|
U13’s Match Reports 2006-7
November 17th U13’s vs Lymm (home) Lost 24-19
Northwich U13's put out their strongest squad of the season with another two new players signing up. Lymm U13's had previously held a powerful Sandbach team to just one score, the same team that thrashed Northwich 71-0 back in October. This was therefore a big test to see how far the U13's had come since the loss of six key players over the summer period. The first twenty minutes was an even affair with the two newcomers Sam Claton and Luke Murray showing great promise. However it was Lymm who broke the deadlock with three very quick tries. The score did not reflect the run of play, but just before half time Sam Jones kicked a long ball up field and raced the full-back into the dead-ball area, only to be taken out before he could ground the ball. This penalty try was converted by Chris Sheppard. From the kick-off Lymm charged the ball down to go into a 24-7 lead. The Northwich team then showed great character not to fold. Strong running from Josh Hall, Jamie Hall and Tom Foulkes started to weaken the Lymm defence, then with a multi-phase surge Tom Sheridan forced the ball across the line, with Chris Sheppard converting with ease. The black 'n' golds then had to fend off a spell of Lymm pressure, but soon put the Cheshire elite on to the back foot. With ten minutes to go, phases led initially by Will Mitchell and then Mike Collier took Northwich to within 5 metres of the try line where a penalty was given. Jack Vandersteen then took charge and forced his way over the try line. The conversion was missed, and although Northwich kept the pressure on to the end, the superb Lymm defence held out to win 24-19. The Northwich team have come a long way, and look forward to another new signing from (no other than) Winnington Park for the next game; a Cheshire Cup encounter with New Brighton. Hopes are now high for a good cup run. Team: Mike Gough, Will Mitchell, Sam Oakes, Luke Murray, Simon Dale, Mike Collier, Tom Sheridan, Jack Vandersteen, Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Tom Foulkes, Josh Hall, Jamie Hall, Ryan Kitt, Jordan Byrne, Baden Powell and Sam Claton.
Return to fixtures
November 26th U13’s vs New Brighton (home) Lost 0-24
With three players out on school trips and a further three not showing up on the morning of the match, Northwich played their tough, second round Cheshire Cup clash against New Brighton with a player short. Immediately from the kick-off the visitors sliced the Northwich defence apart to score a simple try. Rather than accepting a heavy defeat, the home team woke up and played for each other. There were no further scores in the first half, but not for the lack of trying from either team; with excellent running from Josh Hall and Sam Jones that could have evened up the scores; and without the 'braveheart' tackling, particularly from Jordan Byrne, Will Mitchell, Jack Vandersteen and Sam Claton the visitors would have increased their lead. However, there was only so much the team could have done with a player short and two others just starting their rugby career, but the Northwich youngsters never gave up in the second half. The legs and shoulders eventually weighed heavy, and before the final whistle, New Brighton scored another three tries. In the lead up to this game Northwich have worked hard to successfully improve their results from a difficult start to the season, and with a key local derby against Winnington Park to look forward to, the U13's have less than 3 weeks to put in some focussed training if they want their Christmas wishes to come true. Team: Baden Powell, Will Mitchell, Liam Concliffe, Alex Dickenson, Sam Claton, Tom Sheridan, Jack Vandersteen, Sam Jones, Tom Foulkes, Josh Hall, Jamie Hall, Ryan Kitt, Jordan Byrne and Luke Murray.
Return to fixtures
December 10th U13’s vs Wirral (Away) Lost 32-0
With no fixture in the calendar, the coaches arranged a game against a strong Wirral U13's team. A smartly dressed Northwich squad minus the sickly Ryan Kitt, arrived early in anticipation of practicing their new drills. The game was evenly balanced in the first fifteen minutes, with Northwich showing their strength of tackling and good technique in the rucks. However, it was an excellent Wirral team that showed the mid-Cheshire team how rugby should be played. Even though Wirral had strong individual players, with mobile forwards and a superb set of half-backs, they continuously played the basics well as a team. The ball was whipped down the line with great skill, and although Northwich tackled bravely, the Wirral forwards would quickly recycle the ball for the ball to be sent back down the line the other way. The fact that Wirral only converted one of their six tries showed that tries were all scored wide out by their fast backs. For the record, it was 12 to nil at half time, with a further twenty points added before the end.
Northwich have many good individuals in the team, in fact, eight are still present at the Cheshire Development Assessment evenings. In addition, the team members still showed their individual strengths on the day: from the tackling and running of Chris Sheppard, Josh Hall, Will Mitchell and Jack Vandersteen; to the strong movement of Tom Sheridan, Jamie Hall, Sam Jones and Jordan Byrne; to the hard work in the tight of Simon Dale, Mike Collier, Mike Gough, Alex Dickenson and Sam Oakes; to the great promise of Sam Clayton and Luke Murray; and with the enthusiasm from the new comers of Tom Foulkes, Baden Powell and Liam Concliffe. However, these individuals now need to bond as team of fifteen. Northwich learnt that there is more to rugby than individual running, kicking and producing slow ball from the tight. The coaches are highly proud of the commitment showed by all the players, and now both coaches and players must work harder on bonding as a team.
