Yarnbury RFC U12 v Roundhegians RFC U12

Well, yet another home game for the boys and today's opponents were our old rivals; Roundhegians. This fixture promised to be a much tighter game than the previous week's with old rivalries renewed. The weather certainly wasn't on our side with a wet and windy start and a winter temperature too. We didn't let that dampen our spirits though as we had 80 minutes of rugby to look forward to.

80 minutes!?
On a day like today!?
What were we thinking!?

I'll tell you what we were thinking; we knew it would be tight, we knew it would be a contest, we knew the boys wouldn't give an inch so who were we to limit that spectacle eh? Not us that's for sure.

Speaking of dampened, today was the perfect day for a field test of the new Yarnbury team gazebo.

Karl Gallagher, as guardian of said gazebo, proudly announced "I've got it in the car" upon being asked.
"Great, lets get it up then eh?" (ahem) said I
"Oh" said Karl
"What?" I said with a quizzical look.
Karl, taking a long drag on his roll up, replies "I haven't got the pegs for it yet..."

Maybe next week....

So, off we kicked with the weather slightly improving, Roundhegians quickly got into their stride and dominated the opening exchanges with superb organisation, strong running and sturdy ruck-play. Their efforts were rewarded and they sailed into 15-0 lead. It wasn't until the last quarter of the session that Yarnbury finally woke up and started playing anything like their potential. Oli Bastain, still on his mission for top try scorer, broke the 'Hegians defensive line with the strong, crash-ball centre style that is so typical of his game to get something out of the session. However, the come back didn't last long with Yarnbury getting caught napping from the re-start and 'Hegians bagging their fourth try of the session taking a 5-20 lead into the break.

The second session was all Yarnbury. They finally realized they were in a contest and were being soundly beaten by a very well organised and skillful opponent. The ubiquitous Jack Gallagher bagging his first of the game in the early moments of the session following his powerful running. The game settled a little at this point and the teams appeared to cancel each other out with fierce ruck and counter-ruck play. The forwards heavily involved with 'Hegians using their man-mountain as their first line of attack. What Yarnbury lacked in height inches they more than made up for with cunning. Max Fletcher showing his guile in the mauls and rucks with his trademark stripping of the ball coupled with deft spinning feet managed to break the 'Hegians line time and time again. Added to that the tremendous support play from his fellow forwards Harvey Coates, Jack Driver and Jack Gallagher, Yarnbury spent the majority of the session in the 'Hegians half. Due to this pressure created by the forwards the backs' job was that little bit easier but not without merit of it's own. Crash-ball specialist Oli Bastain grounded the ball twice in the session for his hat-trick and Mason Baker getting the first of what would be his hat-trick for the day. The half was rounded off with a hard earned try for Max Fletcher grounding the ball under the sticks right at the death to give Yarnbury a 25-0 session win. The overall score finely poised at 30-20 at the halfway mark.

The third session was perhaps the best of the game for the neutral. The teams showed no mercy with each other and both ran the hard yards. The backs from both sides were on scintillating form and rewarded the crowd with numerous "ooh!" and "ahh!" moments. It was played at break-neck speed (trust me, I know this being the referee for the game and having to get from one end of the pitch to the other!). Third quarter ending in a 15-15 draw with tries from Jack Gallagher, Sam Thompson and Oli Bastain nabbing his fourth! The tie poised at 45-35 heading into the final session.

The fourth session started out pretty much the same as the first. The 'Hegian's boys, smelling victory, grabbed three early tries to take a 45-50 lead and dominated the session from the start. Yarnbury, clearly a slow starter out of the blocks in this session calmed themselves through the reliable full-back play of Sam Farndon. Sam gathered a number of clearing kicks inside his own 15 and beat the first tackle every time to create the attacking opportunities the Yarnbury desperately needed. The backs stepped up a gear and in a 5-minute window got the ball down three times through the tricksy Alex Lee and a quick brace from Mason Baker to swing the game to Yarnbury and a lead of 60-50. As soon as the proverbial swing-o-meter pointed to Yarnbury it quickly swung back to the middle with 'Hegians grounding the ball twice in succession to level the match at 60-60 with a couple of minutes remaining.

Perhaps a draw was the fair result of the day but Alex Lee had other ideas; he wasn't settling for a draw, no sirree! ( a bit of journalistic licence there I admit, he probably wasn't even counting). He grounded the ball with seconds to spare and leaving little time for a re-start Yarnbury finished the game 65-60 victors.

Phew!

The old cliche applies; rugby was clearly the victor today

Special mentions for Sam Farndon as the Man of the Match. A resolute, mature performance from the, what is turning out to be, utility back. He asked to play scrum half and was duly rewarded with that position and played there with aplomb. On his return to the fray he was played at full-back which was to be the best part of his game today. The growing confidence is palpable in the young man. Crunching tackler of the day was Jack Gallagher, no respecter of his own body he chopped the legs of the 'Hegians forwards time and time again.

Next time someone else can referee and I will take a seat in the team gazebo. Lest we forget the pegs.

Oh, and Karl? Don't forget the mallet for the pegs.....