U14
Matches
Sun 09 Feb 2014
Old Elthamians RFC
U14
12
10
Tonbridge Judds B
Development Squad fight back to steal victory from strong Tonbridge Judds side

Development Squad fight back to steal victory from strong Tonbridge Judds side

Trevor Glasspole27 Feb 2014 - 11:56
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Old Elthamians U14s Development side produce their best result of the season in close victory over Judds B Team.

Old Elthamians B 14 Tonbridge Juddians B 12
Awesome Morning for this Developing Team….
This was going to be a real test for the lads in what has been a tough learning season for many of the team, some of whom are new to this standard of rugby. It was a typical blustery day at the college, testing for both sides depending which end you were defending !
The first half began with some tough lessons being learnt by the pack as TJ’s looked to exert some of their physical presence and to be honest the OE pack as a whole weren’t putting enough tackles in and were finding themselves being pushed backed at the ruck. The missing of the first tackle kept on causing problems as the TJ backs were willing to move the ball wide, creating problems across the defensive line. It certainly was proving to be tough at this stage as the physicality of the game was certainly at a different level to what the team had recently been used to.
This led to OE’s being 12- 0 down at half time ,however it still felt that the team could mount resistance in the second half and a half time gee up from the coaches and a more sterner lecture from the captain, Tom, led to strong improvement in the second half.
The pack were much more physical in the second half, getting to the break downs much quicker and despite the opposition having a few large lads suddenly there was an inner belief that started to spread within the ranks. Once they got the ball out , the backs started to make some real inroads and finally a well worked try from the back of the scrum leading to a converted try. By now the team was full of aggression and all the team were really up for the intensity of the game. However, it did look for awhile we would fall victim to “ white line fever” and fail to secure the try. The team finally woke up to the clock running out and we managed to get a penalty awarded 7m out and we forced the ball over after a quick tap and go.
I am sure that there are many more victories to come both this season and next and with the improvement and enthusiasm that the coaches have seen over the last six months, I am sure the team as a whole and many individuals will continue to shine.

Well done to all.
Trevor French

Match details

Match date

Sun 09 Feb 2014

Kickoff

11:45
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Shirt sponsor - CIS Security
Shirt sponsor - Associated Stone Group