Post posted from last week due to the one day of snow this season, Kettering u14s travelled to Towcester for a league and development team double header.

As always Towcester provided us with a warm welcome as did the weather, but the overnight rain had left the pitch very heavy going underfoot. We struggled to play in such conditions pre Christmas but the Blues were determined to put in a good league performance.

It was obvious from the initial exchanges that both sides would find it hard work underfoot. Balls sunk in the mud rather than bounced and all those with dancing feet just slipped as did the forwards desperate to find some sturdy ground at each scrum.

Kettering however started the brighter, recycling the ball and offloading with some great support running by backs and forwards combing to keep Towcester pinned back. An early penalty opportunity from long range was struck perfectly by Tommy Sims to put Kettering on the scoreboard first. 0-3 Kettering.

Further strong running and support play took the Blues deep into the home teams 22, with Will Watters on the charge crashing through next to the posts. An easy conversion put Kettering in command at 0-10.

The Blues continued to try and play the game at pace both in attack and defence denying Towcester the ball and keeping possession well. A great cross field play saw Towcester concede a penalty 7 yards out. The Blues opted to kick to touch, secured the line out and drove the resulting maul over the line with Will Watters coming up with the ball and his second try. 0-15 Kettering.

Some momentary lapses of concentration then afforded Towcester some territory and a penalty in our 22. Quick reactions by them and slow ones by Kettering resulted in some poor defending allowing the home side some points on the board. 5-15 Kettering.

Come the second half Kettering were both dominant in the scum and the line out which gave the backs plenty of ball, however the mud seemed to cause every backs move to appear in slow motion. The Blues however kept pumping those legs and soon found a penalty in their favour, 5 metres from the Towcester line. Ollie Roberts took the tap at pace and was stopped on the line, however quick ball from the ruck sent Will Watters over from close range for his hat-trick try of the day. 5-20 Kettering.

As both teams started to tire in the conditions Towcester found some space out wide and broke free for a clear run to the line, however a desperate tap tackle brought the player down and the Blues turned over the ball and counter attacked back into their opponents half.
Kettering continued to probe the Towcester defence both up front and out wide. Again the Blues forwards found themselves sniffing the Towcester line before Ollie Roberts powered through to take the final score to 5-27 Kettering.

Whilst the conditions underfoot hampered both sides it was Kettering's support play and offloading which saw them the better team on the day. We must however not underestimate the quality of our scrum and line out on the day, the forwards should be applauded for such a fine display.

Finally a little insight into the boys dressing room post game; Water fights a plenty, much noise, load music, a fine blend of many a body spray, hair styling products and deodorant fills the air, but do they really need that hair dryer that's started to make an appearance?