U16's Win 2nd Round of Suffolk Plate

…And so it was that a band of players from Southwold travelled sixty miles down the road to face Felixstowe in the second round of the plate. The sunshine trying to break through in the autumn haze that settled on the ground, but not quite achieving it. So like a Shakespearean metaphor, it could so easily have played out. With a squad of 16, Southwold were playing their first U16 team game made up entirely of U16’s. They soon realised after the kick off that (as one person put it aptly) they had made it out of the warmth of their cars and were in a game of rugby with a Felixstowe team that were an entirely different proposition to the one that we faced last season. Right from the start, Felixstowe built their attack on their strong scrummaging and within five minutes had put seven points on the board. It was at this point, the lads suddenly realised they were in a game. The question was how would they respond, as they gathered for their first huddle. So as not to disappoint those who have been waiting with baited breath; the following probably sums up the approach of the team: ” I don’t believe in team motivation. I believe in getting a team prepared so it knows it will have the necessary confidence when it steps on the field and be prepared to play a good game.”, and that is exactly what happened. The elements of training that had been so carefully laid down on Wednesday nights, came together gloriously on that Sunday morning. Straight from the kick off Southwold went on the offensive and within five minutes had evened the score through Sam. Despite superiority in the scrum, Felixstowe were unable to find any way through our defence in and around the ruck with Joe and William making several turnovers in that first period. The tables had turned from the first five minutes and although with some frustration (the Southwold support and coaching were trying to make up for Kev’s “passion” not being there) as things weren’t happening as smoothly as we would have liked, Southwold had scored and converted two more tries (a superb run through the centre from William and Sam using his pace again). It is worth mentioning at this point, that Southwold were extremely unlucky not to have two more tries on the board with Sam having been adjudged to have knocked on in his score and Aiden, having covered 30 metres with a scintillating run through the middle of the park, being held up by Felixstowe right on the stroke of half time. 21-7 to Southwold it stood.

With the half time break, Southwold knew that the same pressure needed to be applied in the second half. With injuries taking there toll, the team looked in each others eyes and not one of them wanted to come off, with both Warren and Alfie taking knocks to legs but wanting to carry on. They looked at each other and on that day, they knew that “the difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination”. With Sam having taken a knock to the head and needing (rather than wanting) a break, it may have given Felixstowe a sense that without Sam’s speed in attack, Southwold would be on the back foot. Not so, the relentless line speed, formidable power in defence and our consistently superb lineout (with Bruno consistently disrupting their lineout and turning the ball over) put pressure on the opposition building a solid foundation for our attack. The number of line breaks from the entire team from one to fifteen, against a hard opposition stand testament to how much Southwold were working for each other and wanted this win. With a single line break early in the second half from Joe and slick handling from Bruno, Nick went over to make it 28 – 7 with a conversion. Felixstowe then applied their forwards to good effect and although Southwold held firm for several passages of play, Felixstowe went over in the right corner. With an unsuccessful conversion the score stood at 28 – 12. Nick quickly made it 35-12 (with a conversion from Sam, who had rejoined the fray). At 35-12, the tie still had time to change with 20 minutes to go. Southwold were not going to let that happen, with the same defensive solidity and attacking prowess, Southwold managed to score three more to make it 54-19 as the final score. The penultimate try could not have been scripted better with Bradley going over with some strong running to beat three players to run in round under the posts against his old team and to deliver the biggest grin of the game. With the final whistle came the realisation that the team had delivered on their training.

The score line was slightly flattering given the relentless pressure that Felixstowe put our scrum and defence under, but Southwold stood firm in the face of that pressure to deliver a performance that was probably the best to date. Other than the scrum, there was not an area where, as a team, we stood toe to toe with the opposition and didn’t deliver. From Southwolds travelling supporter’s perspective, the lads performed brilliantly as a team; they were one unit who worked and played for each other and most notably were shouting for each other. Man of the Match was William Wilcox, who exemplified the effort, determination and power of the team. However, every one of the team deserves a mention in dispatches for how they played, with notably Ben, in exceptional circumstances, continuing to play despite having a broken finger. To finish off on a quotation, slightly out of context (and so as not to disappoint)… “But strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield”…and the lads did that in bucket loads today.