Match Reports 21st November
Under 16s; Vees 17 – 50 Harlow
Killer finishing from Harlow forced Vees heads to drop but we finished on a high with the last try in a game that should have been closer than the score line reflects.
First Half
A lovely morning for Rugby, crisp and cool but bright, sunny with firm ground for ideal Rugby conditions.
Vees started with good pressure but the recent run of mistakes at crucial times prevented us from building the pressure into points. This, coupled with Harlow being very strong and combative at the breakdown resulted in a stalemate early on.
The first points came from a Vees mistake with a knock on resulting in a Harlow scrum in our 22. Their No. 8 picked up from the base and barrelled over for a converted try.
0-7
Vees fought back and Will picked and went from a ruck just outside the 22. A hand off was made and fast closing cover from the Harlow winger was unable to prevent a try under the posts. Will added the afters as Jamie F received some treatment on his knee.
7-7
From the kick off a rare lapse from Sam FB saw a knock on giving a scrum to Harlow. Simple hands out to the right and the Harlow centre split the defenders to crash over near the corner.
7-12
The next Harlow try came as they created a simple 3 on 2 out to and fed their speedy winger for the score.
7-17
Harlow, with a number of backs in the Essex county side knew their strength and another ball was moved out wide to their winger to speed over for an easy try.
7-24
Second half
Vees started the half with pressure in the Harlow 22 but a grubber through came to nothing and from the resulting box kick, 3 watchers left ball with the bounce favouring Harlow. The ball moved down the line and the best try of the day was scored as the Harlow winger chose a great line at pace to speed in.
7-31
From the kick off, Harlow made a rare mistake of not catching the deep ball and then being forced to touch down over their line. From the goal line drop out, Oli R caught the ball and moved it down line to Ben at pace who made a step inside to power over, diving for the try. The kick was missed.
12-31
Harlow then added a two tries in the corner for their winger and another from their 8 as he powered over from the scrum.
12-50
From the final kick off, Harlow didn’t catch the ball and sustained Vees pressure and scrums saw Austin receive the ball from Sam FB and, presented with a 2 on 1 and everyone expecting the famous dummy, he fed Rhydian who finished smartly with a stutter step to fix the last man.
17-50
On a day when Vees weren’t at their best but Harlow were and the bounce of every ball went their way we were overwhelmed on the scoresheet for a more one sided reflection of the game than it should have been.
Final Score
Vees 17 – 50 Harlow
(Tries: Will, Ben, Rhydian. Conversions: Will)
Players of the Day
Oli R – Fantastic effort and gave us some real forward momentum when on the pitch with his energy and work rate.
Ben – Made one of the most acrobatic, full stretch catches I’ve ever seen in Rugby and when given the ball in finishing position powered over for his try.
Under 15s; Tring 21 - 5 Welwyn & Verulamians
It was a hard fought contest away at Tring in the league this Sunday. In the first 20 minutes the game was incredibly tight with hard tackles and great rucking, with both sides having quick break thwarted by last ditch tackles to stop the opening try.
Eventually Tring broke away and scored a try which was duly converted, and was shortly followed by a second try and conversion.
The WVs continued to push on in the second half with their rucking over and scrummaging highlights of their play, and setting up our forward Ben P to crash through the Tring defensive lines time and again to gain territory. Unfortunately Tring broke away for a third try and conversion as WVs were looking to gain territory.
The WVs continued to push and didn’t give up until the final whistle and were rewarded towards the end with a good try from Robbie L as the WVs continued to crash through their opposition with their strong forward line.
The captain of the day gave the captains award to Joe for his strong, tough tackling, whilst the Big Vernon man of the match award went to Ben for his excellent forward play and continual crashing through the opposition defensive lines.
Under 14s; Epping 5 - 7 Vees
Despite missing a number of leading players, Vees put in an outstanding performance to overcome a strong Epping team.
Epping took an early lead, but Vees hit back with Ned running from half way to score our first try. A grubber kick, chase and collect gave Epping a 2-1 lead, but a great break by Simon gave Luke the opportunity to equalise from short range. Vees took a 3-2 lead into half time when Ned broke again to score.
Vees started the second half well, but from a promising position in Epping’s 22, Epping forced a turnover and broke quickly. Determined defence held them up short of the line, but Vees conceded a scrum which Epping won to crash over the line and equalise at 3-3.
With the game in the balance, two quick tries from Vees saw them take a grip of the match that they weren’t to surrender. Vees scrum has been dominant against all-comers in recent weeks, and after driving Epping back again, Freddie C threw a dummy to break the line and run clear to score. From Epping’s re-start, Elijah collected the ball in his own half and used his speed and strength to score in the corner.
Epping refused to give up, and pulled the score back to 5-4. However Vees scored directly from the re-start for the second time - Luke picking up Epping’s short kick and taking advantage to outrun Epping to the line. A couple of minutes later, Luca sealed victory by crashing over the line.
Epping scored a consolation try with the last play of the game, but Vees were jubilant with a hard-fought 7-5 victory. Special mentions to Iwan, back in his preferred position at scrum half after returning from a broken metatarsal a couple of weeks ago, and Adam at full back who dealt excellently with Epping’s propensity to kick long. Congratulations to Charlie on making his debut. But overall a great team effort, with all the boys stepping up and showing the strength across the whole squad.
Christmas Fair
The Vees held a Christmas fair at Cotlandswick, with home fans and visitors shopping for gifts whilst drinking mulled wine and mince pies. It was great to see so many people at the fair today, and Merry Christmas to all!
