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U13’s Match Reports 2007-8 Although C&N were losing they still continued competing with some good tackling in the forwards, the Northwich team were rearranged at half time allowing the coaches to view players in different positions. After the changes Northwich took a while to settle back into the style of play we had seen in the first half. Liam Reilly continued to put pressure on the C&N scrum half which led to some excellent field position for Northwich. Good support and interplay saw the best period of the game for Northwich with one move taking us 50 yards and six or seven players handling the ball, an unfortunate knock on ended this move but the signs are good for future progress from phases like this. New player Ben Colyer played excellently in both halves of the game and came away with 2 tries in the second half after moving from lock to Number 8. Josh Foster caught a short line out ball from much improved hooker Elliott Ward, Josh managing to power his way over for another Northwich try. The second half play was less open than the first with the forwards keeping more possession and driving forwards more rather than supplying the backs line. For future games we will need to be able to spread the ball wider and still retain possession to compete against more attacking teams, however it was positive to see that we can play and dominate in the forwards and the backs. Even in such a confident and resounding win there are areas of play where we Northwich need to improve if we want to compete with better drilled teams with bigger sets of forwards. The back row will need to be quicker to the break downs and the whole set of forwards need to enter all rucks and mauls with more commitment. The shape and positioning in the backs was far better than seen in previous seasons, improvement is required in handling skills to ensure we make the most of our fast wings and fullback. An excellent game for the start of the season, the experience players all improving from previous matches and the new members of the team adding some size and skills to the squad. The under 13’s have challenges ahead and hopefully some more positive displays of rugby. Return to fixtures Northwich were strong in the scrums and line out wining all our own ball but could not always turn this in to good fast ball for the backs, the forwards held their own against Knutsford but were still to gentlemanly in the rucks and mauls allowing Knutsford to pick up the ball before we decided to try and drive over or wrestle for possession, if we get quicker and more aggressive at the break downs we will then be able to dominate teams in most forward areas. The most notable forward performance was Eddie Stansfeld who has developed well and continues to improve throughout this season. He was often the first to the break down and won a number of 50/50 balls in the mauls. Jonny Hinde played his first full match for Northwich and did very well at prop steadying the Northwich scrum. The speed of the Northwich backs was very apparent with Matthew EC and Callum Guy having some excellent runs in both halves of the game. IFour opportunities to score were missed due to little errors that we will need to tighten up on if we are to compete with some of the bigger teams in Cheshire. We also saw some attempts at kicking from hand from the backs when holding onto the ball and running were much the better option, this is a waste of hard won ball and did not create a good field position or pressure on the opposition when ever we tried it; Luckily some committed tackling from the backs made sure that Knutsford did not profit from these kicks. This was a good game and an excellent opportunity to run the ball for both Northwich and Knutsford who will in time develop into a strong squad. The experience for the newer players is vital in our small squad and every can be proud of their efforts. Training points from the match include the need (still) for the forwards to commit to the break downs with more urgency and will to retain the ball. The backs need to be running straighter lines in attack and be more organised in defence. Scorers Ben Colyer 2 tries, Jack Bagnall 1 Try, Cameron Dilworth 1 Try, Callum Guy 1 Con, Tom Phillips 1 con. October 28th U13’s vs Leigh (Home) Won 24-0 Leigh had their chances to score in the first half with some sustained pressure on the Northwich try line. An encouraging commitment was seen from the forwards and backs to stop the Leigh team from crossing the line. Two more powerful runs from Tom Price in the first half resulted in 2 further tries. Fellow centre Will Corradine narrowly missed out on a try after placing the ball over the line for a score only to realise the line was part of the football pitch laid over the rugby pitch, replacing the ball over the correct try line resulted in the ref awarding the Leigh team a penalty for a “double movement”. Eddie Stansfeld had been made captain for the day after a strong performance last week and responded well putting in some very strong tackles on the big Leigh forwards resulting in him being called a “Beast” by his team mates. The half time saw the team in high spirits, the coaches took the opportunity to make 4 substitutions ensuring that all the team get a fair chance to play and impress ahead of our first Cheshire Cup game in mid November. Cameron Dilworth came on to replace Eddie Stansfeld at second row and made a great impact with some big tackles and strong running with the ball. Another try from leading scorer Tom Price put the game out of touch for the Leigh team. Some excellent forward play took Northwich close to the Leigh line on a number of occasions in the second half with Matthew EC getting very close to scoring after re-appearing on the pitch in the centres. Leigh only looked like scoring once in the second half but a good run by their best player was halted by a good tackle from the Northwich full back. The notable performances of the game were Tom Price at centre, Callum Guy at full back, Cameron Dilworth at second row and the two scrum halfs/wing forwards Huw Lewis and Liam Reilly. Development points from the match were less kicking please – too many players attempted to kick the ball from hands in the wrong situation. Only one kick from around 15 in the game was accurate and done at the right time, the other attempts were either done when running was the better option