St Neots Kettering U16

First round of the plate competition saw us away at St Neots.Squad of 22. Two 35min halves, here's how it played out:
First half:
Very windy conditions, St Neots kick off. A couple of penalties either way & couple of scrums in the first five minutes. Oran kicks a loose ball towards their try line. SN take it over the line & it's a 5m scrum. Great scrum from KRFC, Sam pick & go from the back, just short. Joe picks & gets over the line for a try, no conversion. A really scrappy game, 10 - 15 scrums now, littered with mistakes & no consistency of play. Neither side getting any flowing Rugby going. We get a bit of play now. Sam is looking outstanding, great line breaks & superb at the counter ruck. Scrum in our half & a great win for KRFC, ball out to Christian who puts a great grubber kick through their back line, Oran chasing it under pressure but the skipper collects & then delivers under the posts , Christian converts. Christian catches the re-start & chips over the top, Ben chases & fly hacks inside their 10m. Penalty against us for a something or other. Good skills but it's not to be this time. We start to get a bit of flow now. Christian on the break with some great steps & a fend. Forwards backing up as well. Alfie with a line break, Ben collects the ball & skips through the backline for a try, Christian converts.
Second half:
Penalty count was just too high so we ask the boys not to compete at the breakdown. Wholesale changes as we bring on Charlie Dix, Will Homer, Bryce Doughty, Ewan Clee, Leo Turrell, Tom Reynolds & Tom Holford. Charlie & Will making a statement straight way with some hard carries. KRFC are camped out on SN's line, lots of phases & the forwards working really well together. It looks like a try but it's deemed a double movement & SN clear their lines. We win a penalty just in their half, Ben calls " KFC" & it's a superb kick with Oran running on to it, collects & delivers under the posts again. No conversion, under the bar from 5m out ( no names). We are getting good phases of play this half, pick & go really working well, Sam smashing through the gain line.We loose the ball but great intent. Very positive play with Tom R , Charle, Will H, Oran & Sam all carrying really well. Will L-W working his socks off across the whole pitch. We are finding good pace with Rory, Leo & Tye all making superb breaks. Superb attack now, Ben, Oran & Tom R all linking up well, ball stopped on the line by SN but we win a penalty on their 5m, ball to Sam who runs a hard line over to score, Ben converts. Charlie really making a difference this half, he's eating up the meters with line breaks. SN stringing some good phases together now, pick & go phases & then out wide for a try, no conversion. That wraps up the game.
Dan, Clark, Max, Joe, Cyrus, Alfie & Will L-W really put in the hard work today, the work that doesn't really get seen. Without them we wouldn't have had the ball or space to create the opportunities to score. A real squad effort with everyone playing their part in the game. Oran as captain lead by example again.
Back at the clubhouse SN vote for a player of the match for the opposition & they chose Sam @ 8, very well deserved.

Both teams observed a minutes silence before the game today. From the Kettering U16 players, coaches & the wider KRFC family we offer our sincere condolences to Richard, Tye & their family for their loss.