Southwold win under floodlights

SOUTHWOLD U15’S 34 VS WOODBRIDGE U15’S 17

This was the under 15’s first foray into playing under floodlights, and what a game to watch and no doubt to play in. Wold turned up with 19 players, Woodbridge with a squad of 27. The pitch was playable, although due to the amount of rain it was not thought to be one for a running game. Ohh how wrong we were!

With Callum taking the kick off, the Wold forwards were soon into the faces of their opposition. Good pressure on their backs resulted in a clearance kick falling straight to Connor. His trademark side stepping and jinking run, saw him step through the players whilst breaking attempted tackles to score his first try. Woodbridge came back at Southwold, with some fine running from their destructive centre and their large pack. Wold were struggling to ruck the ball well, but were very quick to turn over ball in one on one tackles. From one turnover the ball found Darius in his own 22, but his burst of speed down the wing saw him gain 80 metres before being tackled. Again Woodbridge defended resolutely and made their own progress down the field. Wold’s kick down field then saw good chasing as Jacob E and Darius converged on the Woodbridge player to see a 5m scrum. Wold couldn’t take advantage of this territory as over laps were ignored and Woodbridge secured possession. They then worked their way downfield, and when tackles were missed the Woodbridge player scored a well taken try to level the scores. This was then followed by another score as it appeared the Sharks were taking their foot off the pedal.

As Wold got back in them game, Jacob B was tackling hard around the pitch showing his versatility as a mobile prop. Zak again put in tackle after tackle and with Chris spinning the ball out wide Wold scored a superb try. Quick hands and some fine off loading between Darius, Alex and Olly resulted in Olly touching down to level the scores again. Must be said, some fine back row support play for that try. By no means were Woodbridge out of this game and they battled hard to gain field, but Pablo and Jake T were tackling hard to ensure limited ground was made. The final try of the half came from a lovely kick through from Callum, and with Simon and Connor chasing it was the latter who touched down for a 15-10 half time score.

The half time team talk just emphasised that Woodbridge were here to win this game, and that the boys needed to use the space and pace of the team. Blondie came on for Simon and Sam for Jacob B.

The first few minutes saw the game ebb and flow as both sides battled for opportunities to score. A fine run from Blondie saw him gain 50m before being forced out of play, some fine defensive tackles from Jake T and Jacob E showed that Wold wanted this game. However it was Woodbridge that took the lead after some good phases of possession saw them score a deserved try under the posts, duly converted to take the lead. The Sharks knew they had to use quick hands and pace to win this game, but so did Woodbridge. Both teams started to attack from defensive positions, and Chris combined well with Jake T. His driving run allowed him to feed Blondie who again outpaced players on the wing. With the mobile back row of Alex, Zak and Olly, there was always good support. Good covering tackles halted the attack but Wold sped ball out wide only to be harshly penalised for a forward pass when the try line beckoned. Sam then had a rumble down field and when the covering tackler took him out illegally, Woodbridge were reduced to 14 men as the player was sin binned. Some quick thinking saw Callum kick downfield and Darius collected well and sprinted clear to score another lovely try.

The backs were really playing well, but it was those forwards that gave them the ball. Cairns again winning against the head in the scrum but also hitting the tackles well and running hard with the ball. Jens worked like a Trojan in the scrum, but his ability to set play up in the ruck and maul was really impressive. Soon it was Chris again using the ball quickly to find Pablo, who ran with determination at the opposition. Finally brought down, it was Innes and Alex on hand to secure the ball. Running off the ruck was Zak at pace, as he went over the advantage line it was Woodbridge on the back foot. Some clean passing then created the 3 man overlap which Jacob E took advantage of when he collected the ball off his toes and scored beside the posts. Chris calmly converted to increase the lead. Woodbridge did not give up the battle as they brought on fresh legs and continued to play running rugby. Wold were tackling to the man as big hits came in from Jacob B, Connor, Darius and Jens. Using turnover ball the play went downfield, and it was Callum who scored under the posts when a set move was orchestrated perfectly as dummy runners fooled the defence. Chris again converted calmly to win the game 34-17.

A cracking game to watch from the side lines, with some of those training ground skills coming to fruition on the night. Inter play between the forwards and backs was text book in places, and the quick slick passing in the backs was near faultless. The team used the power to win ball in the forwards, and then the sense to use the speed of the backs to attack. Well played to both teams, and thanks to Kieran turning up on the night (but you did need to rest that shoulder).