Next Sunday, Winnington Park awaits, and before the young Northwich team break for Christmas, they will spend the afternoon watching Sale Sharks attempt to overcome their recent defeat to Stade Francais in the Heineken Cup. Team: Chris Sheppard, Josh Hall, Will Mitchell, Jack Vandersteen, Tom Sheridan, Jamie Hall, Sam Jones, Jordan Byrne, Simon Dale, Mike Collier, Mike Gough, Alex Dickenson, Sam Oakes, Sam Clayton, Luke Murray, Tom Foulkes, Baden Powell and Liam Concliffe
Return to fixtures
December 17th U13’s vs Winnington Park (Home) Lost 27-0
Northwich U13's welcomed their next-door neighbours Winnington Park to a wet Moss Farm pitch. In the first fifteen minutes the two teams were equally matched with the visitors camped in their own half. Excellent pressure from the Northwich forwards, good defensive lines from the new back formation of Chris Shepard, Luke Murray and Sam Clayton, and some superb running from Josh Hall at full-back kept Winnington on the back foot. Slowly the tide started to change, with the Park U13's using their backs with great impact, and Frankie their captain delivering some well thought out kicks. From a penalty in the Northwich 22, Winnington were held up over the try line, but the resulting scrum offered the first try of the match, which was duly converted. Northwich rebounded with some brilliant mauling from Simon Dale and Mike Collier, and without some fine tackling from the two Northwich exiles Jordan and Henry Bellis now playing for the Park, the team in black could have equalised. It was just before half time that Winnington scored their second unconverted try and went into the second half with a twelve-point lead. If the Winnington backs made the difference in the first half, it was the strong aggressive forward play that forced the unassailable lead. Northwich weaknesses were highlighted, with some strange passing sequences under pressure, missed tackles and a few reverting to kicking the ball down the throat of Winnington's strong full-back. It was good to see the match played in a fair but competitive spirit, and all players from both sides can now share a few tales together back in school on Monday. The best team won, but Northwich U13's showed their best spell of the season in the first half, and after the Christmas break will face Macclesfield in the Cheshire Plate with renewed confidence. Winnington Park also visit Congleton in the same competition. Northwich Team: Mike Gough, Will Mitchell, Sam Oakes, Alex Dickenson, Simon Dale, Mike Collier, Tom Sheridan, Jack Vandersteen, Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Sam Clayton, Jamie Hall, Jordan Byrne, Josh Hall, Substitutes (all used) Liam Condliffe, Baden Powell and Tom Foulkes
Return to fixtures
January 14th U13’s vs Macclesfield (Away) Lost 17-5 Cheshire Plate
Earlier in the season Northwich U13's easily defeated a weakened Macclesfield team, however, this Cheshire Plate fixture proved to be a different encounter. The Macclesfield's squad had strengthened to over 25 players compared with the Northwich 18. Macclesfield started the match as the stronger team and soon scored a converted try, and then shortly after made the score 12-nil. Northwich were missing tackles 'left, right and central' and with recent results in mind, the worse thoughts were starting to go through everybody's minds, but to their credit the balance was shifted. With some excellent work from Jamie Hall and Will Mitchell the Macc team were forced into defensive tactics. The good tight work from Simon Dale, Alex Dickenson and Mike Collier, and the excellent tackling from Chris Sheppard and Sam Jones eventually forced a penalty ten metres from the line. Jack Vandersteen took the lead and forced his way over the line for a well-worked try. Unluckily Chris Sheppard missed the conversion and the score finished 12-5 at halftime. The second half 'kick-off' from Macclesfield summed up the frailties in the Northwich performance, with no one willing to take on the accountability for the ball, and almost immediately the score advanced to 17-5. With 20 minutes still on the clock the Northwich XV still had few chances to win. Albeit, Ryan Kitt's fine tackling, Luke Murray's convincing runs, and Mike Collier's flanker work gave the coaches confidence for future matches. In the last 10 minutes Northwich started to increase the use of the boot but with poor results and with time running out, the excellent referee blew for full-time. Well done to the Macclesfield U13's and good luck in the next round against Anselmians. Man-of-the-Match goes to Will Mitchell. Northwich Team: Mike Gough, Will Mitchell, Liam Condliffe, Alex Dickenson, Simon Dale, Mike Collier, Tom Sheridan, Jack Vandersteen, Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Sam Clayton, Jamie Hall, Tom Foulkes, Josh Hall, Substitutes (all used) Baden Powell, Ryan Kitt and Jordan Byrne).
Return to fixtures
January 21st U13’s vs Helsby (Home) Won 15-10
Even though the cancellation of the Stockport game did not go down well in certain quarters in the club, the format on the day proved very successful for the two developing teams. The two sets of backs and both packs broke off to develop specific skills and techniques. Both teams worked well together for an hour of joint training. The two teams then played a match. The game was evenly matched, and it was clear that the pre-match training had paid dividends. The Northwich team showed some good defence in the forwards and some fine tackling in the backs. Sam Clayton looked more at home in the pack with some strong running; Simon Dale and Mike Gough were superb; the rule of no kicking allowed Sam Jones to show great flair and also meant the backs saw some good ball; Chris Sheppard regained the confidence shown earlier in the season. However Helsby opened the scoring with a well-worked move through the backs; this startled the Northwich team, and shortly after the strong running of Jack Vandersteen levelled the score. Towards the end of the first half Josh Hall exploded into action and with one of his direct runs down the wing where he was allowed to crash over to score a great try. In the second half the referee might have been at fault in giving Helsby a try, with the TV replay clearly showing both a foot out of touch and no clear grounding of the ball. With the two teams now level the game reached a tense phase, this was until the 'incredible hulk' Luke Murray showed the strength of Julian White, and with five Helsby forwards hanging on for dear life Luke crossed the try line. For a brief moment the crowd were left guessing whether he would put the ball down or continue his adrenaline-filled surge through the bushes and across the cricket pitch. The first win of 2007 put the right sort of smiles back on the Northwich faces. Thanks to Helsby for a very successful morning. Northwich Team: Mike Gough, Will Mitchell, Sam Oakes, Sam Clayton, Simon Dale, Mike Collier, Tom Sheridan, Jack Vandersteen, Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Jamie Hall, Tom Foulkes, Jordan Byrne, Substitutes (all used) Baden Powell, Ryan Kitt and Alex Dickenson + the ex-stars Henry Bellis and Jordan Dodd.
