort and much improved tackling. At the start of the match there was an early let off for Northwich when Wirral kicked over the forwards. Northwich were unable to collect it cleanly and Wirral broke through and although over the try line but bounced the ball down, so no try awarded. Northwich gave possession away too easily and Wirral scored after a Northwich attack broke down on the left wing, Wirral snatched possession and played it out to their winger on the left who outran the Northwich defence to put the ball over the line between the Northwich posts. It was an easy conversion for them to lead 7-0 at half time. At the start of the second half Northwich started the stronger side spending some time in the Wirral half (which was something not achieved in the first half!). But they did not look like they were ever going to break through the Wirral defence. When there was a slight break through, often led by Williams or in one instance Ryan “Rhino” Barlow, there was not enough support to keep the run going. This resulted in Wirral gaining possession too easily. Northwich soon had to defend again and Michael Baker put a great final tackle on the right wing to prevent a breakaway try. Northwich were under a lot of pressure at this stage and again looked to have a break when Rhino managed to pull back the Wirral winger who at the time do not have the ball. Lucky not to have a penalty try awarded against them, Northwich still had plenty of defending to do, did so quite competently. However Wirral worked the ball out from a scrum to their right wing to score their second try. The final part of the match saw Northwich trying to pull back the deficit but a case of “too little too late”.
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20th February U13 vs Wrexham (Home) Lost 20-10
Northwich played well in a hastily organized match against unexpected visitors Wrexham with Northwich dominating large segements of the game. To lose 20 - 10 was a bit harsh, but was true reflection of our defensive alignment and committment to tackling with Wrexham backs allowed to much freedom to run and make serious yardage. With ball in hand Northwich played a great tight game, some good breaks and support play. Chris Bridles half term holiday seemed to have done him good as we saw Chris operating at a far higher level than in previous weeks. He deservedly got the first Northwich try after a good kick and chase by the team. However Wrexhams big runners got up to speed due to often as Northwich defence was too slow to get up and as such no one was effective and bringing them down. Northwich mounted great periods of pressure in the Wrexham 22, it took some good defence from Wrexham and a lack of vision from Northwich to prevent the score. Unfortunaltely too often Northwich tried the bulldozer route, when the backs were open and in plenty of space. Finally though Northwich contrieved to move the ball through the hands and Alex Riddell was able to crash over for his first try for the club
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Easter Tour U13’s at Irish International Tournament
Tour report
Well the time had arrived for that last minute tour. Would the tour operators actually get their act together? Would there be a coach? If so where would it take us? How many players would we have? How many would we need? Were there any other teams competing? Would the coach have a loo? These were all questions still unanswered at 21.30 on Thursday 31st March.
The party of 17 players, 3 coaches (the ones without wheels), 7 supporters and the Junior Chairman were assembled in the bar – the Chairman leaning against it (not for the last time). The coach (the one with wheels) does arrive on time and despite earlier instructions to go to Fishguard was scheduled to go to Holyhead, it did have a driver, a video recorder and most importantly of all – a loo. We set off at about 22.00 much to the relief of spouses and parents – a week-end of freedom beckoned them.
Before Chester we had our first sickness casualty with David adding to the rather dull colour scheme of Nial’s drill top and the fascination of a coach toilet had resulted in most of the lads needing a wee wee (Not always together). A little further on and we were blessed with the delightful music of the Chairman’s snoring – something which would continue well into the night (and for some of us for the whole week-end!).
We were entertained by Ken’s videos although I doubt whether Kevan will remember them as he was out to prove he could sleep for hours on any mode of transport. Listening was difficult over the snoring but the lads were entertained – by video and Will.
Eventually we arrived at Holyhead with plenty of time to spare. A quick visit to the port’s toilet – all the kids visited but again it would seem just for the novelty value as the coach toilet was soon to be full! It became evident that more rugby teams were travelling on the same ferry – more to come on that one!
It wasn’t too long before we were on the ferry and Kevan and the Chairman were forced to wake up and move. It wasn’t very busy – but the choice of seats soon came back to haunt us. Kevan went back to sleep as did the Chairman after his pint (well probably more but no evidence!). The lads hit the arcade and everything seemed to be just right for us all to get some “shut eye” – fat chance. Planted next to us on the ferry were another rugby team – on investigation this was Bradford & Bingley – a team we were to face over the week-end (see match reports). The boys from B&B behaved fine at first but unfortunately a couple of the adults were worse for wear (too many shandys) and decided to “sing” at the top of their voices – so loud they must have heard them in Dublin. Amazingly both Kevan and the Chairman managed to sleep through this but it would appear not many of the truck drivers did. As the voyage continued the noise and general behaviour of a few got worse. Indeed a couple of minor confrontations took place. Fortunately our lads were well away from all this. Most were in the cinema courtesy of Tuzza and William who inadvertently (or cleverly – although that’s unlikely as Tuzza is a prop) left the door open for all to get in – including Ken. Eventually rugby tour leaders were called for a meeting with a senior member of the crew. Excellent delegation here – Ken in the cinema claiming not to hear the announcement, Kevan and the Chairman claiming to be asleep, it was left to junior coach Will and the miserable spectator to face the music. Fortunately for us it was obvious that the request for a little more peace and quiet was largely aimed at one group. If this was the standard of behaviour of the adults what would the lads have to face in “battle” (see match report to justify use of word!)?
