Kettering U15s cruise through to the Cup Final

The U15s retraced their steps to Peterborough, scene of their recent League victory, for the East Mids Cup semi-final.

With the wind at their backs Kettering got off to a breathtaking start with a great chase and turn over of the kick off. Tasker set Henri off into space where he stood the cover up and skirted around the defence to score the first try after less than a minute. Not satisfied with one try Henri then set about scoring another four exploiting some quick ball and misfiring defence to put Kettering in the clear - although unable yet again to convert any of the scores.0-25. The pick of Henri's tries saw him receive the restart, take the ball up before chipping over the onrushing defence, gathering the ball, handing off the full back and racing in to score! The scoring was completed after a bullocking run by Chris was finally brought to and end by four defenders only for Robbie to smash though from the resulting ruck as first receiver to the right of the posts. HT 0-30.

It was a dominant half with Kettering employing the strong wind and some excellent attacking play at pace to pin Peterborough back in their half.

Despite the scoreboard the second half saw Peterborough rally strongly after some well chosen half time words. Using the wind to their advantage they turned Kettering's defence with some accurate kicking. Taking advantage of some better possession they linked well to go through several attacking phases. The Kettering defence pressed too far up and the gap was exploited quickly for a try to the left of the posts which was converted. 7-30.

This set the tone for Peterborough's approach and Kettering had to regather themselves after coming under pressure. Gradually working their way back up into the teeth of the gale Kettering won a scrum on the home 22. Chris picked and drove before feeding Jamie who supported well to score in the left corner. No extras were added 7-35.

The momentum shifted again back towards Kettering and Robbie led the way with a great strip in the tackle on half way before feeding Henri who raced in to score his 6th try with an Ash Splash in the right corner. 7-40.

Kettering were now falling foul of the ref as their discipline slipped and they gave up several penalties which allowed Peterborough to apply more pressure. Yet there was still one more score to come with a quick ball from the scrum passing through several pairs of hands before Dom was set loose and even into the wind he was too much of a handful for the tiring defenders as he scored a try to the right of the posts - again unconverted even with the arrival of a kicking tee from the 21st century! FULL TIME 7-45.

A convincing win for Kettering but they were made to work hard by Peterborough who will be pleased with reducing the amount of points conceded compared to the league fixture.

Kettering can be particularly pleased with a strong set piece which created the platform for winning plentiful possession. The whole team showed great commitment in the loose and supported each other well all game, creating space and scoring opportunities.Special mention should be made of our improved restarts - despite the swirling wind a much better display than previous weeks. Next step is to start kicking some conversions because there will be games where they are more important than today!

On to the Cup Final then on the 13th March , to be held at St.Ives RFC.We look forward to locking horns with ONs again, who beat Towcester in their semi, for what should be a great game between two evenly matched teams. Plans are afoot to run a coach or two from the club for players , supporters and associated hangers on - look out for email updates.

And finally the Golden Bacon Butty Challenge. Freshly baked baps CHECK...crispy bacon cooked to order CHECK and a sausage as well...all for £2 CHECK CHECK CHECK. What more could any discerning baconista ask for?? I was very excited and those who were present would have noticed a suspicious bulge in my pocket...calm down....it's not what you think...it's much better MY OWN EMERGENCY BOTTLE OF HP SAUCE! CHECK!! A perfect compliment to the best bacon bap of the year with a whopping 8.5 out of 10. Well done to the Boro - just a few weeks to go till the end of the season but you're top of the pack Good Work!

Try Scorers - Henri Styles (6), Robbie Burrell, Jamie Redden, Dom Ferreira