or gave simple ball back to the opposition allowing them to run at us. We have also seen a spate to players attempting to fly hack the ball in open play, these attempts never worked in the game and it needs some strong players and forwards to own the loose balls and claim them for Northwich rather than poorly hacking at any ball without an understanding of what they wish to achieve. The competing for the ball at break downs was better but still needs more commitment when we meet teams with big sets of forwards, the backs were out of position at times getting drawn closer to the break downs and not keeping their structure. However it was another encouraging performance and all the players should be proud of their efforts and results at the start of the season. November 18th U13’s vs Rhyl (Home) Won 53-17 We loaned the opposition 4 players in each half to make up the numbers and make it a strong competition, a big thank you to Liam Reilly, Tom Sparkes, Martin Plant who played with Rhyl for the first half, and Hew Lewis, Josh Foster, Will Corradine in the second half. Special thank you to Eddie Stansfeld who played the whole match for Rhyl and seemed to take pleasure in tackling his own team mates. Liam Reilly even went so far s to give them insider knowledge on our line out throws and jumpers – this was taking fair play to the extreme. Northwich and Rhyl were well matched in the scrums and their backs had a good attacking instinct, however the strength and size of the Northwich runners decided the game – a typically strong game from Tom Price saw him score 2 tries in each half of the game (kicking the conversion on 2 of them), Tom used a New Zealand side step for one of his tries and trampled over the opposition after shunting them out of the way with his head rather than shoulder – effective but not something he learnt on the training ground. Dalien our new lock/lose forward made a stunning debut with 4 tries from some excellent strong running, with 3 Rhyl defenders clinging to his shirt he still managed to drive over the line. Ben Collier managed to keep his try tally ticking over with a good solo effort for his try, utilising his speed he circled the Rhyl defence (some drills on straight running are needed) to touch down in the corner. Some more strong performances came from Will Corradine at fly half who put pressure on the Rhyl back line and fed the Northwich backs well, Callum Guy is improving all the time at fullback and making some excellent counter attack runs (needs to carry the ball in two hands more). Another promising debut in this match was Oliver; he had one 50m scintillating run down the flank and was unlucky to be stopped short of the Rhyl try line, he and Matt EC combined well at centre and wing in attack and defence. The Rhyl team gathered themselves in the second half and 3 tries all scored or created from a fast and talented fly half showed that they could break down defences given some quality ball. The win was well deserved by Northwich but there were still points that need to be addressed; after a full training session on field position from kick offs and penalties last weekend we saw some dreadful instances during the game. After every try the forwards were bunched together and not ready for the kick off, decision making at some penalties led to slow ball or wasted opportunities when kicks were taken rather than keeping the ball in hand. However we are starting to see the formation of a good solid team, when all players are fully committed to the task we will be a formidable team and could take some scalps of more established clubs in the area if the lads continue to believe in themselves. Next weekend sees the first round of the Cheshire Cup with a game against Stockport – this will be another big test for the Under 13’s – lets hope they rise to the challenge and begin a sustained run in the Cup. 4 Tries and 2 conversions for Tom Price, 4 Tries for Dalien, 1 try for Ben Collier, 1 conversion for Callum Guy and 1 conversion for Will Corradine Return to fixtures The first half flew by with 6 tries for Stockport and very little possession for Northwich, but we did begin to show some effort toward the end and start making some tackles. The second half continued as the first and Northwich struggled on, winning some ball and releasing the backs for some valiant attempts at breaking the Stockport line. Tom Phillips performed well and had his best game so far this season playing at prop rather than his preferred fly half. Elliot Ward came on and made an impact stopping some of their bigger players with good tackles. The backs were hard pressed in defence all day but still had some spirit to try and attack through Ben Colyer, Oliver and Callum Guy. Helsby next week and then Winnington Park – lets hope we regain some of our fighting spirit. Return to fixtures The Northwich forwards had the upper hand in all the scrums, but let Helsby into the match by not claim lose ball and the whole team still lost to much ball in the contact. Tries in the second half for Will Corradine who intercepted the ball from the Helsby centre after great pressure and tackling from Huw Lewis. Huw managed to bag a try for himself after dropping deep to field a lose Helsby kick and slicing through the Helsby defence to score a great individual try. Helsby did not lie down and accept the defeat - they kept on competing all through the match, scoring three good tries to make it an even sided enjoyable match. At one stage due to a communication error Northwich were playing with 14 lads on the pitch, after scoring his try Huw Lewis thought he heard his name shouted and then "off you come", so he did. The problem was only identified when a 5 metre scrum for the Helsby team resulted in a try as we had no blind side winger to make the try saving tackle - he was stood with his dad wondering why he had been taken off after scoring his first try of the season - sorry Huw Oliver Rogers had his best game yet for Northwich, he made many breaks in the game from outside centre using his pace and deceptive running to step around the Helsby tacklers. Oliver deserved to get a try but missed out narrowly when brought down by the last man in defence in the last few minutes of the game. We had the luxury of 5 subs on Sunday and the squad rotation worked well, all the players got game time and showed that the level off play throughout the team is improving with competition for all