Eventually we docked – senior officials of the club completely oblivious of what happened during the trip. We were greeted with rain and set off for our “training camp” always on the look out for breakfast and/or Guinness. Quite a subdued trip due to lack of sleep and entertaining videos. One such film showed some of the squad at Caldy as Under 10s (I think). It was pointed out by Kevan that nothing much had change in the vocal support as one nameless parent could be heard to shout “come on Tuzza if you don’t start doing something we’re going home”.
Our driver, Eric, decided that a stop in Waterford would be appropriate. Up to now we had no reason to query his sense of direction, but in Waterford he parked by the river and sent us off in a direction which would lead us to the town. Well he was right but about a mile and 20 mins later we found the shops – and more importantly for the lads, McDonalds. The chairman was disappointed that an Irish branch of the multinational did not sell the black stuff and even more frustrated that it wasn’t yet opening time. About two minutes after leaving McDonalds we came across the coach – had Eric deliberately sent us the wrong way to start with? The rest of the journey passed without too many problems and from memory most people stayed awake.
We arrived at the camp eager to find our houses. We all assembled in the bar to wait for our keys. This enabled the chairman to become less stressed as he was able to get his “fix” and the lads were able to explore – sometimes beyond the arcade. Now the first hardship of the tour. Despite what we were led to believe, houses were not likely to be available before tea-time. This meant that the adults were really inconvenienced and had to stay in the bar with at least one pint in front of them, but the consequence of this action was the witnessing of a very drunk Welshman making a fool of himself. Eventually we all staggered back to the bus to collect our bags and make our way to the houses.
Each house sorted themselves out, room allocation (with the Chairman’s snoring performances this was quite easy) , shopping and arrangements for the rest of the weekend. The chairman put his cooking skills to the test in his house but to ease the “pain” two bottles of red wine disappeared – Guinness being no good in a can. A team meeting agreed to appoint Phil as team captain and Robin as vice captain. Early night was necessary before match day.
Miserable spectator spent the early morning organising a packed lunch for his house. It turned out that the only person to appreciate the superb sandwiches was the miserable spectator himself as the burgers at the ground were much more tempting – how many cheese and ham sandwiches can you eat in a day without throwing up and leaving room for the Guinness?
The squad were all smartly dressed for the journey to the ground. It had turned out there were only 4 teams in the Under 13 competition and it was 15 a-side. There were nerves a plenty – and that was just the adults and miserable spectator was all doom and gloom about the likely outcome. (For match details see match reports!). Following an exhausting competition Ken, in his democratic way asked the lads whether they wanted to go straight back to the camp – the vote was unanimous in favour of a quick return. So 3 hours later…. And a few Guinness later (not the kids I hasten to add) we left. The club house was quite inviting even if it didn’t have sky – we were treated to Man Unt vs Blackburn and Leeds vs Warrington – and it was the first (and not the last) where we witnessed the “Sparkes – lets get them drunk tactic”. Just as you thought you had just about managed to stay sober (3 pints for the miserable spectator, nearer 30 for the Chairman) another pint would arrive in front of you – courtesy of the Sparkes.
Back at the camp the lads went swimming, eating and “arcading” before meeting in the second bar. The chairman was elected the adult silly ass of the day and Pudsey the team silly ass (for among other things, rolling in doggy do). To much surprise (and don’t tell Winnington Park) the lads were entertained by the camp bingo or was it the camp bingo caller? Everybody drifted their separate ways and another reasonably early night for most.
After early complaints about lack of sleep due to snoring – from the next door neighbours – the coach set off for the second day of matches. Unfortunately on arriving we found that there was only one other team so a full match would be played. Of course that team was the mild mannered B&B and it was disappointing that we were not going to experience any more matches against the Irish – (further match details in match report).
The club house became the place of the post match discussions but fortunately for the miserable spectator the drinking was not as prolonged – unless he was getting use to it. We all returned to camp – the lads went swimming – rumour had it that Will was thrown out of the pool because he did not obey the signs – I believe the pictures were in Irish and the rest of us took some time to breathe before the end of tour dinner.
