Esher 5 - Beccs - 51

Possibly what Beccs stands for, following the 51 – 5 win the U14’s notched up away to Esher last Sunday. According to the opposition coaches the performance that we put in would comfortably allow us to take on the top teams in the Surrey A League.

There was a nervous silence running through the squad as we warmed up to face opponents that we knew nothing about. As a county Surrey has always been known for its strong youth set up and League structure. As a result it is very tough to get fixtures against teams across the border. In the interest of developing the lads it was decided that to develop them further we really needed to find some stronger fixtures and with Surrey next door, this was an obvious choice.

So it was that on Sunday the 16th January we headed over to the headquarters of " The Championship" league club Esher. With only a few injuries we were pretty much able to field a full strength side. Despite the rain from the day before, the pitches, whilst a little bit heavy were in good condition albeit on a slight slope from end to end, the advantage of playing down the hill was further enhanced by a strong wind blowing straight down the slope.With dark clouds overhead threatening further downpours, it was a blessing to complete the game without a drop of rain.

I can only assume that we lost the toss as we ended up playing uphill and into the elements in the 1st half with Esher kicking. On 1:30 the whistle blew and the game began, Esher opting to kick long , looking to pen Beccs deep in to their half. The ball was fielded just outside our 22 and was ran straight back at the opposition where the first ruck was set on the half way line. With our rucking clearly up a notch from the week before the ball was quickly recycled and moved on again, and several rucks later just outside the Esher 22 the ball was moved through the hands down the blind to send Alex Christou crashing over after 3 minutes. Jack duly did the honours with a difficult kick from the left hand touchline.

Esher looked to deploy the same tactics from the kick, which yet again Becc's fielded and ran straight back at them, after several passages of play an infringement about 15 yards in from the touchline just inside the Esher half saw the first scrum Becc's put in, ball in neatly hooked chanelled staright to 8, from here Sandy picked and attacked the blindside, neatly handing off the opposition 9 on the way, and raced off up the hill past the blindside winger and touching down in almost the same place that Alex did 4 minutes earlier. Unfortunately the try was unconverted.
12 - 0 up after 7 minutes was somewhat of a surprise, and certainly not what Esher were expecting. This certainly looked to galvanize the opposition and from the kick off it was clear that we were not going to breach their defence so easily. The following 13 minutes saw the game played around the half way line with neither side really breaching each others defensive line. However, with our back line starting to turn the heat up defensively, Bradley, Mayson and Jack really starting to press up getting the hits in low and hard, it was clear that we were starting to turn the tide and Esher, instead of making ground, were being pushed back in to their half, and having to try and attack whilst on the backfoot. This ultimately only leaves the team in possession one option, and that is to kick possession away in an attempt to take the pressure off. From ruck following a scrum deep in their half, and with our 10,12,& 13 bearing down on their 10 they took the only option available to them which was to kick down field. This was fielded neatly by Jo Hughes on our 10 yard line before going in to touch and as we would expect from our athletic and direct running 8 the ball was carried straight back up the hill, with a couple of pies dished out on the way Jo was able to offload to Kameron in support, who then broke through one strong tackle, sprinted off down the touchline, strongly handing off the covering Blindside winger, to cross the line for try number 3 bang on the 20 minute mark.

With 5 minutes to go until half time we thought that the boys might take the foot off the gas, oh no, there was still time for more . Shortly after the drop out a minor infringement saw Becc's awarded a scrum just inside our half. With some great hooking by Gibbo, who was solid as a rock under a lot of pressure from the oppsoition front 3, the ball was quickly moved from our 8's feet to Bradley who popped the ball up to Jack, who having cut the most sublime line sliced through the centres, and faced a race up the hill with the try line beckoning some 50-60 yards away. Just when we thought the porridge had got the better of him, Jack showed great power and stamina to stay ahead of their chasing winger and 15 to cross the line on the 23 minute mark. Unsuprisingly breathing out of every orifice Jack was unable to add the 2 points.

