Match Reports 6th Feb 2022
Under 16s - London Scottish 10-33 Verulamians
Vees avenge the previous day’s 6 Nations match against a tough and skilful London Scottish side.
First Half
Vees kicked off through Jamie F and dropped a dangerous ball into touch around the London Scottish 5m line. The exiles secured the lineout though and cleared their line to touch. Vees then made a mess of the ensuing lineout and the pass out under pressure skimmed along the ground in front of Jamie F. Ever alert, Will picked off the floor, accelerated and spiralled a perfect long pass out to Ethan who glided over for the first try of the afternoon.
0-5 with the angle too tight for Jamie F to convert.
The next action saw what looked like a perfect kick to touch from Jamie F but on the short pitch, the ball went over the goal line and dead. From the Scot’s scrum, great pressure was exerted by Luka as he smashed and wrapped the 8 on the pick and go. The ball spun loose and Ellis scared the life out of the oppo as he fumbled straight into the grateful hands of the hulking Vees prop. Vees soon won a penalty from the pressure and the tap found the ever willing crash ball merchant, George. He was denied a yard short but had consumed enough London Scottish defence for short range strike specialist Austin to pick and dive over from for the 5 points.
0-12 following the 2 point conversion from Jamie F.
The next bit of good play saw a U16 first as Jamie F’s almighty clearance from within our 22 Found touch in the opposition 22 for a 50/22, winning Vees the lineout. Huge credit also to Ayman for the lineout steal from the opposition throw in to set Jamie F up for this.
Vees won the resulting lineout (functioning much better than last week) and the ball was spun wide to Will from Jamie F who seared over under posts following a great cut.
0-19 as Jamie F nailed the kick.
After what has seemed like an eternity, Vees defence was finally breached but it took some excellent offloading, some slightly lazy defensive line speed from Vees and a humungous centre to barrel over and ensure London Scottish wouldn’t be shut out.
5-19 as the kick was missed.
London Scots now had their heads up and their 8 made a superb, pacy break. Only a desperate tackle by Ethan and Will held him at bay. As the ball was spun wide, the winger had a one on one with Jamie S who lowered himself, braced, braced, braced and smashed the enemy intruder backwards with a try saving tackle. Vees won a penalty and Jamie F coolly cleared to touch. From the lineout, the ball went wide to Sam FB who made an excellent 40 yard break. As the cover came across, he chipped into the in goal area for Will who was just held up by London Scottish to deny a try.
Second Half
The half remained scoreless for some time with a lack of precision and some sloppy give aways of possession at times but the mighty boot of Jamie F was reliable in clearing kicks from penalties the Vees boys won.
Some good play down the right off Sam FB, Ethan and Barney made headway and looked promising but the determined Scots defence ensured it came to nothing.
The breakthrough came as London Scottish were in the attack around Vees 22. A loose ball was picked up by Jamie F and he immediately fed Will who looked in for an easy try. Either a sniper or an awesome tap tackle from the full back prevented the run in. Again London Scottish showed grit as they flooded back to defend but in the chaos, the ball moved down the Vees line until an intelligent pass back inside to Reuben saw him power over for a well earned try.
5-26 as Jamie Fs laser sighted boot was on target again.
Scottish struck next with a lot of help from a dodgy ref call as their forward was stopped short of the line and proceeded to front crawl his way over with a quadruple, double movement seen by all the Vees players and coaches. Despite the protestations, try given.
10-26.
The final points came from a solid Vees scrum after a ball kicked over the in goal line by London Scottish - the wind playing havoc when at the players backs.
The ball was fed to Jamie and a smart pop back inside to Will on a great line saw him one on one with sniper elite full back. Taking no prisoners this time he rounded the full back to finish under the posts with Jamie F adding the extras for a final score of 10-33.
The Vees won ugly in testing conditions against a gritty team with some skilful players but ultimately the Vees defence was stronger and the lads took their opportunities to ensure another solid league victory.
Final Score
London Scottish 10-33 Vees (Tries: Will x 2, Austin, Ethan, Reuben. Conversions: Jamie F x 4)
Wallys of the Week
Jamie F, Luka, Luca & Barney (and Simon) for forgetting shirts and ties.
Players of the Day
Ellis - another rampaging performance, scaring the life out of the opposition and taking 3 players to bring him down on numerous occasions.