places from Prop to Full back. Next week (weather permitting) is a Home game against local rivals Winnington Park - hopefully we get another good turn out of players all fired up and motivated to excel in the local derby. Well done to the boys who gave the supports a great game to watch. Return to fixtures On the pitch we started well with a slightly experimental line up, the Welsh no pushing in the scrum law would see us struggle for clean first phase ball all game. Josh Foster was given the role of inside centre for the day and told not to side step, swerve or kick. Just run fast and straight and after 5 minutes he did this to score the first try of the match, however he did put in a spin out of a tackle and a shimmy which looked a little to much like a backs style of running for our big usual prop forward Josh. Will Corradine capped this off nicely by slotting the conversion. This was our first and probably only quality bit of play for the first half. Losing scrums, and line outs going astray in the strong wind meant that we starved our backs of quality ball. Ben receiving another knock to his shoulder (from his dad during the warm up) meant he was substituted early. Will Corradine, Callum Guy and Elliott Ward all came off early due to knee, bloodied nose and ankle injuries. All of the team seemed to be affected by the cold and could not be bothered to tackle – especially when the Flint Centres decided to run – we watched and waved them through for 4 tries in the first half. Our second half was better – some fresh legs on the pitch and some fire in the belly after a half time roasting saw better commitment to tackling and more effort in fighting for the ball. Tom Price came on after a few weeks off recovering from a muscle injury and scored one of his trade mark tries after receiving the ball in his own 22m running hard and straight to score under the posts – Tom Phillips took the extra 2 points. Some good defence from Northwich held Flint to only one try in the second half, with forwards Reece Parry and Lewis Winnington acquitting themselves well. Huw Lewis moved to full back for the second half and made a number of try saving tackles, and after catching a lose Flint kick while at full sprint looked certain to score a try only being stopped a meter from the line. Two more scores, one from Dalian Wilson and a second for the day for Tom Price, both converted by Tom Phillips. Northwich came close to scoring on a few other occasions with Dalian being denied close to the line. The game was a bitty match with little flow or continuity, the un-contested scrums left our usually competent forwards losing out in the scrums and a lack of commitment in the first half made it hard to recapture the game in the second half when we were on top. Reece Parry was by far the star man through the match and his continuing development is an example to all our team – he did not miss a tackle all match, cleared up a lot of lose and messy ball and when he went into contact he fought hard to turn and present the ball back for our team to recycle. Unfortunately the game finished before Northwich had time to score our fifth try and Flint took the win – this was a game given away by our team who have performed much better already this season and could have won this match but for lack of tackling in the first half. Hopefully this will be a lesson learnt as not attempting to make tackles is letting the team down and losing us matches we should be winning.
January 13th U13’s vs Ashton-on-Mersey (Home) Won 33-10 Tom Price opened the scoring with a typical strong run touching down under the posts allowing Callum Guy an easy conversion for 2 extra points. The forwards continued to pressurise the Ashton pack with strong runs from Dalien Wilson and Josh Foster, Ian Morris in his second game for the club had an excellent game at Hooker putting pressure on his opposite number in the scrums and was lively through the game taking on the scrum and fly half as an extra wing forward. Ashton got 2 well deserved tries in the first half after prolonged pressure in the Northwich 22 but failed to convert for the extra points. The strength of the Northwich backs was beginning to show when Ben Colyer out sprinted the defence and the referee to score under the posts, again converted by Callum Guy. With 6 substitutions at half time the Under 13’s took a few minutes to get back into shape. Once settled we again got back to a good platform from the forwards allowing our backs to run. With both Liam Reilly and Hew Lewis on the pitch and playing 9 and 10 we constantly put pressure on the Ashton back line resulting in knock on’s and loose ball for Northwich to compete for. The Under 13 backs looked strong in defence with Ben C and Tom Price putting in some strong tackles and the wingers (Liam H and Martin P first half and Oliver R and Matt EC second half) were solid with good tackles being made. Callum Guy had a good game at full back making good ground in attack. 3 further tries in the second half (1 from Dalien Wilson and 2 from Tom Price – 2 converted by Callum Guy) led to a comfortable score line for Northwich. The score line would have been larger but for a disallowed try in the first half and Tom Phillips missing his chance of glory dropping the ball over the opposition try line – a try for Tom Phillips would have been deserved after a committed and determined game from Tom (playing in the back row) he acquitted himself well all game and was the pick of the forwards for the second half whilst at Number 8. Northwich Under 13’s now need to continue this good form with 2 important and hard games coming up – the first against Macclesfield as a warm up before our Cheshire Plate Quarter final clash with either Hoylake or Lymm. The good results that the Under 13’s have achieved this year so far are a result of hard work and commitment – if this continues the team can grow and grow and be competing with the best teams in the region by the end of this season. At present the team do not fully believe that they can be so good – however the potential is there and competition for places should inspire the players to give their best in each game to secure a position in the starting line up for the Cheshire plate match. Scorers Return to fixtures Knutsford are still a developing team and needed some extra players to make up the full 15 – 4 experienced Northwich players volunteered to play with Knutsford in