Onwards and Upwards - Under 10s Maintain Their Winning Momentum

Kettering Blues - Zac, James A, Hubert, Rory, Eli, Jack, Stanley, Matthew, Alister, Alfie, Joel, James D

Kettering Whites - Ollie, Charlie F, Noah, Jay, Kean, Dominic, Samuel, Luke, Mackenzie, Charlie S, Evan, Ben

After the bitter weather of March the first home fixture produced not only sunshine but also shining performances from Kettering Under 10s. The fixture, against a solid Long Buckby side, showed how far the team has come since the beginning of the season.

In total the team played 4 matches with the final scores being:

Kettering Blues 1-0 and 3-1
Kettering Whites 3-0 and 1-1

In the opening match the Blues kept Long Buckby in their own half for most of the first-half with only good quality defensive play preventing the Blues from scoring more than one try. However the pressure eventually proved too much for the visitors and, with Matthew Tilley producing an excellent scrum-half performance, Stanley Kirk at fly-half was able to convert this into a well deserved try shortly before half-time, by receiving a quality pass at speed and bursting through the visitors defensive line.

Long Buckby returned to the game in the second half with renewed vigour but the Blues defence stayed rock solid with the forwards consistently winning the ball in the scrum and the ruck. On occasion there were a few too many high tackles produced but by the end of the match the team had put this to one side and, with the hard lessons learned in training, they again produced some stunning tackles that rendered the opposition powerless. This was particularly notable of Zac Byers who yet again put in a brave performance for the team.

All the team played their part in this excellent show of true grit including James Anderson who, by stealing the ball from a Long Buckby player 5 meters from the visitors try-line, nearly scored another try late into the second half.

Final Score - Kettering Blues 1 - 0 Long Buckby

The first match for Kettering Whites produced some more quality play from the team. Against another good Long Buckby team the Whites put consistent pressure on the team and, while they had most of the possession and territory, they were foiled from turning this into tries.

In the second half however they stepped up the tempo and, with strong performances from the front row of Charlie Fluester, Ben York and Dominick Taylor, they were able to assert their authority on the match. This was enhanced by the ferocious attacking play of the backs particularly Luke Harley who once again produced a terrier-like performance for the team.

The team finally came out 3-0 winners with the first two tries scored by Ben York and Samuel Rutherford who, according to internationally acclaimed linguist and Head Coach Adrian Downhill, produced a "jinky little dink-dink" (?!?) of a run to score the try. The final try was scored by Jay Hammond who linked in intelligently with scrum-half Evan Downhill to produce a battling solo effort that resulted in a stunning try shortly before the whistle was blown.

Final Score - Kettering Whites 3 - 0 Long Buckby

The next two matches produced similar outcomes for both the Blues and Whites.

In the Whites second match Long Buckby clearly felt they had to recover their pride and, even though Kettering's Samuel Rutherford scored the first try (another great individual effort), they replied with their first try to level the score at 1-1. Kettering were then confronted by a Long Buckby side with the wind in their sails and it was to the team's credit that they didn't buckle under the pressure. In fact the latter part of the match was notable for the Whites stoic defence that meant that Long Buckby, who kept on pushing them back, weren't actually able to break through the line to score another try. This positive approach was summed up by Oliver Coles who at one point produced a magnificent tackle on a Long Buckby player that left him somewhat dazed and confused!

Final Score Kettering Whites 1 - 1 Long Buckby

For the Blues their second match produced further fine performances from the team with Zac Byers scoring the first try, followed by James Day (a lovely catch from the line-out that he carried through to touch down in Long Buckby's goal area)and finally Jack Corke who combined brilliantly with Hubert Jones from a restart to score in the opposition's corner. After this the Blues concentration appeared to wander somewhat which allowed a Long Buckby player to produce a stunning full-pitch run that resulted in a try in the corner of the Whites in-goal area. Clearly this shock woke the team members up and, even though Long Buckby continued to pile on the pressure, the Whites kept their defence strong through to the final whistle.

Final Score Kettering Blues 3 - 1 Long Buckby

Blues Man of the Match - Zac Byers
Whites Man of the Match - Luke Harley