Return to fixtures
January 28th U13’s vs Caldy (Home) Lost 27-12
Knowing their previous season-results, the Northwich team were worried about the visit from one of the best teams in Cheshire. Having the riches of two under 13 squads, Caldy turned up with twelve of their A-Team, and had the added first half advantage of an extremely strong wind. The writing appeared to be on the wall when at half time Caldy led by three tries (one converted) to nil. Although the tackling was brave and the forward work excellent, the positional play of the Northwich backs was weak, and all three tries came from the superb Caldy centre running round the lacking defence. The half time talk was focussed on directing the team towards attacking-in-defence and closing the gap between themselves and the attacking gain-line. If the second half performance was anything to go by ... maybe ... the team listened to the half time talk. Sam Clayton, Mike Gough and Jack Vandersteen set the example in the forwards; Sam Jones, Luke Murray and Chris Sheppard led the way in the backs; and there was some great tackling from Tom Foulkes, Jordan Byrne and Jamie Hall. In fact everyone played a part, by winning the second half. The first Northwich try was an excellent drive, ending with a dramatic dive from Mike Collier, and the second was another example of the high potential held by Josh Hall. Chris Sheppard converted one of the two. The only difference between the two teams was a strong Caldy flanker and a top class centre ... and he has our vote as man of the match, with a total of four tries to his name ... well done to him! ... and also a big well done to the Northwich team. However, training this week will concentrate on attacking with a defensive line and developing the much needed leadership required in mid-field. Northwich Team: Mike Gough, Will Mitchell, Alex Dickenson, Sam Clayton, Simon Dale, Mike Collier, Jamie Hall, Jack Vandersteen, Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Tom Foulkes, Jordan Byrne, Ryan Kitt Substitute (used) Baden Powell.
Return to fixtures
February 4th U13’s vs Whitchurch (Home) Won 21-20
As both teams had been knocked out of their respective County competitions, and with the next round of both cups being planned for this date, Northwich were pleased to welcome Whitchurch to Moss Farm. The fog lifted and the frost melted to leave perfect playing conditions. From the start Whitchurch in red, set a high standard of play, and in conjunction with a stream of missed tackles and ineffective team-work, the 'black and golds' soon found themselves 15-nil down with the Shropshire team running in three unconverted tries. What is it with the Northwich faithful? It seems like that they have to fall behind before they realise that they can play rugby, and just before half-time Luke Murray took the ball from a 'set' penalty move, and thrust himself over the line for a good try that was expertly converted by Chris Sheppard. The second half started without the injured Alex Dickenson and almost immediately the 'reds' scored another try the conversion narrowly worked its way round the wrong side of the posts (this was to prove more important later). At 7-20, the game looked beyond the Cheshire team, but not so, from nowhere Jamie Hall decided to set a new standard of commitment and skill that everyone else decided to follow. Sam Clayton and Simon Dale were excellent in the mauls and with Will Mitchell's tenacious work there were no Northwich induced 'clampets'. All the play was in the Whitchurch half and with new energy the backs started to click, and with another strong drive Josh Hall scored under the posts. With the try converted by Chris the score narrowed to just 14-20. Sam Jones was excellent and was only reduced to kicking on two occasions, with both effective, and it was from the second kick that both Jordan Byrne and Ryan Kitt charged down the Whitchurch full-back, and from the following phase Mike Collier's strength forced Jack Vandersteen over for a try. With both mum and dad watching from the touchline, Chris Sheppard had a difficult kick to take the lead. With a Thomond Park silence, the crowd watched in full anticipation, Chris in full Wilkinson style launched the ball high, and dissected the posts. Northwich were minutes from their second victory of 2007 when the Whitchurch winger broke at full pace towards the Northwich try-line, and with the full encouragement from his team mates Luke Murray was the only player left willing to make a try saving tackle. The referee blew for full-time with Northwich winning by a single point. A massive victory for the team ... well done lads. Northwich Team: Forwards - Will Mitchell, Alex Dickenson, Sam Clayton, Simon Dale, Mike Collier, Jamie Hall, Jordan Byrne, Jack Vandersteen, Backs - Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Ryan Kitt, Matt and Isaac from the Under 14's.
Return to fixtures
February 18th U13’s vs Congleton (Home) Won 31-5
With only a ten man squad, Northwich lost their first game of the 2006-07 season at Hankinson's Park against Congleton, but it was a stronger Northwich team that received the 'Bears' to Moss Farm on a perfect day for junior rugby. Northwich started the game well, pinning Congleton in their half and early into the game the superb Sam Jones jinked through a dozen players to make it easy for Chris Sheppard to convert the try from under the posts. The first half pressure from Northwich was uncharacteristic from previous and recent games, as it usually takes the team twenty minutes to wake up. However, Congleton cheered on by a large following, including three aging senior players, had their moments with Zak Jones, Thomas Beck and Scott Summerfield all playing excellent rugby, but it was a kick charged down by Jack Vandersteen from a Zak Jones that allowed the ever present Mike Gough to score his first try of the season. Northwich had a rare 12-nil lead at half time, and the second half started as it ended with the Moss Farm team playing text book rugby (well nearly). It was the Congleton High School exile, Jack Vandersteen that scored the next two tries against his current school mates to increase the Northwich lead to 22-nil, with Chris Sheppard then converting the second. Congleton were not finished though, and from a mazy run by their strong No.8, not stopping at any of the flapping Northwich arms thinking that it was the No. 8 bus to Barnton, led Congleton to score a well deserved, but unconverted try. Almost straight from the kick-off Zak Jones (who had secretly trained with the Northwich Team on the previous Wednesday night) run half the length of the pitch only to be expertly tackled by Josh Hall just before touching the ball down. Although the video referee gave no try, Diane Lea, blocked by at least thirty spectators, half a pitch away, and trying to light a cigarette was adamant that the referee had made a poor decision, a conversation that continued for some time later in the bar. With only a few minutes to go, the Northwich backs showed class to get the ball down the line to Luke Murray, who only left one of the ten pins standing has he charged the length of the pitch to score his third try in as many games. Chris Sheppard converted just as the full-time was blown. Both sets of supporters left the pitch having had value for money. All the Northwich Squad were credited with the man of the match award, but the day probably goes to two people; Ryan Simpson who played his first game for Northwich; and of course the Northwich No.8 who can hold his head up high in school on Monday morning ... a big well done (again) lads. Northwich Team: Forwards - Mike Gough, Will Mitchell, Baden Powell, Simon Dale, Alex Dickenson, Sam Clayton, Mike Collier, Jack Vandersteen, Backs - Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Tom Foulkes, Jordan Byrne, Tom Sheridan, Subs (all used) Ryan Kitt and Ryan Simpson
Return to fixtures
February 25th U13’s vs Warrington (Away) Won 14-10
Northwich U13's travelled to Warrington for a tough challenge and returned back home as the victors, with Chris Sheppard converting both the individual breakaway tries from Sam Jones and Like Murray. Northwich have now won all their games in February and will face a fresh challenge against Wirral in their first March encounter next Sunday (should be enough for the Guardian).
