Wold U15's win at Colchester

SOUTHWOLD U15’s 40 vs COLCHESTER U15 DEVELOPMENT TEAM 0

After the Christmas and New Year break, it was a trip down the A12 to Colchester to play the U15 development team. Travelling with a squad of 19 for the day, every player got some good game time on the pitch allowing the coaches to assess them.

Jens was on hand to receive the kick off and he set up good field position, with Chris quickly finding Zak running hard at Colchester who gave away the first penalty. Quick hands through the backs saw Connor side step through the defence well. Supported by Tim and Innes, the maul moved forward. Some good off loading in the tackle from Darius to Jacob E resulting in more penetration inside the Colchester 22. Callum then switched the attack and found Zak powering through to score a well worked team try. Chris duly converted.

Colchester then attacked well down the middle but good tackling from Olly and Zak led to Colchester kicking long. Kieran fielded well and made some excellent ground down the right flank, breaking tackles. Support was provided by Pablo and Alex, with the latter driving forward with a neat offload to Jacob B. In the line outs, Southwold used options well and ensured clean ball from hooker Olly. Callum then put in a fine tackle as the Colchester forward rumbled forward, and with Olly on hand to steal the ball it was Wold on the attack. Fine interplay saw Kieran again make ground and his pass found Jacob E allowing him to speed through and score under the posts, again converted by Chris.

Jake then got on the score sheet, following a trademark dummy from Callum to create the opening for Jake to power through. Chris was on fine form as he converted well. Woody then entered the game to replace Connor after he took a knock. Wold were superb in the scrum today, with Olly winning ball against the head and the whole scrum pushing the larger Colchester pack backwards and counter-rucking in numbers at every breakdown. A fine run from Alex saw some clever hands as he sublimely found Jacob B on his shoulder. Pablo added his power to the move as the forwards worked their way into the 22. Some fine handling in the backs saw Jacob E then score his second try as he evaded tackles near the try line. Again a fine conversion from Chris just before the half time whistle.

Changes were for the second half, with Ellis coming on for Innes and Sam for Kieran on the wing. Southwold took their time to get back to the free flowing rugby in the second half. The forwards were all playing well, with Olly taking the ball on and Zak making tackle after tackle. Jens put in a big tackle as Colchester looked to go forward and Alex was keen to take quick penalties. Callum had more freedom this week to try a few variances with the kicking game. One fine kick would no doubt have led to a try as Wold backs chased on mass, only to be called off side.

As the game became stagnated in the middle of the pitch, it was Chris who injected some pace into the backs with a quick pass to Callum. Some fine passing gave Sam the chance to use his pace to score very well in the corner. Chris was very unlucky with the conversion attempt, as it fell just short. The forwards in attack were a joy to watch today as their close handling of the ball seemed to always ensure ground was gained. Connor returned to the game and was soon using his side step to confuse the opposition defence. Jake was then unlucky not to see more progress down the flank as he collected another good Callum kick, but Colchester’s covering defence was solid.

The sixth try came from good ball retention and a fine kick through, chased by Darius who touched down to claim his try. Chris then got his fifth conversion of the game. Wold were then unlucky not to claim a seventh try as Darius claimed another kick through to score, only for the ref and line judge not to award the try! Jacob B again showed his potential in the forwards when having to replace Tim at prop, and Woody likewise as he moved to flank (just watch the offside!!). The game then seemed to play out with no real threat for the last few minutes, as Southwold secured the win against a very spirited Colchester side.

Some fine rugby played again by the boys, with the forwards again doing a sterling job in ensuring that the backs had the ball to use. Some good decision making in the half backs, allowing the 3/4s to use what they have: pace. A few passes going astray from all and a few soft penalties. Keep the concentration for the full game and games like this will be buried before the half time whistle. Well done boys.