Under 16s: Hertford 5 vs Verulamians 31
WV’s U16’s vs Hertford B – 9th October 2022 at Hertford RFC.
Good weather brought out an excellent performance from the U16’s with a convincing 31-5 win away vs Hertford B.
A courageous captain’s performance from Freddie set the tone in the first 20 minutes before he went off with a head-knock with great care from Rachel and which led to an ambulance being called. Players, coaches and parents all sending best wishes, and are grateful for Freddie’s encouraging words post-match.
The opening 20 minutes were very balanced with tight play from both sets of forwards, but the game came to life mid-way through the first half following a sustained attack getting the ball out wide with nice passing from Alfie P to Tunji, to Dylan S who gave the ball to Rhys to score on the right wing [5-0; 23’].
In the next 20 minutes solid play from the forwards enabled more strong attacking running from defence from Adam, Ellis, Paul and Rhys, and combined with some good kicks from deep, however Hertford defence held out well. On the stroke of half time the match was level following a great try by Hertford when their wing broke free down the right flank running the length of the pitch to score under the posts, but the kick was missed. [5-5; half-time].
The strength of the WV’s bench and the overall team ethos and fitness proved to be the difference in the second half. An attack in the first minute looked like putting DJ away but a marginal forward pass ruled it off. That would only delay the score for 2 minutes when Alfie’s deft chip over the defence was collected by Dylan S to score the second try under the posts, with Alfie securing the conversion. [12-5; 38’].
Five minutes later Alfie got on the score sheet himself with great team work keeping Hertford pinned inside their quarter, leading to a turnover an a strong run to the try line, taking the score to 17-5 [17-5; 43’].
Eventually strong team pressure lead to a midfield scrum, where a multi-phase try with Alfie put Tunji into a gap who charged forward, before the ball came back to Alphie S to score the fourth try under the posts, with an easy conversion from in front of the posts [24-5; 60’].
WV’s kept up the fast pace attacked from deep and combined with good power from the forwards, with firstly Tom being held up just short of the line and then also John just short. From a 5m penalty Josh took the ball up with a strong charge, before Lucas and Jack cleared the ball out to Alfie who stretched out in a tackle to place the ball on the line. With Alfie having taken a slight knock he passed the kicking duties to his training partner Jack who made the kick look comfortable. [31-5; 63’].
The second half saw WV’s continued to compete for every ball with some heroic tackling by the forwards, notably from the front 5 who all contributed with dominant tackles, hitting rucks and malls. The scrum was secure and at times dominated despite the new combination of Josh and Dylan D. Jack and Ben both threw well to the line out with Robbie secured clean ball on several occasions.
In the closing 5 minutes a few niggles emerged with Hertford looking down-hearted and surprised by the confidence and fitness of WV’s. Lucas was denied what would have been a justified try after being held up; and in the final play Aidan appeared to ground the ball on the post but it was not given. Final score 31-5.
A well deserved win to WV’s who struggled against this team last year. This weeks second half attack left Hertford dumbstruck, earning WV’s their first League points of the season, and a second win after last weeks defeat of Harlow 22-5.
The challenge now, is for the team to stay consistent and combine this weeks attacking performance with last weeks great defensive effort.
Several players covered new positions for parts of the match, notably Lucas at 9, Dylan S at 7, Rhys at 13, Tom S at 14 and John at 15.
Other notable performances included Ellis and Tunji who both ran confidently in the centres, while Josh muscled up in the front row and carried the ball well around the field. Robert and Robbie both put in a big shifts at lock and got around the field well. Adam was reliable as always and DJ is continue to look more comfortable in the outside backs.
Awards went to:
Player of the Match: Tunji
Captain’s Award: Paul
Coaches’ Award: Dylan D
Stinker of the week: Alphie S and Dylan S for not wearing correct kit to a league match.