Yarnbury vs Old Brodleians (U15 Yorkshire Cup Final)

This was Old Brodleians 4th consecutive Yorkshire Cup Final, of which they had won 3, whilst Yarnbury hadn’t previously made it to a junior final and the banter on the balcony from their supporters before the game was that this should be an easy win for them. Rumours were that today Old Brodleians had 5 starting Yorkshire players, with more unavailable / injured / not selected - Yarnbury had none. With kick off approaching Old Brodleians unfurled their pitch side banner, whilst the ‘Yarnbury Army’ gathered in numbers to cheer on the boys.
Yarnbury kick off the final before immediately getting possession back through a clearance kick. However when Yarnbury take the ball into the first ruck there is a knock on, resulting in a scrum. The ball is secured comfortably and sent wide, where due to a couple of missed tackles and an offload, Old Brodleians get to within 3 metres of the try line. A cross field kick allows them to score with relative ease. With three minutes gone the conversion is kicked and Old Brodleians lead by 7. From the restart there is an exchange of kicking but Old Brodleians make another decisive break and nearly score again but for some last ditch tackles by the scrambling Yarnbury defence.
Yarnbury start to play through their forwards and quickly take play into the Old Brodleians half through a succession of penalties. The forwards are having some success around the fringes of the ruck and, as they enter the 22, fly half Oscar Andrews makes a break before releasing Jamie McDonnell. However, he is unable to exploit the space for winger Ethan Dawrant and the ball is knocked on but in the process the winger is tackled into touch and is injured and has to be replaced by Jamie Baker. Play is called back for an earlier Yarnbury penalty in front of the posts as Old Brodleians were offside and Darwin King elects to kick the penalty. Yarnbury 3-7 Old Brodleians.
Old Brodleians are on top and any Yarnbury mistake is being punished with territorial gains. Yarnbury are penalised for handling in the ruck resulting in Old Brodleians taking play into the Yarnbury 22 for a lineout. Joe Pilling disrupts the driving maul and Luke Woodend is on hand to lock in the ball and win the scrum. However, in the next play when attempting to run the ball out, a forward pass ends the move and gives possession back. Old Brodleians are then able to secure ball from their scrum and play a couple of phases before their outside centre breaks the tackle and looks likely to score but chips the ball over the defensive line for his winger to catch and score in the corner. The difficult conversion is kicked and after 22 minutes Old Brodleians extend their lead to 11 points. Soon after the restart Yarnbury win a lineout between the Old Brodleians 22 and half way. The ball is secured and good running lines from Edward Green and Joe Birchall carry Yarnbury up the pitch before they win another penalty for a deliberate knock on close to the touchline. Touch is kicked for and a lineout is awarded inside the Old Brodleians’ 22. A training ground move sees the driving maul set up and as the Old Brodleians forwards plough through they realise the point of attack has been shifted and Yarnbury easily drive the maul 10m towards the line. The Old Brodleians defence regathers, but the driving maul continues to make ground and, aided by some of the backs joining the attack, Edward Green eventually gets over the line to score near the corner. The difficult conversion is missed but the Old Brodleians’ lead has been cut to 6 and Yarnbury have established their game plan.
A good break from the restart by Edward Green sees play taken back into the Old Brodleians half and the forwards begin to gain hard earned territory metre by metre through continuous pick and drives. The referee plays advantage for successive infringements and when the penalty is finally awarded he has to warn the Old Brodleians’ captain. There is time for one last attack but it is knocked on when the ball is moved wide through the backs. Half time: Yarnbury 8-14 Old Brodleians.
