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Southwold U21s Christmas cracker at Ipswich RFC

Southwold U21s Christmas cracker at Ipswich RFC

Georgia Cayley3 Jan - 09:45

Southwold U21s travelled to Ipswich RFC for a local clubs round robin, and returned undefeated!

Southwold U21s took a squad off 22 players to participate in a four-way competition with Woodbridge, Sudbury and hosts Ipswich on Saturday 28th December. Southwold were captained by Sam Woodruff though injury prevented Sam participating in the matches, so Theo Kenny was skipper on the pitch.
The first match was a very tightly fought affair against the hosts Ipswich. The first half of the match saw numerous scrums and lineouts with little opportunity for Southwold to find any space for their impressive back line. Following an infringement in the Wold 22 Ipswich were able to take a 3-0 lead with a well taken penalty kick. With only 10-minute halves there were few opportunities for Wold to get a score and at half time Ipswich retained their slender 3 point lead. The second half saw a more dominant Wold performance both in terms of possession and territory. A series of penalties allowed Wold to apply pressure through their strong running forwards and resulted in Lou Mayall barrelling over the line to take a 3-5 lead but skipper Theo Kenny was unsuccessful with the conversion. The Southwold backs were now hitting their straps with improved continuity and putting great pressure on their Ipswich counterparts. Skipper Theo closed the game out with a typical strong running break through the Ipswich defence to touchdown but was again unable to nail the conversion. The ref blew for full time and a 3-10 Wold win.

After a short break Wold rotated seven players to utilise their full squad and took on a Sudbury team with a very large pack. Wold were soon under pressure from the dominant Sudbury scrum but in all other areas were able to match their opponents. Wold took the lead with a typical charging drive over the line from the marauding Sam Emms but were unsuccessful with the conversion kick. Half time was soon reached with Wold still a score ahead. The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Sudbury able to apply pressure through their big forwards but with the Southwold backs cancelling out any opportunity for them to move the ball wider with strong tackling and quick line speed. A fine tackle on the wing for the returning Max Meadows stopped the most notable Sudbury attack in its tracks. Wold had to defend two Sudbury scrums in their own 22 late in the half with the second right under the sticks but with great determination the forwards held out for a 5-0 win.

Wins for Woodbridge against both Sudbury and Ipswich meant that the last game of the round against Woodbridge would be a dead rubber with both sides in the final. A quick coaches meeting resulted in the decision to go straight to the final but with extended playing time to 20-minute halves. Woodbridge have been the best U21 team in the area for the past three seasons and were obviously very confident of their own abilities as they ran on to the pitch through the posts to much cheering. Southwold were typically more relaxed before the kickoff but showed their metal right from the off with a fine Dom Hailey catch harking back to his days as a goalkeeper resulting in a strong set up for the Wold forwards to provide high quality ball to their backs. Bruce Bolton who showed his usual robust style in both defence and attack was the first name on the scoresheet with a typically direct assault on the Woodbridge line and with Harry Simpson converting Wold had a 7-0 lead. Harry was the next to strike with a graceful break and touchdown which he duly converted for a 14-0 lead. Wold were giving Woodbridge little space in attack and were gradually choking their opponents limited supply of possession. Hooker Will Colman was able to exploit a turnover and made a lung bursting dash from his own 22 deep into Woodbridge territory. Max Meadows playing his first game for Wold in more than five years was able to show his speed in support for the next score taking Wold to a dominant 19-0 half time lead. Wold were able to utilise all of their squad in the second half with strong contributions across the pitch. Phoenix Emmerson Lovecraft had been immense in the second row all afternoon and despite playing no regular rugby was looking lean and match fit. Phoenix was able to offer a strong support line to land the next try and with Theo successfully converting to keep the pressure squarely on Woodbridge at 26-0. With the champagne on ice young Fin Wood making his U21 debut showed incredible footwork to beat three men on the right wing for a spectacular try. Theo was able to put the final nail in the Woodbridge coffin with an excellent conversion to finish the game with a final score of 33-0.

An emphatic final win for the Wold boys saw the bubbly opened under the posts and a great squad celebration. Congratulations to the whole squad for finding the way to win two tight games and then turning on the style when given a little more time to demonstrate their quality. It was fantastic to watch the Southwold lads get back together and enjoy one another’s company again. A few celebratory beers were later consumed around the pubs of Woodbridge to round off the evening.

Thanks to Ipswich RFC for being excellent hosts and to all the clubs for their sporting approach to a very enjoyable tournament. Great for Southwold to have so much young talent coming through in the Black & Gold in the 60th anniversary season of our club.
Southwold Player of the tournament – Phoenix Emmerson Lovecraft
Coaching Team – Jim Keeble, Kenny Bowden, Jonathan Woodruff and Bruce Colman

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