However, the score line does not tell the full story of a close battle between two equally matched teams. Even though Northwich showed much more promise in attack the Warrington team proved far better at the rucks and mauls, and with a stream of turnover balls, won line-outs and two early scrums won against the head the home team succeeded in making the 'Stags' look ordinary. However, it was from a penalty, deep in the Northwich half that Luke Murray was given the ball ... and at this point existing known metaphors cannot best describe the spectacle that was about to unfold: the knife was just too hot for the butter; the bull too big for the china shop; in fact the 'Camel' was led to the water, downed it in one, threaded his way through the eye of the needle, and killed all fifteen Warrington birds with just one stone, and he still had enough lead in his pencil to place the ball down under the posts. This should have been the trigger for better things, but the Warrington team continued to make life difficult, and if it was not for a missed conversion the teams would have been level at half time. Both coaches spoke with passion, and with the threat of being picked for next week's under 8's netball game, the Northwich team started the second half with much more vigour, intent and control, and it was not long until Sam Jones broke on the blind side and sprinted sixty metres to score an excellent individual try; this was again expertly converted by Chris Sheppard. With fifteen minutes remaining and already a match competed with brilliant spirit, everyone knew that the game would be won by the team with the biggest heart, and although Warrington scored another unconverted try, it was not enough to overcome the Northwich brave-hearts. Besides the point scorers, there were notable performances from Sam Oakes, Jack Vandersteen and Jamie Hall, but in particular Tom Sheridan showed that with some positional coaching that full-back could be his new position; but the player-of-the-match goes to Sam Clayton who was excellent in all quarters and has shown great improvements since moving to blind-side flanker. The match was won, but the team knew it was not one of their better performances ... but a test of a good team is one that can win by not playing well ... does this mean that Northwich are turning into a good team? This question could well be answered next Sunday when the 'Stags' will try and reverse the 32-nil thumping they experienced against Wirral back in early December ... set next week's standards higher lads. Northwich Team including substitutes (all used): Forwards - Sam Oakes, Will Mitchell, Mike Gough, Alex Dickenson, Sam Clayton, Simon Dale, Mike Collier, Jack Vandersteen and Ryan Simpson; Backs - Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Ryan Kitt, Tom Sheridan, Jamie Hall and Jordan Byrne.
Return to fixtures
March 4th U13’s vs Wirral (Away) Won 22-16
On a wet, cold and windy March day and after three straight wins Northwich U13’s traveled to play a strong Wirral squad. Both teams struggled in the mud, but after going 15 points down, Northwich woke up to score four tries Jack Vandersteen (3) and Mike Collier, and with one Chris Sheppard conversion to win the game and making it a four match winning streak (this extract sent to the Guardian
Northwich assembled their largest squad of the season with all nineteen players turning up at Wirral rugby club. The team arrived knowing that they had won the last three games, and although Wirral had proved too experienced back in December by scoring 32 points to nil, Northwich were displaying some dressing room confidence; “let’s beat these scallies”; “we’ll show these moaning minnies”; “let’s make them pay for December”. However, after a fifteen minute warm-up (… or it could have been described as a cold-down) schizophrenic tendencies prevailed; “its cold”; “I’m wet”; “they’ve
got long sleeves, we haven’t”; “I’ve left my gloves at home”. Men or girls? …. well it was the girls that kicked off …. Five – nil (missed conversion) …. Ten – nil (another missed conversion) ….. Fifteen – nil (yet another missed conversion). The only concession was that it was cold, it was wet and it was windy, and yes, Wirral did have long shirts … but the Northwich ‘minnies’ then decided they indeed were (young) men, and did they prove that. With ten minutes to go of the first half, Northwich defied the laws of wind physics and kept Wirral in their own half and were rewarded with a fine try from Jack Vandersteen.
Whilst all this was going on Jordan Byrne came off with frost-bite on his wrist; Sam Oakes preferred the shelter of a spectator’s umbrella; and the Northwich under 14’s were using two of the substitute under 13’s (Ryan Kitt and Baden Powell) on the adjacent pitch, because they were short numbered.
The half time talk looked like a huddle of Antarctic Penguins from an episode of David Attenborough’s Planet Earth, with Jamie Hall and Tom Sheridan in the middle. After being flattened by six Wirral U14 gorillas in the other game Baden Powell sat the rest of both games out and was replaced by the reluctant Sam Oakes, and Tom Foulkes replaced Ryan Kitt for the U14’s with Ryan joining the U13’s for the second half.
