U15 Sharks Triumph in a Big Test

As we have said before, this U15 Sharks squad know that the true value of any victory relies on the quality and worth of the opposition. In that respect, the Ipswich U15s once again proved themselves to be absolutely top-drawer opponents and a huge test. This was a very special win for these Sharks given that the Ipswich team is stuffed full of talented players who once again displayed impressive fire, heart and skills right up until the final whistle, thoroughly earning the respect of all.

With this win, these U15 Sharks must surely have more belief in themselves and their abilities. That great performance also earned them more respect too. Most encouraging of all however, is the fact that this squad shows every sign of kicking on! The three matches vs Ipswich this season began with a loss, followed by that close and unbelievably thrilling victory in the Suffolk Plate, before Sunday’s deserved win (Southwold 25 v 14 Ipswich) made it two wins out of three for the Sharks.

It is now hugely important that none of this U15 squad sit on their laurels. You owe it to yourselves to keep kicking on and improving your performances in every single match.

The bare facts of the match don’t do justice to its intensity or to how important this win was to the U15 Sharks. Unusually, we were able to field 15 players and even managed to have two subs (including the walking wounded). In the end, whilst it was a thoroughly well deserved victory over a terrific Ipswich side, much too much damage was done to Pete, Mike & Tom’s health by the U15 Sharks deciding that some mistakes are obviously too much fun not to repeat!

Foremost amongst these mistakes is giving talented opponents a head start! With the wind in their favour, Ipswich dominated the first quarter - they were two converted tries ahead before the Sharks had got into any form of a stride. Thankfully, a big improvement in defense and a first half try by Daniel Hamilton-McGinty (converted by Connor Jones) started the fightback before some absolutely terrific second half tries from Callum Henderson, Sam Taylor and Luke Hazzard put the U15 Sharks on top. Connor Jones was to seal victory with a successful penalty kick.

It was a remarkable and impressive team performance by these Sharks. Each and every player stepped up to the mark and whilst they should take great pride in their individual performances, they should take more pride from a great team performance! After the match, Pete was asked whether a Man of the Match would be chosen. The reason why one was not (and rarely is) lies in the previous sentences – if ever a victory was earned by a TEAM performance, this was it!

There were plenty of Man of the Match performances starting with Jack Strachan who, all too often, found himself on the blind side of a scrum, all by himself, facing five Ipswich attackers. Yet time and time again they didn’t get by him. Similarly, despite opportunities to use their pace limited by a fiercesome Ipswich defence, Sam Button and Fraser Warburton put in tackle after tackle, getting up from one and going straight into another. Wings are not usually famous for their defense :-)

Then there is the rock that is Felix Trash, with his terrifically sound defensive game, he was cool, calm and in control whether scrambling back to clear Ipswich kicks as full back, or putting in huge tackles as a centre later in the game. Bobby Wickham matched him and not just by playing in the same positions but also with a performance which included a simply wonderful sidestep - it left an outstanding Ipswich player wondering just where Bobby had gone!

Then there was the walking wounded. Rory Lacey deserves enormous credit simply because of the spirit he displayed in turning up! Not that that was enough for Rory of course, he managed to put in some huge crunching tackles in his injury limited appearance too!

All four of the Sharks tries were absolutely dazzling! Where would we have been without the scoring efforts of Daniel Hamilton-McGinty, Callum Henderson, Sam Taylor and Luke Hazzard? Daniel, Callum and Sam T with their rampaging, bullocking runs have been quite sensational this season but on Sunday they were an unstoppable loose forward force! Then there is rapier sharp Luke, whose quick mind and even quicker feet make him a real danger to the opposition from anywhere on the pitch (and that is before we pat him on the back for his tackle count).

However, all those tries benefitted from other outstanding performances around the field - including great defense by the pretty boys in the back line. One of Connor Jones immense tackles led to turnover ball and thence to one of the tries (in addition to his vitally important conversion and the subsequent successful penalty kick). Similarly, Angus Kinsella managed to time a pass out for another of those tries to perfection whilst doing more than his part with a number of thumping tackles in what was a marvellous defensive display (only after the first quarter though) by the Sharks.

What will have impressed Joe Connor (the U15 Sharks newest and very, very welcome recruit) though, would undoubtedly have been the performance of the U15 Sharks forwards! Led outstandingly by the captain Taz Smith (whose sheer strength and commitment seem to make him a candidate for Man of the Match in every game he plays), the U15 Sharks forwards proved, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that it is forwards that win matches with the backs deciding by how much.

In addition to the three exceptional Man of the Match performances from the try scoring loose forwards, it seemed to those watching that every other Sharks forward was also determined to lay their claim to the title of Man of the Match.

In his best game yet for the U15 Sharks, Dieter Horth was simply outstanding. His fellow players told us how impressed they were at the way in which he carried the ball into the toughest of areas yet, on every single occasion, somehow managed to present the ball quite beautifully and cleanly to a supporting player (never once losing it).

Similarly, Will Robinson has made an enormous impression with his drive this season and, alongside Ollie Hills, the two of them have really got stuck in with performances that just seem to improve each and every week. Apart from the amount of ground they covered Sunday, the two of them are undoubtedly the engine of the side and the pack. With a bit of luck one or both of them will power over for long overdue (and richly deserved) tries very soon.

Lastly, for sheer energy and effort, there is the Beast! Alex Hood has impressed everybody this season but on Sunday, no matter where you looked, you seemed to see him. He was usually accompanied by his front row team mate Taz, a dynamic duo indeed! Believe me, no front row players performed like that when Mike or Pete played! Alex must have covered every blade of grass on the pitch on Sunday, no Ipswich player ever got past him or his thumping tackles and he carried the ball well, a truly memorable performance.

So you simply cannot choose a Man of the Match - a case could easily be made for every single player on Sunday. So it has to be the Men of the Match because the outstanding aspect of Sunday’s game, once again, was that it was a TEAM performance. Every single individual played a hugely important part in that well earned victory.

Mind you, that team extends further than just the players on the pitch. Special thanks are also due to the heroes and heroines who put up with the U15 Sharks players every week. These are the long suffering parents, relations, friends and supporters who, apart from ferrying players to matches etc., also stepped up to the plate with little or no notice and no fuss, to cater for all the visitors to the club Sunday. Thanks, without you none of us or the vistors to the club would have been able to enjoy either the day or the game!

As the picture says, this past Sunday Southwold was indeed Shark Town!