the first half – Matt EC, Hew, Tom price and Josh Foster all pulled on the Knutsford Jersey and played some excellent rugby for their adopted team for the day (Pete Barlow and Martin plant replacing the wingers in the second half for Knutsford). The game was a real feast of tries and some excellent rugby was played. Sufyen (prop) in his first match made a real impression and bagged himself a try in the second half. The front row played well all match with the strength of Jonny Hinde and Lewis Winnington allowing Ian Morris to strike for some good possession in the scrums. The commitment of the forwards was better in this game and more lose ball was claimed by Northwich than we have seen in previous fixtures. Ben Colyer scored a long range try to begin the Northwich scoring in the first half, out pacing the Knutsford defence with a rangy run. Will Corradine had a strong first half running all possession from fly half and setting up the backs giving all centres and wingers plenty of ball throughout the match. Will’s first half try was well deserved and was a great break through the centre of the defence to score under the post – he converted his own try. Dalien Wilson and Sufyen scored in the second half; Dalien using his strength to break a couple of tackles and then out sprinting the covering players. Sufyen scored after a good passage of forward play with the Northwich boys recycling the ball and providing a good platform for Suf to drive over the line – Suf is a good new addition to the Northwich Under 13’s and had a great first match. Another debut was for Fergus Ward who played on the wing and made some excellent ground when ever he received the ball – he again will do well and is one to watch for future games. Tom Price and Josh Foster both had excellent matches playing in positions slightly unusual for them. Tom scored 3 tries and Josh 1, unfortunately all 4 tries were for Knutsford and on a day that Northwich players scored 42 points we still lost 22 – 32. Josh managed to get the ball in space with 20 yards to the line, he battered his way past 4 attempts at tackles by his own team mates and was delighted to have scored against them. The game was played in an excellent spirit and all the participants enjoyed their Sunday run out. The referee for the day was our own Karl Colyer who did an excellent job for his first attempt at reffing, he also managed to emulate the ref from the international match the day before by falling over when trying to get out of the way of play – this went unnoticed by most of the players but the supports were remorseless in their haranguing of the ref (at least Danny was). A late substitution by Northwich saw Tom Sparkes enter the field of play – Tom had been keeping goal on the football field next to our match – his team lost 6 – 0. Unfortunately his 5 minutes of rugby saw him not getting a touch of the ball and losing for a second time that morning – but he was still smiling. The second half saw Northwich slowing down through a lack of fitness in some of our players – we did not fully capitalise on the slope of the pitch we had in the second half. Tiredness made us sloppy in some tackles and with Tom Price receiving the ball in space twice and relishing the chance to run at his own players he finished of the Knutsford victory – on both second half tries he was chased down by Hew at fullback who made a fantastic tackle only for Tom to retain possession return to his feet and dive over the line for the score, on the second try Tom managed to keep two yards ahead of Hew for a 40 meter chase in which neither Tom nor Hew would slow down or give up – excellent commitment from both players. We look forward to our return to Knutsford later in the season for a scheduled match and thank them for once again taking a fixture at short notice.
Return to fixtures Marple did have some good players and they played a better more controlled game. Their one big forward took on our players and won the contact on his own in most cases, the Marple scrum half had an excellent game and made numerous scampering runs to break our defence allowing their very fast centre to score easily in the corners. The Northwich forwards were just to lazy in this game, if one player was fighting hard and wrestling for the ball w3 or 4 other forwards were stood watching and not doing anything more than shouting for the ball to be passed to them – the other forwards would not even had made it to the ruck or maul in time to shout for a pass before Marple had recycled the ball and were attacking again through their backs. Our backs had some success when attacking but lack of defensive structure and no commitment to tackle the opposition runners let Marple make to much ground to easily. Some good points to take from the game were Tom Price who continues to improve and always gives 100% his strength in running and continual tackling helped keep Northwich in the game. Oliver Rogers had another strong game in the centres – his deceptive pace and strength allowed him to make good runs and he was always in support of Tom Price. Lewis Winnington had a brilliant first period winning some lose ball and taking the Marple forwards on by rumbling forwards. The Under 13’s need to find a fighting spirit to make them compete right from the start of matches. The last 5 minutes saw us in the ascendancy and really fighting for the ball chasing a try to win the match – that kind of effort throughout the match would have seen us win by 20 points. Naivety in shutting out the game players from Marple allowed their 3 main players to continue to run and score, allied with the lackadaisical approach to defending penalties meant the win was well deserved by Marple who took advantage of the Northwich poor performance. The experienced Northwich players need to begin to show their skills and drive – the newer players are showing a good commitment to the team and want to learn and develop. To allow them space and time to do this and build into the team it falls on the more experienced players to provide a platform for this and show them the way. If a new player sees someone who has been playing for 4 or 5 years being lazy and not committing, they will think that is the right way to play – this is not good enough. Our next match is the Cheshire Plate match against Lymm (24/02/2008) – this could be an excellent match and is a real opportunity for Northwich Under 13’s to forget the poor