Cold day on the common tests Southwold & Crusaders

Southwold U10's welcomed Crusaders to the Common on what was a cold and rainy opening fixture.

Following the summer break and three training sessions, the first competitive game proved to be a real thriller of a game, with both sets of players contributing to a very even contest.

With the introduction of the scrum, ruck and maul to the game, plus a larger pitch and longer play time, it proved to be a stop start game, with plenty of learning for both sets of players imparted by the coaches.

Some fine free running from Crusaders saw them score three unanswered tries following some missed tackles from Southwold. However, this then spurred a resurgence lead by Dylan Burgess, Will Dyson & Grainger Muir who then took the game to Crusaders with hard & tight running and the use of the line. Some great offloading in the flow of the game really drained Crusaders. This saw Southwold level the score by half time.

Following the break, Southwold hit back with a try from the pugnacious Jacob Bayford. Wold then pressed on through some fine running Arthur Carman & Warren Terry who both went over. Crusaders then made several substitutes and scored unanswered tries to level the game, despite some determined ripping and mauling work in loose play by Will Dyson & Dylan Burgess. Southwold then brought on strong runner Charlie Dean to bring on who battered his way through to set up a try for Grainger Muir. With moments on the clock, a home win looked close.

However with last play called, Southwold gifted Crusaders the equalising try with some missed tackles due to cold hands no doubt. Both sets of players were relived to hear the whistle!

All in all, a really great start to the season, with some good blocks for building through the season to come.