Warriors fight back just edges Butser Baa Baa's, Butser 31 - Warriors 32

It was a cold Decembers morning and there were allot of cancelled games already due to frozen pitches. Lucky for us this was not going to be our concern

After losing a few key players due to injury or having family commitments I had to mix the boys around a bit to try and make up a team.

After arriving we realised our game would be on but still unsure what team would be played as it’s a mix of Petersfield and Havant and to be fair Steven From Petersfield was unsure himself. With all this in mind my only message to the boys was to stick to the standard they played against Fareham previously and work for each other, no matter what the score was keep working for each other until the final whistle. Little did I know how important this was going to be!

Due to Butser not having a experienced front row and lack of players the game was going to be 14 a side and uncontested scrums. Not great for us as our pack are really gelling but we were happy to accommodate. We received the kick off and made a good start but lost the ball and right away Butser hit us with a couple of attacks and within 5 mins they scored their first try. 5 mins later we had a great run by Fin W and he was able to score by the post for which Dara was able to convert. Straight from the re-start our backs worked well and within 2 mins Mark was able to score for us bring it to 5-12 after 12 mins. The forwards starting to work well in the break downs and after a penalty Dara kicked for the touch line 10 meters from Butsers try line. The forwards worked well during the warm up on their lineouts and brought in a few new calls so now was the time to try them out. They called a 6 man line out and with Sam P at half back Alfie was lifter high in the air and was able to get the ball to Sam who ran right through the middle of the line out at pace and was able to score. Unfortunately this was too far for Dara and the score line was 5-17 only after 17 minutes. However Butsers backed worked well and their 8 carried well from the back of the scrum and then 5 minutes later they were able to bring the score line closer to make it 10 – 17 with still 13 minutes to go. Both teams ran well with the ball and both sets of forwards gained yards and carried well. Half time whistle blew and it was 10-17

During the half time talk I just asked the boys to continue with what they were doing and keep working as a team. Unfortunately during the first 10 minutes of the second half we did not complete allot of chances and could of scored 3 or 4 more tries. Fin W made a great run from his own half only to be brought down by a very good tackle from Butser and as he outran all his support and Butser were there first to take the ball. This was the start of a very bad 5 minutes. Butser ran in 2 very easy tries in 3 minutes and was able to convert them both to make it 24-17 and then there 8 worked hard picking and going from our 5 meter line and after the 3 or 4th attempt was able to get the ball down, for which was converted again. So with in a 5 minute spell Butser scored 21 points to make it 31-17 with only 18 minutes left in the game. Finally something clicked with the Warriors and after multiple break downs Alfie was able to get hold of the ball and get over the line to score for Warriors to make it 31 – 22. This seemed to wake them up again and you could see they started to believe again. We were camped now in the Butser 10 meter line and attack after attack we failed to make anything count as we either lost the ball in contact or got driven out when running close to the line. Now even our parents were getting excited and were cheering the boys on more than I have ever heard them before and this seemed to give the boost they needed. More attacks now from the Warriors and it was only a matter of time they we would get the break we needed to get on the score sheet again. This break came from Tom W who all day played really well at Full back and finally got the try he deserved by darting through 4 or 5 defenders and then was able to get the ball down to make the game now within 4 points! So 5 minutes to go and only 4 points in it 31-27 so this game could of gone either way. But again our forwards worked hard on their straight runs and played very smart with it and our backs ran well and linked up well and then with only 60 seconds on the clock our forwards passed the ball to fin just inside the Butser half and he ran well with Josh S supporting him. Fin took the tackle to offload well to Josh who was able to pace it through the defence to score his second try in 2 games (not bad for a lad who suffers from confidence levels…) this was now 31-32 with the re-start being the last play. The boys were aware of this and once they secured the ball from the kick off it was left up to Sammy N to hoof the ball as far as he possibly could out of play for the ref to blow the final whistle to end the game Butser Baa Baa’s 31 - Trojan Warriors 32 and to take the Warriors to 3rd place in the league and a great win to finish off 2017.

It needs to be said there were no yellow cards in this game and the entire game from both sides was played in the true spirit of rugby, with the scores being as they were throughout the game it could of easily got heated but both sets of players were a credit to their clubs and Simon the Ref was a credit to the Hants Ref society. There was one instance in the game and he could of given a yellow to one of the Butser players but quite rightly he did not as the entire game was played with the spirit it should be played in and it was a joy to be part of (however not great for my heart.

A couple of the Warriors need mentioning. Daniel W for playing solid as ever and always being consistent, Kier for running well and sometimes out pacing the backs (not bad for a hooker) also his hard worked hard on his throw ins and this paid off today. Mark for running strong and never giving up. Fin W for being Fin W always working hard and always encouraging his team. Rocket Robbie for putting in another man of the match shift and only because you washed the kit the last time you did not get the M of M. Alfie, Jenson, Fraser and Daniel for working well with the lineouts and winning 95% of their own ball and a good 50% of the opponents.
However the man of the match this week was Kier for his work rate and commitment throughout the entire game

Finally a big thank you to the parents who turned up and cheered the boys on and raised the roof (if there was one) in the last 18 minutes to really help boost the boys to get the win. We even had a parent turn up whose son was not even playing but want to cheer the boys on (Thanks Lee)

A great way to end 2017 and great way to start 2018 and get ready for the Quarter finals.

Thanks all and have a great Christmas and see you all in the New Year.

Enjoy the break

6 tries and 6 try scores!

Warriors Team
Jenson
Kier
Sammy Page – 5 points (Try)
Augustine
Fraser
Alfie T capt – 5 points (Try)
Daniel
Robbie
Dara – 2 points (Conv)
Fin W – 5 points (Try)
Mark E - 5 points (Try)
Adam S
Taylor
Tom W – 5 points (Try)
Josh S – 5 points (Try)
Jon Mc
Sammy N
Sam Pitt

Mike
#Proudwarriorscoach