That evening we all went into Midleton where we dined at an Italian restaurant, before returning to another bingo session and during a disco a very early morning session from the “Welsh Scots”. Silly ass awards went to Will for many silly activities including kicking a ball in a thorn bush – that reminds me an insurance claim still has to be made by the miserable spectator for injuries obtained retrieving that ball, and Pudsey retained his title for general behaviour and his contribution to the game. The night finished a little later than normal and the lads were greatly concerned about the state of their young coach. Both dad and miserable spectator were sent off to the pub to collect what was described as a completely legless Will. On arriving at the pub we were confronted with Will, pint in hand, walking reasonably straight from the pub making a claim of breaking his previous best drinking record. Needless to say he was less drunk than miserable spectator on two pints of shandy.
We had been told to be on the coach at 9.00 on Monday and sure enough after some last minute tidying and lost property collection we were nearly all ready to go. Except one house who while the rest of us watched, decided to eat their breakfast – yes of course it was the coaches’ house – late again!
During the journey home we were treated to the coach’s quiz. After the first round the result was very close between Jack Thompson and Tuzza (is he really a prop – didn’t think they needed to know about the laws of the game?) after Will had been penalised. I believe Ken entered under a false name and because he didn’t score well, changed the rules in the second round with some questions scoring higher than others – but it didn’t work because despite a late run by David S, Jack held on to the lead. We stopped again in Waterford and for those who were concentrating on the way down, McDonalds was found within seconds without the mile detour. On arriving at the ferry port the shop was hit with some purpose and Tuzza spent his remaining Euros on a small rugby ball which within 5 mins he had managed to kick on the roof – that’s why props don’t kick Tuzza! The chairman was interviewed by “officials” claiming to be market researchers but were they customs trying to locate a missing store of Guinness? – too late already in the blood stream.
The ferry voyage back was much quieter than that going. The tour spy had been mixing with the enemy (B&B) and had been found out that they were only allowed to travel back after some discussion with the Management and a threat of arrest on their return to the UK. Pity they weren’t arrested on arrival in Ireland – we would have won a cup then!
Back at Moss Farm we were greeted by smiling faces but no open top bus procession – the difference between winning and coming second.
The Miserable Spectator
Please note all references to B&B are to Bradford & Bingley not bed and breakfast. The writer will remain anonymous for fear of legal action.
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10th April U13 vs Whitchurch (Away) Won 46-5
Northwich arrived at Whitchurch on the back of a successful tour to Ireland. Not all the tourists were available for the game, but there absence allowed some of the rest of the squad to get back into the starting line up. From the off Northwich showed that they had kept the team spirit from the tour and soon Whitchurch were under pressure from a determined Northwich attack. The ball was being moved freely but, it seemed that Whitchurch were going to defend stoically and make life difficult for Northwich. However, after about 5 minutes Matt Philips got his hands on the ball and showed why he had won the most improved player on tour as he used his strength and pace to power down the wing from close on halfway and open the scoring for Northwich under the posts. James “Undies” Underhill converted with a drop kick as the kicking tee had been misplaced. The score seemed to settle Northwich’s nerves and from the restart they then took the game by the scruff of the neck, Mike Baker was next on the score sheet as the tall centre strolled through some lacklustre tackling from Whitchurch. The scores then seemed to come thick and fast with scores for Phil Williams, Underhill and another score for Baker. Whitchurch staged a bit of a revival towards the end of the half, but were unable to break through Northwich’s defence.
Half time saw Northwich’s hooker “Pudsey” Van Deursen replaced following a neck strain, Marshall moving from Prop to Hooker, Ashton moving from the Second Row to Tight Head Prop and Blears coming into the Second Row from Blind Side Flank, Ben Jones came on from the bench to blindside. There was no respite for Whitchurch in the second half, thought they did tighten their game considerably. A bursting run from Ryan “Rhino” Barlow broke the initial Whitchurch defence, Ben Jones was on hand to carry the move on and he fed Houghton who just made it under the posts for the opening score of the half. In a scrappy period of play Whitchurch tried to kick clear only to see the ball rebound into their in goal area. The ever sharp Underhill was on it like a flash, claiming another 5 points for Northwich. Underhill scored a similar try later in the half from his own kick through when he again beat the defence to the touchdown. Whitchurch did manage a consolation try late in the half but it was scant reward for all their efforts. The end result of 46 – 5 to Northwich represented one of their best wins of the season and clearly demonstrated the progress that the team had made in a short time. Next week we face Newcastle and what we expect to be a sterner test of our improved form.
