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Warwickshire Junior Cup Quarter Finals Report

Warwickshire Junior Cup Quarter Finals Report

Chris McCarthy19 Dec 2017 - 15:35
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Old Leamingtonians Juniors progress in the Warwickshire Junior Cups

Old Leamingtonians Juniors progress in the Warwickshire Junior Cups
Old Leamingtonians RFC U 16’s 58 - 0 Leamington U 16’s
Old Leamingtonians RFC U 15’s 57 - 0 Leamington U 15’s
Old Leamingtonians RFC U 14’s 53 - 0 Newbold U 14’s

Old Leamingtonians Under 15s and Under 16s shone under the new floodlights with clean sweep wins at The Crofts on the evening of Friday 16th December against Leamington and the under 14s followed suit on the Sunday versus Newbold.

Under 16s
Leamington started the game well but they were met with a determined and organised home defence. A few phases ensued with Leamington in possession but penned largely in their own half, before OLs finally took some control and the ball was picked up by the deceptively fleet footed tight-head prop, Tom Robson, who beat a couple of defenders before touching down near the posts.

The occasion and perhaps the familiarity of some the opposition players seemed to have something of an adverse effect on OLs, with players often opting for an individualistic approach and also being guilty of throwing away hard won possession. Indeed, it wasn’t until the mid-point of the first half that OLs finally utilised the full potency of their back line. A swift set of passes down the three-quarter line finally saw the ball in the hands of winger Dom Woolvine, who ran from deep in his own territory to score under the posts.

Leamington pressed hard for their opening score and only a physical rear guard defence, with Archie Semple, Jake Newsome and the excellent Morgan Fox kept them at bay. To Leamington’s misfortune, a spilt ball near OLs try line was latched upon by left wing James Gorvett, who produced one of his trade mark specials by twice hacking the ball up field, before collecting it and dotting it down under the posts.
Flanker Jake Newsome, sold a smart dummy before touching down for OLs fourth try. From the kick-off, Leamington then made the mistake of kicking straight to home fullback Archie Semple, who blasted though the initial defence, before showing good pace before diving in at the corner. f
Halftime Score : Old Leamingtonians 29 – 0 Leamington

At the break OLs moved Brad Wilks from centre to fly-half, where he proceeded to grab the game by the scruff of the neck by giving the talented home three-quarters both space and purpose. The ball was now starting to move down the home backline, and before long Dom Woolvine was put into space, and a sixth try was duly chalked up. A seventh followed shortly, when Brad combined superbly with his centres to send Dom flying clear from halfway, completing his hattrick.

The visiting defenders were now starting to show signs of wear and tear and holes were starting to appear in a previously secure midfield defence. Archie Semple took full advantage, by blasting though centre field from within his own half. A ruck near Leamington’s try line, allowed hooker Jamie Hooper to gather the ball and plunge over from short range. James Gorvett finished the game with a second excellent try.
Final Score : Old Leamingtonians 58 – 0 Leamington

Onwards now to the semi-final, for what is sure to be another fierce battle with Old Laurentians,

Under 15s

The U15's hosted Leamington RFC U15's in the Junior Cup Quarter final under the lights.

The first 10 minutes was a nervy affair with both side making errors and Leamington seeming able to soak up the OLs pressure. A scrum near the Leamington line which was disrupted almost ended with the visitors’ fly half, hacking the ball 80 yards. Fortunately they didn’t score.

Shortly after, forward pressure on the Leamington defensive line told and OLs went over for their first score ,3 further tries were to follow all converted by and they were testament to OL's better organisation and use of quick ball.

A final score from a well taken driving maul before half time sent OLs into the break 33 - 0 up.
At half time several changes to personnel were made and there was no disruption to the flow of the game . Leamington put in some good hits but were always on the back foot as OLs kept up the pressure .A further 4 tries in the slightly shortened second half was reward for all the OLs effort, A scything 80 yard run by Loic deHaut was the pick of the bunch.

This was a 21 player squad effort with every player contributing and was a fitting result to all the hard work that the OL Juniors have put in on the training ground.

The Warwickshire Young Whistler referee Jack was excellent and had total command of the game

A home semi-final awaits OLs U15's sometime in the new year.

Under 14s
On Sunday 17th December, our Old Leamingtonians under 14s not to be outdone by their older colleagues beat Newbold by 53 points to nil. They will also be looking forward to a home semi-final in January.

Nick Crighton
OLRFC Press & Publicity Officer
07768 775601

Further reading