The second half started evenly, with Wirral displaying the same running flare that had beaten the ‘Stags’ back in December. Northwich defended well, and then Chris Sheppard and Sam Jones started to understand aerodynamic theory and with some well positioned kicking the pressure was now on Wirral. From one of these kicks, Jack Vandersteen emerged from a maul and scored his second (unconverted try). The pendulum had swung, and from another excellent kick, Northwich won the resulting lineout and Jack Vandersteen, again, lumbered through to score his third try (in many clubs that leads to a jug of beer being purchased after the game – tight a^$e!!) … at fifteen a piece, and in gale force winds Chris Sheppard converted the try to put Northwich two points ahead. However, Wirral were not beaten, a ten minute surge of effort nearly led to a late try, and if was not for the Wirral scrum half deciding to run a penalty in front of the post rather than kick, the result could have been different …. but ‘wet-hats’ off to the Northwich team who defended well. Then with minutes to go Mike Collier stepped up to his mid-Cheshire mark to score a fourth try for Northwich followed by a double summersault and triple twist.
The excellent referee blew the final whistle to the cheers of the Black and Gold Penguins. Northwich had won their fourth game in a row.
Whilst all this was going on Tom Foulkes and Sam Oakes were battling it out on the other pitch, and both found themselves having played on both the losing and winning teams in the same hour. After not having one of his best first halves for the U13’s, Sam Oakes walked off the U14 pitch with accolades from both sets of coaches (“that Ginger lad is a
good player” ……… ummm!). Reluctantly, the coaches’ man-of-the-match goes to the Northwich Number 8. Northwich Team including substitutes (all used): Forwards – Sam Oakes, Will Mitchell, Mike Gough, Alex Dickenson, Sam Clayton, Simon Dale, Mike Collier, Jack Vandersteen, Baden Powell and Ryan Simpson; Backs - Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Ryan Kitt, Tom Sheridan, Jamie Hall, Tom Foulkes and Jordan Byrne
Return to fixtures
March 11th U13’s vs Chester (Home) Won 52-12
Although both teams had weakened squads with each fielding players in the Cheshire Development Squad, Northwich still made it five consecutive wins in a row with an excellent display at Moss Farm. The Northwich 'tries' were scored by Luke Murray (2), Sam Jones (2), Chris Sheppard (2), Sam Clayton and Jamie Hall, with Chris Sheppard converting six of the eight tries scored.
With Jack Vandersteen, Will Mitchell and Mike Collier on Cheshire duty; Tom Foulkes on Scout duty; and Sam Oakes injured playing football, the Northwich squad shrunk to fourteen players, however two new players from Hartford High School turned up for a trail match, Michael Chubb whose brother is part of the Senior First Team Squad, and David Lawrence currently undecided between the 'round' and 'oval' ball. The welcome Chester squad was also without six players, also on Cheshire duty.
With both teams wearing all-black strips and Chester looking slightly bigger in theirs', the game started evenly with both sides well drilled, that was until Luke Murray drove over the line to score the first try of the day, duly converted by Chris Sheppard. Chester continued to show some good skills in both the forwards and backs, and in particular their no. 8 had some excellent runs, but then slightly against the run of play Jamie Hall was allowed through to score a well worked forwards try. The half finished with Northwich leading 12 to nil.
In the first five minutes Chester did not come to the races, Tom the Chester Coach was quite animated after he saw his team concede three quick converted tries; the first was a fine individual run from Chris Sheppard; the second was a trade mark 'slinky-jinky' from Sam Jones; and the third from Luke 'The Fridge' Murray, all three converted by Chris Sheppard. It was after the third Tom-lashing that Chester woke up, and the excellent no. 8 scored two tries with one being expertly converted by himself, albeit between his two tries 'slinky-jinky' slipped through again for his eighth try of the season.
The game was closing to an inevitable end but not before Sam Clayton scored his first try for Northwich and Chris Sheppard scored his second as well as converting both. With time up the referee blew the final whistle, and Northwich extended their unbeaten run to five straight wins.
Everyone contributed with fine performances. All the backs were superb, the half back pairing was exceedingly well drilled and the two centres were awesome. The two new players fitted in well, Ryan Simpson played his first game as hooker, and Jordan Byrne (with his 'night-club' haircut) moved up into the depleted pack. With four regular forwards out of action, one must say, that the pack was brilliant, with Mike Gough and Alex Dickenson stepping up to the mark; Baden Powell further expanding his confidence; and in particular Jamie Hall's running and tight work was exemplary, and Sam Clayton's rise to excellence continued; but the RBS man-of-the-match goes to Simon Dale who was nearly always the first forward to the break down and through shear hard forward work selflessly contributed to most of the Northwich tries. A huge 'pat-on-the-back' for Simon, and a massive 'well done' to the Northwich team! ... but what to do with our absent stars? as Macclesfield are the next visitors to the Farm. Northwich Team including substitutes (all used): Forwards - Mike Gough, Alex Dickenson, Sam Clayton, Simon Dale, Jamie Hall, Jordan Byrne, Baden Powell and Ryan Simpson; Backs - Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Ryan Kitt, Tom Sheridan, Michael Chubb and David Lawrence.
Return to fixtures
March 18th U13’s vs Macclesfield (Home) Won 26-22
Gale force winds could not spoil an extremely close encounter between two of the most improved teams in Cheshire. Each side scored four tries with just the slim margin of two extra conversions giving Northwich their sixth straight win with tries scored by Jack Vandersteen (2), Chris Sheppard and Luke Murray (summary for local paper).
Lessons were learnt from a recent cold day on the Wirral: Macclesfield were the team that spent an extra thirty minutes on a cold and windy pre-match practice ground whilst the boisterous Northwich penguins warmed up their vocal cords in room 3; it was Macclesfield with the short sleeved shirts; and it was Northwich with that started the game in the right frame of mind. Northwich were quick to capitalise from the extremely strong wind blowing in the faces of their visitors, and after his third surge, Luke Murray ran half the length of the pitch to score under the posts to leave Chris Sheppard with an easy conversion. Macclesfield soon showed good movement, and on many occasions the excellent standoff took the blind side option, and it was on one of these runs that he made room for his winger to score in the corner. The conversion was missed. This however, led to Northwich's best spell of the match, which resulted in tries from Chris Sheppard and Jack Vandersteen, both being converted one by Chris Sheppard and one from Sam Jones. As the weather deteriorated with the introduction of horizontal sleet 'sand-blasting' the Macclesfield XV the referee decided to cut the first half short, with Northwich leading 21-5.