performance against Marple. With 2 evening training sessions and one Sunday to prepare the team need to be fully committed to reach the goal of the Cheshire Plate semi finals. This is a realistic achievement for this set of players who have been developing and progressing all season. It is purely down to a lack of effort in some games that we have not won more of our matches this season. Scorers Return to fixtures The larger Northwich forwards dominated in the scrums all match and supplied some good ball as a platform for the backs to run, Tom Price opening the scoring within 5 minutes after an immensely strong run from within his own 22 area – running straight and hard he charged through the Lymm defence. The conversion was added by Callum Guy. The Lymm pack although smaller where quicker and better than Northwich in the rucks and mauls, this led to them having sustained periods of play in the Northwich 22 during both half’s of the game – In the first half their pressure led to two tries when winning the ball after two or three phases they spun the ball wide and scored in the corners. The third Lymm try in the first half showed up a lack off shrewdness in the Northwich back line, they used a large blind side to run the ball with three of their fast backs joining the attack – Northwich were slow to respond and Lymm had taken a well deserved try and the lead at half time. Josh Foster had finished a good Northwich forwards move which saw the pack move the ball through many different sets of hands to result in a ruck 2 meters from the Lymm line – Fozzy was not going to be stopped from that distance – Will Corradine kicked the conversion. At half time we trailed 14 – 17. The passionate play was carried into the second half – Jonny Hinde who had given 100% in the first half and been at the centre of all rucks and mauls was substituted for Elliott Ward, Eddie Stansfeld came on to replace Lewis Winnington. Some big forward performances and excellent tackling in the backs made sure that Northwich did not concede a try in this half – Huw Lewis and Oliver Rogers on the wings let no one past them and continually forced the Lymm attackers into touch. Ben Colyer and Tom Price made some big hits and pushed their opposite numbers back in every tackle. Liam Reilly and Will Corradine as half backs kept the game flowing and marshalled the Northwich game. In a tight game you never want to give away penalties especially in your own 22 – the Northwich forwards during a 10 minute period of play gave away 6 or 7 penalties each one getting closer to the Northwich line, and with the ref in penalty mode we showed in-discipline in questioning his decision to be marched back 10 meters not once but twice. The forwards did redeem them selves with some stout defending – all the forwards rushing out to defend the penalties and Suf and Fozzy making critical tackles close to our line. The day and the game belonged to Northwich however and 2 second half tries from Tom Price (one converted by Will Corradine) had given the blacks a 7 point lead. This lead was tested during the Lymm pressure when poor line out technique from Northwich saw the forwards slapping the ball back to the scrum half putting unnecessary pressure on the Northwich kickers to try and clear the line. After 3 scrambled defences resulting in Lymm line outs in great attacking positions near the Northwich line, eventually the forwards got some clean possession to drive out of defence and set up a counter attack. Suf got hold of the ball and drove his way forward for 25 yards with 4 Lymm players hanging off him, the rest of the forwards rallied around and continued this drive into the Lymm half, then their 22 area – in relieving the pressure on the Northwich line this move involving all the forwards effectively sealed the game as a win for Northwich. The lads won this game through fight and willpower, the back row players (Tom Phillips, Reese Parry and Tom Sparkes) were around the park making the necessary tackles. Reese Parry continues to improve and does so much unseen hard work in rucks and mauls, the two Toms made a nuisance of themselves all match covering the ground that is expected of a back row player. The scrums were strong all day which is a testament to the drive of the front row and second row players. Cameron Dilworth, Eddie Stansfeld and Lewis Winnington providing the power to shunt the Lymm pack back scrum after scrum. The Northwich parents and supporters were kept on tenterhooks throughout the second half and many of us wished we were 13 and could have joined the action. The majority of the Northwich Subs were only given 5 minutes of play – the constant Lymm pressure making it impossible to put on a player and expect them to get to game speed in time to defend at such a level. The subs (and players left out as they are exempt from the Cheshire Competition) will get in the starting line up in our next match against Whitchurch. The game was played in good spirits and the Lymm coaches wished us well for the next round – My thanks to them and the Lymm players for an excellent morning of rugby. Northwich will now face Crewe and Nantwich in the semi finals (away) – the date has not yet been confirmed as it is due to be played the weekend of our tour – lets continue this passion and commitment and hopefully we can have another spectacular match for the Semi.
Return to fixtures Northwich started the match dreadfully and continued to play poor rugby for the first half and most of the second half. Whitchurch were a good side and fairly well drilled – Northwich however made them look like international players. Due to the late kick off Tom Price and Will Corradine could only play the first half – both played well and were committed knowing they only had 25 minutes to make an impact – Tom scored 2 excellent tries and Will defended well in the fly half channel. The rest of the backs in the first half decided not to make any tackles and we conceded simple tries with Whitchurch passing the ball down the backs line without being challenged. The Northwich Back Row were slow and sluggish not getting into the match for the first ¾ of the game, few tackles were made by the back row leaving gaping holes for Whitchurch to run into, the front five like the rest of the team did not appear to want to play in this match until we had only 15 minutes to go. The only positive through out the match was the strength in the scrums – our