Two minutes to go - up stepped Harry, who, suffering a wee bit from sleep deprivation (self inflicted I would add, partying the night before an important game is never a good idea) had up until now had a quiet game. This was the first time ever that we have seen H caught from behind twice, however 3rd time lucky and normality was resumed. Straight from the drop out the ball was moved to Harry who with a bit of space in front of him , gassed up the touchline as only he can, to score our 5th try and esnure that we turned to play down the slope in a commanding 27- 0 lead.
With a performance like that what do we, as coaches, say to the boys? - for once a fairly easy half time talk - "more of the same please".

All credit to Esher, not once did their heads shown any sign of dropping and the same determination was there as they had at the start. As we had to them in the first half from the kick off they fielded the ball in their half and ran the ball back up the hill and into us. With our forwards defending the ruck and maul powerfully (out of necessity) and our back line maintaining the pressure, Esher opted for the kick and chase tactic. This led to some frantic scrambling defence by Becc's who were unable to get the ball under control, and when the ball rolled over the line Esher were the first to pounce on it for a suitable reward for all the pressure applied.

This seemed to galvanise Beccs and from the kick off we pressed and pressed, determined to keep Esher in their half, and 4 minutes later with ball in hand Hughesy went on a 40 yard rampage to cross the line and restore the deficit. Almost a replica of this, 4 minutes later saw Hughesy go on another storming run down the touchline, with 10 yards to go very unselfishly threw a 10 yard pass inside to Mayson screaming down in support on a great line to catch the ball and go in the under the posts without a defender in sight. Neatly slotted over by JT for the 2 points.
The final Beccs try was scored a couple of minute's later when displaying his usual strong running and power, Kameron burst through a number of tackles to cross the line for his second of the day and 2 more points for Jack.

The game then went in to a phase of stalemate with both sides carrrying strongly in to one another, and with defences holding up well, the play was pretty much contained in between the two 10 yard lines. However, wanting to have the final word Esher made a last concerted drive in to Becc's territory and narrowly missed out on scoring when with a scrambling defence they were bundled in to touch 5 yards from our try line. There was time for the line out and scrum which followed for a knock on. With seconds left on the clock we assumed that the boys might opt for touch, and had the game been closer we would have done. However, with Esher also expecting us to kick we almost caught them off guard as Sandy picked and broke getting outside their 9 and 7, and just when it looked like he had broken through, fingertips managed to scrag him and bring him down. After the ensuing pile up the referee blew the whistle for full time.

There were some very happy coaches as the whistle blew for full time and a lot of smiling faces in the Becc's crowd. This was some of the best 15 aside rugby that we have seen the boys play and what a change from last week. The forwards secured fantastic clean balls as they showed what a difference technique and power makes when you hit a ruck or maul with intent ( I genuinely believe there is even more to come). Line outs were working well, back row - you were everywhere and did not stop. Backline looked very sharp on the back of some very quick ball , ran great lines at pace. Wingers worked very well - great to see you hungry for the ball. 15 - Antonio had an oustanding game, hitting the line at the right time and running us out of trouble when required and defending resolutely, well done.

Finally "Defence" - outstanding! What a change from last week. Today demonstrated that you all have the technique. I do believe it is just a state of mind - today you all demonstrated how going low and really putting the three S's (Smash,Stick,Squeeze) in to practice makes a world of difference. Put the man on the deck and gives us a chance to really put our rucking in to full effect. You also showed clearly how the old adage of making "defence part of your offence" really does work.

Yet again the support was fantastic and I must say a big thank you to all the parents and players who made the trip over at a time when we are usually sitting back with a glass in hand looking forward to Sunday roast, the team really appreciate it. It also says a huge amount about those players who, though not playing, still came over to support the team - Joe, Alby, Michael - "Respect".

A big thank you also to Esher for hosting us , it was a real pleasure to be able to play against a new side who obviously approach the game in the same manner and style that we do with the focus on the rugby. We look forward to being able to reciprocate at Beccs.

Doug