With Sam Clayton limping off and others frozen by the cold, Northwich decided to field all five of their substitutes at once for the second half, this included Tom Finney, yet another Hartford High School debutant. Obviously the wind was now working to Macclesfield's advantage and early into the half the visitors scored another unconverted try was scored in the corner. With the game threatening to change shape the Northwich forwards started to gain control of both the set and tight plays, and gradually the balance of territorial play extended to the windward end of the pitch. A clever Will Mitchell lineout throw on the Macclesfield five-metre line was caught by Jack Vandersteen who forced his way over the line to score his second try of the match.
With five minutes remaining, any previous discipline shown by the Northwich backs disintegrated, and the visiting stand-off was allowed the freedom of the 'Farm', and rapidly closed the gap with a try and a 'major-assist', and although he converted one of the two tries, there was not enough time for his team to win the game. However, given one last Macclesfield play, Northwich's six game winning streak could have definitely been under threat.
Northwich yet again demonstrated strength in character. The forwards were strong, with some excellent rucking and team-work. Everyone still wants to know what pre-match coloured smarties Baden Powell consumed as he gave his best performance in a Northwich shirt, with true aggression and fitness ... well done to the 'Lord'. The backs were keen and enacted some promising passing and running moves, but they were unable to deal with either, the excellent Macclesfield stand-off or the No. 8 ... but this will prove to be a good thing as the remedy will be easy to administer by the coaches at Wednesday night's pre-tour training session.
This week's RBS man-of-the-match goes to Will Mitchell who obviously enjoyed last week's Cheshire training day, and was benchmark in the rucks, as well as being superb in his overall tackling and support play. A huge 'pat-on-the-back' for Will, and another big 'well done' to the Northwich team who overcame a hard anticipated challenge from a large Macclesfield squad. As a postscript there will be late injury tests done on Chris Sheppard (nose-job) and Sam Clayton (leg-amputation) prior to next week's international 'round-robin' in Cardiff.
Northwich Team including substitutes (all used): Forwards - Sam Oakes, Will Mitchell, Mike Gough, Mike Collier, Jack Vandersteen, Alex Dickenson, Sam Clayton, Simon Dale, Jamie Hall, Baden Powell and Ryan Simpson; Backs - Tom Finney, Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Ryan Kitt, Tom Sheridan, Michael Chubb and Tom Foulkes
Return to fixtures
April 1st U13’s vs Congleton (Home) Won 31-12
Northwich made it seven straight wins to Cheshire opposition, and even with seven enforced changes to the usual starting line-up, Northwich powered past a strong Congleton XV with three tries from Luke Murray, one from Sam Jones and with Chris Sheppard adding a further try and three conversions.
For the record, Congleton came to win, and arguably fielded both their best team of the season and their strongest set of supporters on the touchline. There were strong performances from Tom Beck at prop, Scott Summerfield at scrumhalf, and by far their best and most outstanding player was 'Ollie' the Congleton no.8.
However, many of today's Northwich squad can still remember the first game of this 2006-07 season when 'Stags' could only muster a squad of eleven to face Congleton. This latest victory in the current seven game winning streak shows how far the squad has developed this season. Northwich were without, two of their three Cheshire players Will Mitchell (ill) and Mike Collier (Skiing); were without regular first team starters Sam Clayton, Tom Foulkes and Baden Powell (all on Cheshire Scout hiking competition), Jamie Hall, Tom Finney and Simon Dale (all on holiday), Sam Oakes (injured); and without our latest recruit Andrew Dawson who was also unavailable (sailing in a National Open). So the stage was given to some of our developing players to face a strong Congleton squad. Lee Burke, Luke Targett and Stefan Haspell all debutants, Michael Chubb, Ryan Kitt, Ryan Simpson and Jordan Byrne were all given the chance to play a full game.
This mixture of experience and fresh enthusiasm showed great promise right from the first kick-off, and although the pack lacked physical size, all eight were awesome throughout the whole game. Ryan Simpson and Lee Burke brought a new mobile dimension to the position of props; Mike Gough (once his dad had managed to get him out of bed) was superb as hooker; Stefan Haspell was influential and spurred his fellow lock Alex Dickenson into one of his best games in a Northwich shirt; Ryan Kitt and Jordan Byrne moved from the backs into the forwards and were both excellent; and Jack Vandersteen led the pack brilliantly from his no. 8 position.
At recent training sessions the coaches have been working on the tight eight working the phases and then letting the backs get the glory tries, and for the first time this season this tactic worked with all 31 points being scored by the backs. Sam Jones nearly eliminated the 'kicking game' for one of 'hands', he had a some excellent blind side runs, as a result of one run of these runs scored an excellent individual try, and he orchestrated the pace of play and gave some fine passes out to his backs; Chris Sheppard was on form, he looked really comfortable with his scrum half, and sped some quick ball out to his centres as well as scoring an excellent individual try and converting three of the five tries scored on the day (narrowly missing a fourth by hitting the posts in strong winds from the touchline); Luke Murray and Josh Hall are definitely turning into an excellent pair of centres, both making strong, straight runs, Josh leading the tackling count, and Luke leading the 'bulldozer' runs by scoring three tries on the day to make it eleven for the season (even though the one from the penalty move was meant for Josh, but we will let them argue that one in the clubhouse); Tom Sheridan is still learning the position as full-back but has already made that position his own in 2007, and although the hardening ground caused both sides problems, Tom has real potential in this position; and finally to the two wingers, Michael Chubb could one day follow in the footsteps of his brother on to the hallowed turf of Twickenham and is proving to be a great introduction to the squad by adding some security in tackling to the wing position, and with the natural running style he shows in training it is only time before he scores his first of many tries in a black and gold shirt, and finally to Luke Targett who had an excellent debut for Northwich with some brilliant tackling, with two champagne moments by 'dumping' the accomplished Congleton and South Cheshire scrum-half on two separate occasions.