opposition were bigger and stronger than Northwich but we held our own and pushed them around in the set piece. Other than that all areas of the Northwich play were below par. Lines outs lost, all forwards slow around the pitch and not bothering to join rucks or mauls, forwards and scrum half hanging around the base or rucks consistently off side, backs actually running away from the opposition rather than have to make a tackle. After the heights and elation of the previous week with a win over Lymm in the Cheshire Plate this match was frustrating for the coaches and supporters as the effort level required was nowhere to be seen. But then when we were down too many points and with little time left (about 10-15 minutes) suddenly Northwich sprang to life – some of the bigger forwards began to carry the ball – Jonny Hinde and Suf Buras making some very hard yards and battling to drive forwards – Josh Foster joining the attack managed to bounce of a few Whitchurch players and touch down for a try – he fought hard for his try and deserved it, but whilst he was driving and pushing forwards towards the line the majority of the Northwich forwards just stood by and watched. Tom Phillips also woke up and put in some excellent tackles from Number 8 to stop the Whitchurch attack. All of the backs suddenly began making tackles and the game switched with Whitchurch now being under pressure. Try saving tackles from Huw Lewis and Dalian Wilson kept us in the game and gave Northwich the chance of clinching a win. At the final whistle Whitchurch were 3 points up and beat us 29 to 26. They deserved the win as they battled hard all through the match, kept their composure and tried to attack at every opportunity. Northwich showed in the last 15 minutes the kind of rugby they are capable of playing – there is no excuse for not putting in the effort, tackles and commitment when selected to represent your team. This was another match that Northwich should easily have won – there have been too many of these matches this season where the team have let themselves down, and can only blame themselves for the poor performance. Northwich now have to prove to themselves that they are worthy of their place in the Cheshire Plate semi final – only a fully committed game from the full squad will see them progress into the final. Individual positions are still up for grabs with players having next weeks match against Flint to prove that they can give 100% from the moment they step onto the pitch, and also play a clever game – thinking about what they should be doing at all stages of the match. Return to fixtures The first half saw some excellent play from both sides – Northwich winning some good ball in the scrums and getting the ball wide to the wingers, unfortunately on 3 occasions with a clear field in front of them the wingers received poor passed and the handling let us down with the ball going to ground. The forwards rucked and mauled well to produce more quality ball for the backs to run and make big inroads into the Flint 22 area. At half time Northwich were up by 20 – 0, Tom Phillips, Sufyen Buras and Tom Price (2) all touching down for well deserved tries. The 20 points to 0 at half time flattered Northwich as the Flint team had competed well and put a lot of pressure on the Under 13’s try line – good defending had managed to keep them out for the first period. Tom Phillips took advantage of a 5 meter scrum to pick up at No8 and drive over the line, Tom Price in usual fashion ran hard and straight to score his 2 first half tries, with Suf Buras barging, twisting and stampeding towards to the Flint line from 15 meters to get his 5 points for the day. In the second half the size and strength of the Northwich runners turned the game to Northwich’s advantage. Further tries from Ben Colyer (2), Cameron Dilworth, Tom Price (2 more) and Josh Foster saw the final score of 10 tries without reply. A closer contest in the second half would have given Northwich a better work out for next weeks semi final however the clinical running from the Northwich three quarters, big ball carrying runs from the tight 5 and effort around the loose from the back row should that when they play as a team this group of players can perform at a high level. Last weekends loss to Whitchurch is hopefully a blip on the road to a wining season for the under 13’s. Dalian Wilson played a great game as captain – running hard, chasing and competing for every ball – his pressure and disruption of the Flint 9, 10 and 15 led to much good field position for Northwich. In windy conditions only 3 conversions were slotted during the match – I think that Sparkey got them all – I will be put right on Wednesday if this is not the case. The main positive for the coaches and supporters was the will to win and commitment from all players, some excellent rucking and mauling which was missing from last weeks encounter. Tackling from all the players on the pitch, and players thinking about and adopting ideas and drills from the training field and putting them into practice. Liam Reilly snipping at the rucks and taking some quick penalties to keep the Northwich momentum going forward. When penalised we got back in position quickly facing the opposition at all times, positioning at the kick offs was good allowing us to counter attack straight away (however we did let the ball bounce on too many occasions when a clean catch was possible). The forwards looked sharp and supported each other much better than in previous matches – Dalian and Cameron covering large areas of the pitch – Cameron profited from a poor Flint line out, and with quick thinking and fast reactions he had a clear run over the line from 10 meters out to score. The backs got the ball wide – centres, wingers and full back all joining the attack and adding to the Northwich pressure. Martin Plant on the left wing for the second half had one of his best games for the team so far, Tom Sparkes at full back was safe in defence and charged forward at every opportunity. What a difference a week makes – last weeks report was dour and deflated as was the match we witnessed against Whitchurch. Today I write in upbeat effervescent mood which reflects the attitude of the Northwich Under 13’s yesterday. With Crewe and Nantwich next weekend we need a good and committed training session mid week leading to a game where nothing short of the lads best performance with