Old Mids U17s 12 – Effingham & L'head U17s 41

After the enforced break due to bad weather, the Under 17’s were raring to go! An excellent training session on the Thursday prior to this match showed the backs in sparkling form and the forwards a menacing match for any pack. Immediately after the kick-off Old Mid-Whitgiftian’s were on the attack. Forceful running from Morgan took the Old Mid-Whitgiftian’s deep into their opponents 22, and hard work by Dean, Paul Johnson and Buckingham at the ensuing ruck, helped keep the pressure on E’ffingham & L’head. The backs were released by a quick pass from Hayden Johnson and only some stout defending, kept the score at 0-0. Shortly after this, Price was held up over the line, but the intensity of the pressure being exerted by Old Mid-Whitgiftian, was beginning to tell on the opposition.

After 15 minutes the opposition could not put off the inevitable. Hard work by all the forwards resulted in Perrett having room to take on his opposite number and he crashed over for his first Old Mid-Whitgiftian try. His conversion took the score to 7-0, and everything was set for a victory. Unfortunately a lapse of concentration shortly after the re-start let the opposition in for a score and this set the trend for much of the match.

Generally Old Mid-Whitgiftian’s were putting pressure on their opponents but a combination of lack of experience and poor decision making, meant the score was 7-21 at half time. This was not a true reflection of the game and frustrating for all those involved with Old Mid-Whitgiftian U-17’s. The second half started and straight away E’ffingham & L’head were on the back foot. Lindsay took the battle to them with a powerful run, and Rees contributed with his customary aggressive tackling.

With Adam McDonald marshalling the backs well, the whole of the back line became much more of an attacking force. Upson provided the perfect defensive foil for James McDonald, and the latter produced a superb, elusive 30 metre break to score his first Old Mid-Whitgiftian try. Throughout the following 20 minutes, Old Mid-Whitgiftian U-17’s played excellent rugby, with the upper hand in all situations. How they were unable to put further points on the scoreboard remains a mystery.

Unfortunately the opposition exploited every opportunity they got, and were able to convert their minimal pressure into points. Wright entered the game, coming back from injury, and looked like he had never been away. Langston displayed a level of fitness which allowed him to frequently be first at the breakdowns. Pomery was his normal calming influence at full-back, and was replaced due to illness, by Crawley, who displayed aggression in his tackling, helping to keep the opposition at bay.

Honda was exemplary in his defensive duties and Lambert came on to keep the pressure on the opposition with his all round contribution. Patel and Fox both entered the match as replacements but their hard efforts were unfortunately to no avail as the final score was 12 - 41. This was a very disappointing outcome for the whole of the Under 17 squad, as they all felt this was a match that could have been won.
Lessons will however be learnt, but with the news that Esher have now withdrawn from this league, there are fewer opportunities for the squad to really show what they are capable of.

Team; Pomery, Honda, McDonald J, Upson, McDonald A, Perrett (c) Johnson H, Dean, Johnson P, Buckingham, Rees, Lindsay, Morgan, Langston, Price. Subs; Crawley, Fox, Lambert, Patel, Wright.