To choose a man of the match is difficult, from fifteen players that all contributed some excellent moments, so this week, rather than looking at the points scorers, the RBS men-of-the-match goes to the two props Ryan Simpson and debutant Lee Burke for their mobility and strength in the forwards that allowed Luke Murray, Sam Jones and Chris Sheppard to score all of the points .............. and guess what - ANOTHER MASSIVE WELL DONE to the Northwich players - seven straight victories.
Northwich Team: Forwards - Ryan Simpson, Mike Gough, Lee Burke, Stefan Haspell, Ryan Kitt, Jordan Byrne, Jack Vandersteen and Alex Dickenson; Backs - Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Luke Targett, Tom Sheridan and Michael Chubb
Return to fixtures
April 15th U13’s vs Helsby (Home) Won 41-5
Moss Farm hosted a mixed team with Helsby who fielded some rather large U14's, however Northwich played some good rugby to eventually win easily, with two tries from both Luke Murray and Sam Jones, one each for Sam Clayton, Jack Vandersteen and Josh Hall; Jack Vandersteen converted his try and Chris Sheppard scored a further three conversions to stretch the winning streak to eight straight games. (Extract sent to the Guardian).
Helsby are friends to our club who have had difficulties this year too. So we agreed for them to send a mixed team of both U14's and U13's, and on the back of a good win against Northwich's next opponents Crewe and Nantwich they came to Moss Farm looking for another scalp. The size difference with some of the players was noticeable, the day was hot and the ground was hard but this did not stop the 'Stags' from scoring seven tries to Helsby's one, to make it eight straight wins to Cheshire opposition.
The forwards from Northwich were excellent; the four props played a 'Benetiz' style rotation system keeping their legs fresh and also putting the Helsby front row under good constant pressure, winning at least four scrums against the head; Mike Collier and Sam Clayton were again superb with good driving runs and many turnover balls, with one such drive allowing Sam to score an excellent try; Andrew Dawson and Ben Colyer had brilliant debut games as flankers; Alex Dickenson ran his heart out and easily won the 'red-face-of-the-day' award; and Jack Vandersteen played his usual strong game, with an opportunistic try coming from a quick tap-penalty as the Helsby team retreated ten metres, obeying their coach's screams not to touch Jack until they had retreated, so they did not and hence Jack ran straight under the posts to score a try and with Chris Sheppard sucking his injured toe, Jack also converted his try. However, by far the best forward of the day was Will Mitchell whose tackle count was incredible, whose rucking was brilliant, and not often seen until today, his running was strong and decisive. He may not be the biggest player in the team, but he often has the biggest heart and is fearless, that is why the RBS forward of the day goes to 'Braveheart' himself. Well-done Will!
Now to the backs: they seem to improve in every game. Sam Jones and Chris Sheppard have a real understanding together, which is an important ingredient for a great team. Josh Hall and Luke Murray have become an excellent centre pairing, and with Chris, their attacking defence puts teams under immediate pressure, and in conjunction with strong tackling it is now rare to see a Cheshire team break through the backs, so no surprise that Luke and Josh scored three tries between them. One of Luke's tries was definitely a 'try-of-the-season' contender: after three driving phases from the forwards moving the gain line into the Helsby half, Sam Jones spun the ball to Chris Sheppard who broke a tackle and passed to Luke Murray who immediately popped the ball to Josh Hall, Josh drove through three tackles and then released the ball to Tom Foulkes, Tom side-stepped two players with an excellent 'wingers-run' and was tackled a metre short of the try line and as he hit the ground he popped the ball up to the supporting Luke who scored in the corner ... pure brilliance (Gareth Edwards eat your heart out!). Unlike earlier in the season, the ball is now getting to the wingers of Tom Foulkes, Ryan Kitt, Jordan Byrne and Luke Targett all had chances to test and show their pace. There was one unfortunate interchange between Chris's and Jordan's heads that left Jordan with a broken nose. We all wish Jordan well who will have his nose mended when the swelling goes down later this week, but in the meantime will have the opportunity to pose for some Picasso portrait painters. The RBS back of the day must go to Sam Jones who was one kick short of delivering a perfect performance; his passing was with speed and accuracy; he orchestrated the play by bossing his forwards; he read the game so well and is starting to realize that he can lead the pack from behind by pulling people into to the tight and at the same time pulling out runners when the tight has been won; he demonstrated his natural captaincy skills; and he scored two excellent tries to top his wonderful performance. Well-done Sam!
Northwich U13's have officially recovered their season from the poor start in 2006, having now played 21 games, won 10, lost 10 and drawn 1 and with two games left to play the team could still end the season on a real high.
Northwich Squad: Forwards - Will Mitchell, Ryan Simpson, Mike Gough, Lee Burke, Ben Colyer, Mike Collier, Sam Clayton, Andrew Dawson, Baden Powell, Jack Vandersteen and Alex Dickenson; Backs - Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Luke Targett, Ryan Kitt, Jordan Byrne, Tom Sheridan and Tom Foulkes
Return to fixtures
April 22nd U13’s vs Crewe & Nantwich (Home) Won 38-12
Northwich U13's made it nine wins in a row after they over-powered Crewe and Nantwich with three tries from Luke Murray and one each for Ryan Kitt (first try for the club), Sam Jones and Josh Hall, with Chris Sheppard converting four of the six tries (Extract sent to the Guardian).