commitment, tackling, rucking and mauling will see us progress to the final. C&N have developed much as a team since our first match of the season so a re-run of our 42 – 0 win will not be seen unless the lads give it 100% for the 50 minutes of next weeks match – Well played against Flint, lets continue this rich vein of form and carry on developing. Scorers Return to fixtures A very wet and muddy pitch was to be the setting for this momentous win, catapulting the under 13’s to their best game so far this season. Our early match target was to score first and not concede a try for the first 5 minutes. This was duly done when Tom Price crossed the line after a barnstorming run within 5 minutes, Sparkey converted for the extra 2 points. Another try from Tom P and one for Will Corradine saw Northwich 19 points up within the first 20 minutes (Sparkey adding the extra points again). C&N were not beaten at this point and they continued to mount good running attacks and put Northwich under pressure. A loose pass from the Northwich backs saw the C&N winger gather with 40 meters to cover, even with the three speedsters (Huw, Oliver and Ben) chasing him down he managed to touch down for a deserved try for C&N. The Northwich pack had been under pressure for the last 5 minutes of the first half, and the second half was another tense 25 minutes. The blacks again came through and a further 3 tries were scored, Ben Colyer out pacing the C&N defenders on 2 occasions to score under the posts. Oliver Rogers following up on a Tom Sparkes grubber kick managed to gather two meters from the line and dive over for a try that effectively sealed the win for Northwich. Tom Sparkes converted 1 more of these tries. C&N battled on and did not stop fighting for the whole match – they crossed the line again in the second half after a good period of forward play. The end result flattered Northwich after a great contest and some excellent rugby from both sides; however there is no doubt that the blacks under 13’s truly deserved this win. The 19 man squad all played their part in this victory and can all be very proud of their achievement. The massive improvement as a team came from the less experienced players raising their game for this encounter. Forwards Rhys Bryant, Pete Barlow and Jonny Hinde playing their best rugby since joining the under 13’s. Wingers Martin Plant, Oliver Rogers and Matt EC defended with commitment – attacks that would have resulted in tries against us in previous games were stopped with great tackles from all the backs. The forwards were good in the scrums and although beaten to the break downs on most occasions fought for the ball at every opportunity, Cameron Dilworth was angered in the first 5 minutes which encouraged him to put in some massive tackles (more of these needed please Cam) disrupting the C&N half backs. Huw Lewis at scrum half repaid his selection with a 100% committed game, making some great runs and try saving tackles. Great running from the backs in hard conditions saw Northwich make ground at every attack. Tom Price, Ben Colyer, Will Corradine and Callum Guy all showing that they are quality runners. With all 19 players getting a good amount of game time this result can only take the team forward. The North Wales tour is only 2 weeks away and some good results then will cement the quality of this side and give them an excellent opportunity to take on Chester or New Brighton in the Final. An impromptu celebratory dive and roll in the biggest puddle on the water logged pitch was instigated by Tom Phillips, he was followed by a good number of the victorious under 13’s. They rose from the mire like Rambo head to toe in mud. Most of the pretty boy backs looked on in bewilderment not wanting to mess up their hair or get too dirty. Although asked if he would like to join the mud wallowers Dan the coach decided he would stay with the clean backs and just enjoy the spectacle and the cries of NO from the stricken parents realising that the journey home would not be pleasant. The Crewe and Nantwich coach wished us well for the final, the Northwich coaching team thanked him for an excellent afternoon of rugby. The supporters for both teams watched a great game and had lots to cheer and shout about. Congratulations to all the players – be proud of yourselves and your team. You truly deserve to be in the Final. Scorers Return to fixtures Tackling was brave and strong, the forwards dove on any loose ball, the backs ran like the wind and we beat Colwyn 7 tries to none. Dalian scoring the majority of the tries, Tom P, Sparkey, Josh and possibly Ben all touching down. Eddie was captain fantastic and he had a good game; however he came off in the first 50 seconds. His left boot had disintegrated and he was sloshing around in the mud wearing only his socks – the he had another pair of boots which he quickly changed into. When back on the pitch he and every one of the Northwich players did themselves proud. The pitches had deteriorated so much that we knew this was our one and only game on Saturday. Karl suggested a group hug for Dan the Coach was in order. The lads thought this to be an excellent idea. They were covered in mud so why not share this with others. The hug soon developed with cries of “get him in the mud”. When he realised they would push him over, Dan decided to launch himself head long into the mire. The boys rolled him over to make sure he had an even covering of mud head to toe – they are thorough when it comes to mud covering. Final Match Northwich won 15-5 Dalian again broke the Colwyn defence to touch down in the corner, Ben Colyer throwing players around for fun, Huw dragging down the Colwyn 8 time after time. The backs got better and better. Martin, Matt and Callum all making try saving tackles. We made some changes at half time to give fresh legs a chance to run; Oliver came on like a man possessed and headed full speed at Colwyn whether attacking or defending. Elliot joined the front row and nicked a couple of scrums. Liam linking the forwards and backs, supplying good ball for more Northwich pressure. Dalian made another break but could not make the distance; Matt on the wing supported, took the pass and covered the last 20 meters to out pace the Colwyn winger – what a time to score your first try. We were in the lead. More effort from every one and we were so close; then Dalian broke away again the Cup was in our sites as he touched down