Early in the second half Yarnbury are awarded a scrum on halfway for a knock on. The ball is retained by the pack and given to Oscar Andrews who kicks into space. The ball is regathered by the Old Brodleians fullback but a good chase by Yarnbury sees his attempted clearance kick charged down by Jacob Rawson. The ball is regathered by the fullback and he is able to scramble into touch. The following lineout results in an illegally collapsed maul, giving Yarnbury a penalty which they kick for a 5m lineout. A maul is inevitably set up again but when it collapses it is followed by multiple pick and drives. Luke Woodend and Carter Proctor go close, but the final blow comes yet again from Edward Green who scores halfway between the posts and the touch line. The conversion is missed and with 8 minutes gone in the second half, Yarnbury reduce the deficit to a single point.
Following a Yarnbury lineout just inside their own 22, a driving maul gains 10m before the backs are released but when tackled Yarnbury are penalised for holding on and a long but central penalty kick is opted for by the Old Brodleians fly half which he duly kicks. Yarnbury 13-17 Old Brodleians
With 10 minutes to go Yarnbury win a scrum on half way for a handling error, due to a crunching tackle from Joe Pilling. The forwards opt for the pick and drive route around the fringes of the ruck, sucking in the defence. The ball is released to Jamie McDonnell who attacks the wide channel and Old Brodleians are penalised for a high tackle when he is dragged down by his collar. Yarnbury kick for a 5m lineout. Pick and drives follow and Nathan Snee, playing at No.8, does get over the line, but is unable to ground the ball. From the ensuing 5m scrum numerous pick and drives are repelled until the defence eventually crumbles and Nathan Snee scores to the delight of the Yarnbury Army and a star jumping display by Charlie Brownridge behind the in goal area. Darwin King completes the conversion and with 5 minutes to go Yarnbury take the lead for the first time in the match; Yarnbury 20-17 Old Brodleians.
From the restart Yarnbury try to keep possession and run down the clock but are penalised for going off their feet when trying to protect the ball. Old Brodleians elect to kick the penalty which is just inside the Yarnbury 10m line. The kick to bring the scores level drifts wide, and Oscar Andrews kicks clear up to the half way line but doesn’t make touch. Old Brodleians attack down one wing but a huge tackle by Nathan Snee stops that attack. The ball is recycled and they attack down the other wing but a great tackle by Jacob Rawson forces the knock on just outside the Yarnbury 22. Yarnbury decide to kick clear and soon after are penalised for offside. This time Old Brodleians chose to kick for touch and have a lineout just inside the Yarnbury 22. A couple of phases are played and suddenly a clean break from the scrum half gets play up to within 5m of the try line. Quick ball sees an overlap out wide and a grubber kick into the corner sees the winger score to wild celebrations from the Old Brodleians’ coaches, bench and supporters. The difficult conversion is missed; Yarnbury 20-22 Old Brodleians.
With only minutes remaining Yarnbury restart the game and regather the ball from the kick off after it is spilled backwards. However, possession is soon lost through a turn over and the ball is kicked into touch for a Yarnbury lineout just outside the 22. The driving maul that follows is only stopped on the try line but the referee awards a penalty back on the 22 line for side entry. The penalty is deemed too difficult to kick and touch is kicked for, resulting in a lineout 7m out. The driving maul collapses but when the ball is moved out to the backs Old Brodleians are adjudged to be offside. This time, the much easier but high pressure penalty kick will be taken by Darwin King, to win the match, with the last kick of the game ……
Of course it was kicked, it was surely never in doubt, and Yarnbury U15s are Champions of Yorkshire. Full time: Yarnbury 23-22 Old Brodleians. Let the celebrations commence.

Yarnbury: Carter Proctor, James Longhawn, Luke Woodemd, Danny Goodall, Jack Briggs, Joe Birchall, Joe Pilling, Alex Koppany, Maxwell Lee, Oscar Andrews, Jacob Rawson, Edward Green, Jamie McDonnell, Ethan Dawrant, Darwin King (capt).
Substitutes: Dan Mitchell, Harvey Goodall, Ruairi Daly, Lex Galloway, Sam Brown, Nathan Snee, Jamie Baker

Man of the Match – the whole squad.

Sporting Result of the Week really!! Yarnbury have never won a Yorkshire Cup previously, but they did today!!! Honourable mentions to West Bromwich Albion for their 1-0 win against Newcastle to maintain their Premiership status for another week, and Plymouth Argyle who beat Rotherham 2-1, maintaining their play-off hopes but ending Peterborough’s (always good to see the Posh fail to get promotion).