With Ryan Simpson and Ben Colyer unavailable, Mike Gough's alarm clock failing him, Jordan Byrne sitting on the touch line with a reconstructed nose, Sam Oakes with a broken bone in his foot and Andrew Dawson with a sprained wrist, Northwich still had the headroom to lend Crewe and Nantwich a prop and a second row, as well as having a further two substitutes.
Northwich were superb in the first half playing well as a team, with ball being won by the forwards and ground being made by the backs, and the pleasing result for such teamwork was that all the points were scored by backs. In the backs, Luke Murray and Josh Hall had some excellent interchanges with the ball regularly getting to the wingers, and even though Luke scored three and Josh one try, it was great to see the wingers getting opportunities. Tom Foulkes and Luke Targett continue to show great promise, Tom Sheridan had another solid game at full-back, Michael Chubb looked a real natural on the ball and showed his class on more than one occasion, Tom Finney looks a strong inclusion to the squad, and Ryan Kitt scored his first try for the under 13's from one of his many piercing runs. To even things up in the second half, Luke changed sides, and continued to show his brilliant strength of running (and yes, his catching is improving greatly as well), he did score a try for Crewe, and stopped Josh from scoring his second for Northwich, but the backs showed how well they can tackle, with Chris Sheppard, Josh Hall and Sam Jones leading the 'Murray' onslaught. To complete the scoring in the backs, Sam Jones scored another excellent individual try and Chris Sheppard kicked well and only missed two conversions. The RBS back of the day must go to Luke Murray, he is so strong, and is continually improving his rugby skills week-on-week. Well-done Luke!
Continuing with the theme of the first half, the forwards were awesome. Simon Dale and Mike Collier were brilliant again, Will Mitchell and Jamie Hall were strong in the mauls as too was Luke Targett when he played flanker in the first half, and Alex Dickenson, Lee Burke and Baden Powell played well for both teams (thanks again for their flexibility). There were two champagne moments from Jack Vandersteen, the run and selfless pass to Josh Hall to score his try, and the tackle on Luke Murray that shows that an Ox can be dumped if the technique is correct. However, the outstanding performance of the day goes to Sam Clayton who was stunning, and besides one slightly high tackle, he had a faultless game and wins the RBS forward of the day. Well-done Sam!
...and as for the second half ... the referee played 26 minutes and 27 of them consisted of 'umpteen' games of 'Clampits' ... so guess what ... training on Wednesday will work on taking the ball into contact ... AGAIN! So this week's match gallery photographs are all from the second half ... 'Clampits' ... 'Clampits'... and more 'Clampits'.
Northwich Squad: Forwards - Simon Dale, Will Mitchell, Lee Burke, Mike Collier, Sam Clayton, Baden Powell, Jack Vandersteen, Luke Targett, Jamie Hall and Alex Dickenson; Backs - Sam Jones, Chris Sheppard, Luke Murray, Josh Hall, Michael Chubb, Tom Finney, Ryan Kitt, Tom Sheridan and Tom Foulkes
Return to fixtures
April 29th U13’s vs Sandbach (Home) Lost 29-0
On the last match of the season Northwich U13's entertained Sandbach. Sandbach U13’s ‘1st XV’ had not lost to any opposition for 18 months, and currently they are clearly the best team in Cheshire and a definite contender for a North West benchmark. On the last Sunday of the season they brought their best team to Moss Farm. This challenging fixture was aligned to the end of season so as to see how far Northwich had improved since their 71- 0 thrashing back in October when the side was still developing as a squad.
Northwich had an available squad of 22. Absent from the game was Ryan Simpson who was on holiday, Tom Foulkes on school duty and Tom Finney absent without leave. Jordan Burns was injured but still attended to support his team-mates. Sam Oakes returned from a long lay-off.
Northwich U13's started with their strongest XV and also had the privilege of playing on the Senior 1st XV pitch. The team held their own, with some superb tackling from Sam Clayton, Luke Murray, Chris Shepard, Josh Hall and Mike Collier. The intensity of the tackles was superb to the extent that Mike Collier had to go off with an injured shoulder. The half time score was 12 to nil. To ensure that everyone got a game, the coaches made several changes and although the second half team lost 19 - 0 the spirit and pride displayed by everyone was superb. There was some really good second half performances and courage shown by Andrew Dawson, Ben Colyer, Ryan Kitts, Jamie Hall and Sam Jones.
All of the tries scored by Sandbach were scored by one player, a stunning individual and one of the best U13 players seen in Cheshire for many a year. However, all the watching parents saw a Northwich performance that showed great enthusiasm and commitment, and gave great hope for the new season at under 14 level. For the last match of the season the RBS man of the match award goes to Jack Vandersteen for his aggression, commitment and leadership in the forwards, probably Jack's best game of the season.
In the afternoon the club held the end of year prize giving and the coaches would like to say a massive thank you to all of the parents that contributed to the food and refreshments, with a special thanks to Jane, Alison and Charlotte for preparing the room, and a mention to Stella for the very innovative, individually numbered shirt-cakes and to Tammy for the superb Northwich cake. It was a feast that everyone really enjoyed, including Helsby, Sandbach, Crewe and Nantwich, the under 14's, the colts, everyone in the bar, the under 13's and their friends and relatives. Thank you again.
Northwich Squad: Ben Colyer, Sam Clayton, Mike Collier, Jack Vandersteen, Mike Gough, Jamie Hall, Alex Dickenson, Sam Oakes, Simon Dale, Baden Powell and Andrew Simpson, Will Mitchell, Luke Targett, Ryan Kitt, Luke Murray, Tom Sheridan, Sam Jones (captain), Chris Sheppard, Josh Hall, Michael Chubb, Lee Burke and Jordan Byrne.
Return to fixtures
|