to put us 2 tries ahead – with the mathematics in operation the trophy was ours and Rod began stripping off to his speedo trunks in preparation for a victory dive. We had to hold on and the boys did. A fine performance that will never be forgotten by those who played in or watched the match. Three tries to one and Northwich Under 13’s got their first silver ware ever! Rod’s dive was a triumph; the boys were tired but quite rightly ecstatic at their performance – no one would have beaten us that day. April 13th Crewe & Nantwich - Won 26-15 Dalian Wilson responded from the right wing with some excellent strong runs – one resulting in a great try – and assisted by Ben Colyer and Matt EC in the centre they began to pressurize the C&N back line and force them into errors. The second half saw Northwich in the ascendancy straight away, with some renewed vigor and a realization that C&N were playing a good tight game the under 13’s new they had to up their game. Will Corradine from fullback had a much improved second half and made some excellent counter attack runs, linking with Oliver Rogers on the left wing the blacks made many yards and scampering runs along the touch line of the big First XV pitch. Tom Price showed some brilliant footballing skills to kick ahead and chase, controlling the ball allowing himself the opportunity to dive on the ball over the line for the first of his two tries. Josh Foster and Sufyen began to fire and led the forwards in rumbling runs up the pitch – the back row looked impressive in support and some fluidity came to the under 13’s game. A barging run from Josh Foster saw him score in the corner after some good work by Cameron Dilworth and Northwich sealed another win against a good side. The Northwich boys did however let another run fro the C&N number 8 result in a try due to poor commitment and sloppy tackling, luckily they had enough of a lead for this not to affect the result but poor tackling has been our downfall in many matches this season. Thank you to the players who made the match so enjoyable by playing for and performing well for an under strength C&N side. Luke, Elliot, Cameron and Martin all played for C&N in part of the game. Some of those players have a better match for the opposition than they did for Northwich. Scorers Return to fixtures Huw Lewis had been asked to captain for the day and Tom Phillip’s was to lead the pack. Northwich were announced over the PA system and the team sprinted onto the pitch as a unit with one goal in mind. The first 5 minutes saw Northwich falter a bit with the nerves kicking in – some poor passing, dropped ball and missed tackles. We settled into our pattern and began to compete. Both teams seemed to play in a similar fashion, and to a similar game plan. For the first 15 minutes Northwich and Chester hit hard and used big runners close to the break down, once the game had settle both teams spun the ball wide and invited their fast backs to run. Chester’s forwards dominated throughout the match winning all the rucks and mauls. In the first half only Reece Parry effectively competed and slowed down the Chester rucks for Northwich. The Blacks pack managed to get some quality ball from the scrums which were good and solid allowing the backs to take on the Chester back line, Tom Price and Dalian Wilson making strong runs in the first half. The quality of the two teams showed in the hard tackling and commitment across the pitch to stop the ball carrier. A tough first half saw Chester take the lead after good work from their forwards gave quick ball for the backs to pass wide to score in the corners. Northwich went into the break 10 points down; Chester having scored 2 tries with no conversions. During the half time talk confidence was still high, we were behind but knew we had the strength to come back and apply pressure on Chester. Some fresh legs were introduced from the subs bench and some tactical changes to give Northwich more fire power in the forwards – game on – the second 25 minutes were even more nail biting than the first. The lads now had the freedom in the game plan to open up and take on the Chester defence from all angles, Sufyen, Fozzy and Jonny Hinde driving at the big Chester forwards. More commitment in the rucks began to slow the Chester ball and resulted in more scrums giving Northwich a better platform to attack, the quick ball we had needed all game came early in the second half, Liam pouncing on a lose ball from a ruck and supplied Will at stand off, Dalian had moved to insider centre and suddenly found himself with open space and gaps all over the field – he only needed to cover 90 meters! He broke the defensive line and powered through mid field, the Chester wingers and full back all converging on Dalian at the same spot, he found a little extra and managed to stay one step ahead of the would be tacklers and touched down under the posts. 10 – 5 and we were definitely still in the match. Tom Price took the easy conversion and popped the ball between the posts – the linesman was checking his boots for mud and did not watch the kick, he signalled for a miss. Chester came back fighting and scored another try, this time converted to put them 17 – 5 up. This did not stop the fighting spirit from Northwich and a well taken penalty resulted in a Tom Price try converted by Tom Phillips (this time seen by the linesman). At 17 – 12 both teams had to play out of their skins to clinch the match. Chester continued to ruck well and starved Northwich of quality ball, they managed to gather a lose ball with 5 minutes to go and launched a counter attack from halfway – attacking in numbers and targeting the lone winger they crossed the line in the corner and ran the ball under the posts for an easy conversion. The final score of 24 – 12 to Chester ultimately reflected the run of the game. A fine display of quality rugby from two good teams, on another day Northwich may have been victors but Chester won and deserved their trophy. For Northwich who took a 22 man squad who all played a part in the match this was still a great achievement. With 10 players who only joined the club this season and more seasoned player beginning to improve the future looks very good for this team. The Plate Final will hopefully be a launch pad for another great season playing as Under 14’s. Thanks to the players and supporters for a great day.
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