U15 Sharks home to Colchester 18/12/2016

Colchester came to the common and were greeted by warm, windless weather that certainly didn't feel a lot like Christmas, but was most welcome nevertheless.
The teams were well-matched and neither could gain much advantage in the opening minutes, handling errors and strong tackling keeping play in the the middle of the pitch. Strong tackling behind the gain line from Southwold made Colchester force a pass between fly-half and inside centre that Renee intercepted at pace. The Colchester full-back was nowhere to be seen and Renee went over unopposed from around half-way to open the scoring. Jack added the two points, the first shot in an exemplary kicking display. (7-0)

Colchester upped their game and took the lead with two tries before half-time.The first came from loose play, an attempted fly hack that fell victim to the unpredictable bounce of a rugby ball and a couple of missed tackles. The second was simply the result of a pacy breakaway by the visitors' full-back, leaving the score at 7-12 as the referee brought the first half to an end with Wold close to the Colchester line and very much on the front foot.

Wold continued in this vein after the restart and immediately pinned Colchester back against their own try line, their opponents just about holding out one of the two 'Ireland' moves executed on the day. With play now firmly entrenched in the Colchester 22, Jade caught and held up an opponent, the ensuing maul leading to a scrum from which Jack (K) and Toby combined for a try. Jack (S) converted, Wold led 14-12.
Jack's kicking display had so far comprised of conversions, touch-finders and restarts, so what else remained? Receiving the ball after a midfield scrum, he chipped into space behind the advancing Colchester backs, allowing Waldo to gather the ball and feed Renee for a well-worked try in the corner. (19-12)
...and then Jack kicked a penalty to complete the set and move the points difference beyond one score.(22-12)
'Ireland' came to the fore one last time after a penalty, a huge touch-finding kick and a well-executed line-out routine allowed Renee to drop over the line for a final try, inevitably converted by Jack.
The final score was 29-12, which was a fair reflection of the game. Wold tackled hard, often behind the gain line, which put Colchester under a great deal of pressure as they played the game on the back foot. Although the squad was missing five or six players, this made little difference on the day and all those that played exhibited a willingness to work for each other. This was a thoroughly watchable game and a terrific way to finish 2016.

Keep playing in the same manner and you can all look forward to a successful 2017, guys!