Semi-Final agony.

A glorious sunny Sunday greeted the Southwold under 15 squad, down at RHS for the Youth 7’s. The excellent weather was reciprocated with some excellent rugby by all of the teams at the event. Southwold were grouped into what most people would call the ‘group of death’, but after winning the Plate competition for the last 2 years the boys wanted to get into the main Trophy competition this year.

The first group game saw the boys pitted against Colchester C and the team started quick off the blocks. Using their speed of getting the ball out from the contact area, allowed the pace to be used in attack. First to score was Darius when he outpaced the covering defence, quickly followed by Jacob E scoring after some nifty footwork. Ellis then got on the score sheet after some dribbling of the ball on the floor, with Darius getting another just before the break. With the wind against and some tight angles, all 4 went unconverted.

The second half saw some fine defending as Colchester got back in the game, with ‘Blondie’ Jacob putting in some solid tackles. Connor was causing confusion in the opposition defence with his side stepping runs, and with Jake’s direct running he was soon rewarded with his first try, duly converted by Callum. Colchester came back well and good turnover ball allowed them to attack the Southwold line. As a ruck formed, their player ran blind side to score a well deserved try. Chris and Keiran then linked well and Jake finished a fine move to score his second try and secure a comfortable win. If the players hands had been better in the first game, they would have no doubt ran in at least 3 more scoring tries.

Second up for Wold was Bury B, and again Southwold played with pace and agility. Alex was frequently stealing ball at the breakdown and distributing well. Olly was solid in his runs too, drawing the defence and then offloading exceptionally well to allow Darius to sprint clear to score the first try. Jacob E then touched down following a some fine passing through the players. The third try of the game came from good solid running, passing through the backs to Ellis who off loaded to allow Darius to attack the corner. Connor following up the play then got the ball and stepped his way to score a fine team try.

The second period saw some strong running from Jacob B, and some persistently strong 3 man scrum play from Jacob B, Woody and Alex. Such disruption allowed Chris to feed Jacob E, and his sublime ‘in and out’ movement on the opposition defence saw him score a fine try converted by Chris. Keiran then took a heavy knock and had to leave the field, and rather than risk further injury, was unable to take any further part in the actual games but supported vocally from the touchline. More solid tackles from Jake and Woody allowed quick ball through the hands to see Blondie finish the move with another try in the corner and secure their second win.

2 out of 2, and the coaching staff were pleased with the performances of all the squad.

Next up: Colchester A. Everyone knew this would be a tough match, with a Colchester squad full of County and Eastern County players. But anything can happen in 7’s rugby. Southwold started the game with some solid tackling and disrupting the Colchester game. Jake made a superb run down the flank, outpacing the defending players but was stopped agonisingly short of the line. As the ball swept from one side of the pitch to the other, Callum used his quick thinking at a penalty and sped through the gap (Usain Bolt like) to score a converted try. Was this to be the upset of the day? Well unfortunately not, as Colchester came back strongly and with some superb play they then dominated possession and soon ran in unanswered scores to become worthy winners of this encounter. All the lads tried hard to turn this game around, and should be proud of the efforts against such a strong outfit.

Last up in the group stage was the game against Stowmarket A and a game that would determine which cup match the boys would play in. A win and they looked destined to achieve a Trophy semi final, a loss and they would be in the Plate for the third year running.

Southwold went back to the same style of play they used in the first 2 games, using power to win the ball and then pure pace to set up the scoring chances. First on the score sheet was Jake following good hands from Alex and Olly. Next score came from Darius when Olly drew 2 tacklers and allowed Darius to speed under the posts to score the converted try. Jacob E then worked well with Connor, and Connor avoided the tacklers to score another well deserved try converted by Callum.

Then came the run of the game (or maybe the day for Southwold?), with Olly breaking tackles at will and when clean through for a certain score, did he hear the Circus music playing? He started to juggle the ball but try as he could to control the ball, the inevitable knock on occurred. With a smile on his face he shrugged his shoulders and carried on (that’s the spirit of rugby!). Woody again came into the game and showed versatility in being able to play in the 3 man scrum. Always supported by Jacob B and Ellis, the 3 combined well to win ball and defend against any attacking play. The final score of the game came from good interplay from Chris and Blondie, with good phased possession leading to Darius running in his second of the match.

Now the waiting game, to see if the boys had done enough to secure a semi final place in the Trophy. Games were still continuing in both groups but once these were over it was confirmed that the boys had secured 2nd spot in the ‘group of death’, and a semi final game against Bury A. A huge achievement by the team.

The boys knew this would be another hard fought game, but the tactics that had served them well through the group stages would assist. Southwold started well, creating the overlap but a knock on ended this attack. And this proved to be the story of the first half, as Wold created the overlap but could not secure the final pass. Bury seized on this, and scored 3 tries accordingly. As the half ended, Alex sustained an injury which wouldn’t see him on the pitch for the second half.

At the break, Seb just told the lads to enjoy the second half and see what comes. All of the players played their part but it was Connor who made the score closer with 2 determined runs both resulting in unconverted tries. Wold continued to attack with Chris, Woody and Ellis but Bury held on to their lead to see them progress to the main Trophy final against Colchester.

All in all, the squad achieved what they set out to do: make it into the main Trophy stage. This was a solid performance from all of the squad (Alex, Jake, Woody, Ellis, Jacob B, Ollie, Chris, Callum, Keiran, Darius, Connor, Jacob E and Blondie Jacob). Back to ‘real’ rugby next week.