Saving the best to last

On Sunday the U12s welcomed Littleborough to a sunny Priestnall and both teams served up a fantastic game. Over the hour Littleborough’s strong squad of players showed passion and commitment and, most impressively, an array of talent right across the pitch. Their tackling was fantastic all along the line and, with ball in hand, they had an abundance of players capable of hurting the opposition in a variety of ways.

In the first quarter, Littleborough caught the 'Moor squad' cold as we struggled to get out of our own half. We paid the price for our inability to go safely through phases and Littleborough punished mistakes. Eventually the boys started kicking to relieve the pressure. Nothing wrong with that as a tactic but the execution was all wrong as the majority went straight down the throat of the ‘Boro full-back who beat half-hearted chases to return with interest.

In truth, the boys were lucky to escape this period with a 0-3 deficit as Littleborough could have easily scored more but for a tendency towards unnecessary hand-offs. Several of these landed above the armpits letting the Moors off the hook with the try-line exposed.

The Heatons had been watching and it is to their credit that they came roaring out of the traps. Tom scored a beauty, busting a gut to support a ball carrier before going over. Josh rumbled over as part of a committed maul. Josh then showed another side to his game with a burst through the middle. He just about kept possession which was crucial as his teammates followed up by spinning the ball down the line allowing Antoon to score in the far corner. Caelan then rounded off the quarter in style with a break and kick behind the full-back. Fortune favoured the brave as the bounce popped up and Caelan’s ninja reflexes did the rest to bring the scoreline level at 4-4.

The Moors began their final quarter determined to set the record straight. They were better all over the pitch. Tackling improved and we enjoyed a good old end to end contest. Danny led the charge and was rewarded with a try but he was aided by the Charlies and Henry acting as a strong pack. Littleborough were fighting hard and responded with a lovely score as their well-balanced winger wriggled his way through for an equaliser. Lots of effort from the Moors that was perhaps spoilt by some poor decision making as we ran at the big guys too often, over-committed to the ruck or tried to set up running moves off slow ball.

The final quarter did not disappoint as both teams went all out to finish on a high. Heatons took first blood as Caelan scored with a mini-masterclass of footwork that I had the pleasure of seeing close-hand. First he drifted towards the touchline before feinting inside to put the cover-tackler off balance before committing to the corner and beating 2 men before touching down. The fact that this was preceded by a line break (missed the player) a great ball-carrier-tracking clear out by Josh and a lovely pass by Joe, made this a contender for try of the season.

Littleborough refused to lie down and scored a deserved equaliser which brought a great days rugby to an end all square at 6-6.

There is nothing like a close contest to bring the best out of the boys. Bad habits and low intensity were exposed and the boys were challenged to dig deep to produce some of their best rugby. The depth and quality of Littleborough’s squad means that they have a bright future ahead of them and we look forward to seeing plenty of them in the coming seasons.