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17th April U13 vs Newcastle (Home) Lost 5-12
This was a hard fought contest, but played by both sides in a spirit of clean, fair play. Northwich held the majority of the territory and possession, yet were unable to break down a well organised Newcastle defence. Here is the story in detail from Paul Turrell.
Barlow made a good catch from Newcastle’s kick off but the ball was lost in the ruck only to be regained from a subsequent maul. Northwich forwards started well in the first scrum but Newcastle retained the ball and put pressure on Northwich. A through kick nearly resulted in the visitors scoring but Thompson was alert enough to touch down behind his own line. Northwich then pressurised the Newcastle defence but as in previous matches the ball would be lost at vital time. One such situation nearly led to a Northwich try when a pass along the Newcastle line was nearly intercepted by Sparkes. Further pressure again nearly led to a try when the resulting bounce from a Baker charge down just eluded Baker’s dive. Northwich continued to spend time in the Newcastle half and good moves again broke down at the last moment. Baker was making some good breaks but although close to the line a try still would not come. Those experienced home spectators feared the worse and in only their second venture into the Northwich half, Newcastle scored. A kick forward was not dealt with and the race from the subsequent fly kick was chased by the Newcastle player- unlike earlier when Baker chased through – the bounce favoured the attacking player. The try was converted. Before the end of the half, Northwich had a great chance to score. A great run from Williams allowed the Blacks to put on some more pressure and although his pass eluded Tuzza, who would surely have scored; it was picked up by Underhill. Great forward pressure ensured the ball was retained but unfortunately a great stretch by Baker to place the ball down over the line only resulted in the ball not being grounded and Newcastle were able to clear their lines. Northwich continued to press in the second half and a great break by Rhino was well supported by Houghton followed by Underhill, Phillips and George but good covering by Newcastle made sure George was put into touch. Pressure continued and from a Williams run Sheppard was within inches of scoring. However Newcastle was then awarded a penalty and was able to clear again. Following a scrummage win against the head, something that Marshall is getting good at, Northwich were awarded a penalty but Newcastle pressured the Northwich backs and a clearance kick was run back by a Newcastle player and a missed tackle ensured Northwich would go down by 12 points. Three attacks and 12 points against probably 75% of possession but no points! Nethertheless Northwich’s resolve had improved dramatically in recent weeks and they continued to press. They were rewarded with a try when a Baker run supported by Williams led to a ruck and finally a Northwich scrum. Baker ran through again and Williams was on hand to score. This was too little too late and despite a gallant attempt to break from their own 10metre line with good passing and great support, Newcastle held out.
A 5 – 12 defeat but a great game and a brave attempt. The difference was Newcastle’s excellent defence and sharp kicking game. They had the ability to score when the chances arose – even when few and far between, whilst Northwich crossed the line 4 times but only managed to score one try.
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27th April U13 vs Chester (Home) Won 20-0
The novelty of an evening game and the post match awards evening attracted a good turn out both from squad members and supporters. In addition the Under 15’s were playing Winnington Park – but we’ll let them gloat on that one!
From the kick off Northwich made their intentions clear by putting Chester under pressure and spending much of the early exchanges (in deed most of the match) in the Chester half. Both Mike B and Josh came close to scoring and when Chester did look like breaking through good tackling by Northwich (one in particular standing out from David) prevented them from making much progress. However a combination of resolute defending from Chester and dropped ball from Northwich meant that the pressure had not generated any points. The coaches were frustrated as the game became a little fragmented as players attempted to go for individual glory rather than a team score and when a good break was made support was not always there. After about 20mins a good Northwich move led to Ben forcing his way through 2 or 3 tackles to get points on the board. The try was converted by Undies. Chester then put Northwich under pressure for the first time in the half but good defending and a bit of luck resulted in a positive half time score of 7-0
After a rocket from their coach, Northwich came out in the second half much more as a team and a number of excellent moves were put together with great support and covering by everybody – even the many changes made throughout the half did not impact on the fluency of the team’s performance. The early exchanges were rather evenly matched but once Northwich scored their second try with a good passing move finished by David, Chester found the going tough. From the resulting kick off Northwich put immediate pressure on Chester and from second or third phase Undies wrong footed the Chester defence and forced himself over for another try which was converted by William. Another good supporting move where the ball was retained through a number of phases nearly led to another score but Piers was judged to have knocked on at the vital moment. This was followed by a good run from Mike B but instead of driving through the remaining defender (something he is more than capable of doing) he elected to kick through only for the ball to be dropped before kicked resulting in a knock on. It was not long before another good move led to a successful maul from which Robin spun off to score a try. Just before the end Undies was able to go over in the corner for his second and Northwich’s fifth. Chester did not give in and made one last effort to score at the death but good covering by Jack and support from William enabled the Blacks to keep a clean sheet.
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