Rushborough V Kettering U16's

Our last full squad friendly in junior rugby. Our decimated backline had to take on a new shape with Alex Neeson stepping into 10. Thankfully Rory Hunt returned from injury to give us some more options & a bit of pace. No spare props either so we were relying on Dan Harrison & Will Homer to go the full 70 mins. We ideally need as few scrums as possible to help these boys through the game. It's our first time playing the recently formed Rushborough where Rushden & Wellingborough have joined to form one team. Two 35 mins halves how it played out:
First half:
First of all Rushborough are a physically big side, this is looking to be a tough morning again.
Not much between the teams to start with. Ball going both ways, scrum to us & ball out to Leo Turrell on the wing, he gets bundled into touch. Lineout & we win the ball from their throw. 22 mins in & not much between us but we do look to be going forward more. Lots of scrums as RB are more dominant & are electing to scrum rather than kick. RB are giving a few penalties away in their half now. Tap penalty & Dan Harrison with a crash ball over to score, no conversion.
RB kick off but kick it straight out, our lineout but RB win the ball, a couple of phases from them but they drop the ball, Oran sees it, kicks the ball a couple of times up the pitch at full sprint, ball bounces up for him to collect & Oran McCabe goes under the posts, superb skills from the captain. No conversion. We are starting to gain some confidence now & great go forward play from the boys, Archie Prince at 9 now & a great run off the back of the scrum, drawing the defender & off loading to the centre. Some great play to see the half out.
We talk about how our off loading game & skill levels are winning the game. Keep this up, keep the ball alive. Do not get into a forwards battle.
Second half:
RB coming into the game, a superb kick from them for a lineout on our 5m, lineout doesn't work for them though, we gain possession & Tom Reynolds kicks well to exit. We give away a couple of penalties & put ourselves under pressure. Scrum, RB off the back of the scrum, they see a gap on the blindside & exploit it to score, they convert. RB kick off but it's straight out. Clarke Alderman throws in with pin point accuracy, Joe wiggins catches, superb lineout again. We have Tom Reynolds at 10 who feeds it out to Toby Ireland, he battles his way through the whole defence to score, superb strength & determination. Joe Wiggins converts, who knew?
Theres a forwards battle as RB try to make ground, Archie Prince in the melay steals the ball away, superb. More scrums, we win this one, kick the ball into touch, RB go short on the lineout Dan Harrison spots it & bundles the RB forward into touch. We win our lineout again, Joe & Ewan Clee dominating again, ball to Will Louison-Wride who is swatting off defenders as he sprints up the pitch, it's all kettering at the moment. RB trying to get some momentum but our forwards are stopping the at every turn, a great rip of the ball from Cyrus Birch. A break in play for an injury, the ground is rock hard & unforgiving. Scrum & we just about keep hold of the ball, it's out to Oran McCabe & he skins everyone on the pitch to score, no conversion.
RB kick off quite short but but Will Homer spots it and a superb catch a floor level at full pace. RB back in possession & truck the ball up the pitch, they try to go over but we hold it up, superb defence from the boys. RB back in possession & try getting out through the backs which works well & they go over to score, RB convert. Kettering put the pressure on again, RB camped out on their try line, they kick to clear but a superb catch from Leo Turrell & he sprints forward & a great off load. We stay in their half but thats time here & the end of the game.
A great squad performance today, fairly short of forwards so the boys who were there really put in a big shift today. Alex Neeson at 10 for most of the game kept a cool head & gained a well deserved round of applause from the boys at the end. We moved Milo Chisholm & Tom Reynolds into varying positions which they adapted to superbly. Rory Hunt & Tye Walker giving us some pace going forwards.
A great way to finish our last full squad U16 game. We had three of the previously injured players come to support the team & that shows the bond these boys have formed over the seasons.
Tries: Dan Harrison, Toby Ireland, Oran McCabe (2). Conversions: Joe Wiggins (1)