Ayman - a couple of important lineout steals, showed neat football skills at one point and put his body on the line in contact as he knocked the big lads backwards.
Will - an excellent display in defence and attack. Great lines of running and determination and heart to stop tries. The mullet was on fire today.
Jamie F - captaining the side in Charlie’s absence he was calm, assured and the howitzer of a boot was supremely accurate. A great all around display as he controlled the game for Vees from 10.
Under 14s: Cheshunt 0 Vees 64
The U14s continued their good first league season, with a fourth win in five matches. Cheshunt kept battling till the end, but Vees ran in 10 tries without reply, with Arthur adding 7 conversions despite the strong wind. Quinn and Freddie C both completed hat-tricks, with Adam, Freddie S, Arthur and Gethin scoring one each. Great to see the boys taking set plays from training into matches, and moving the ball through the backs with increasing confidence. A number of boys also took the opportunity in the second half to experience different positions. Man of the match went to Tommy, for his constant workrate all over the pitch and great running lines.
U13s Fullerians v Verulamians League 4 - 7
Match report U13 Fullerians vs Vees 6 th feb 2022
Vees U13 travelled to an unbeaten Fullerians team on Sunday for their penultimate league match. From
the kick off it was apparent that captain Gethin had fired up his team and they were focused on playing
their best rugby. Vees gained possession and after multiple phases of play camped down in the
Fullerian’s half, the Vees forwards drove over to score the first try. Fullerians were quick to respond,
where the score was brough back to 1-1 by their lightning quick outside centre who caught the ball from
the kick off and ran round the Vees defence to score in the corner. Vees kept their heads up and played
exquisite expansive rugby over multiple phases to work their way back down the pitch. The whole team
was involved in the passing including forwards, Arthur, Bodie, Harry P and Paddy, who demonstrated
some lovely quick passing to spread the ball to the wingers. The Vees scrum worked well as soon as it
was called upon, Harry P hooking impeccably and the pack driving as a unit. Harry B, at scrum half
ensure that quick ball came from the scrum and subsequent rucks which created the pressure which
forced a penalty from Fullerians 5 m out from their line. Vees took the direct route to take the score to
1-2. Fullerians came back strong from the kick off but the Vees defence remained impenetrable with
ferocious tackling coming in from Seb and Max in the centres. When Fullerians managed to get the ball
wide, Jayden and Dylan W were alert and fearless in their defence. Through some of the best rucking
Vees has demonstrated all season, especially Paddy, Bodie and Tom Vees won the ball back and started
linking phases of play again before spreading the ball wide. Vees stretched the Fullerians defence as
they worked towards the try line and Vees had a hattrick at 1-3. However, Fullerians continued to battle
hard and in a piece of broken play their outside centre broke through a gap and outstripped the Vees
team to score Fullerians second through in a beautiful piece of solo running. Vees continued to execute
the basics well and play their game; Boris came in from full back to put in some monster tackles, Oscar
must have been a very unwelcome sight to the Fullers pack with his tenacity in securing and winning ball
in the rucks. Bodie, at second row, repeatedly broke off the back of the ruck which made over quarter of
a pitch and took 4 defenders to bring him down. On one occasion Bodie flicked the ball up from behind
his back to off load to Max, an outrageous offload for a 2 nd row! Vees continued to play heads up
expansive rugby; after some phenomenal running and offloading between Paddy, Tom and Bodie.
Arthur added his strength and Harry P his determination, to furnish another pack try. The backs
contributed another try down the wing and the 1 st half concluded 2-5
In the second half Vees spent the vast majority of the initial period camped on their own line. They
conceded 5 penalties, but incredibly Vees defence managed to repel Fullerians who were not able to
break the Vees line. Having absorbed a phenomenal amount of pressure captain Gethin broke away and
managed to make ¾ of the pitch before he was caught. Jayden was in support but the pass was deemed
forward. Harry P and Vees scrum turned the ball over and after a few quick rucks and spreading the ball
Vees scored on the opposite wing. The score was now 2-6. Some players of note in the second half were
Henry who came on at scrum half and added his unique flair, dodging through half gaps around the edge
of the fray to make ground for Vees; Eddie who started his campaign with a phenomenal tackle which
stopped the Fullers runner in their tracks; Luke who brought his customary fearless tackling and passion
to run with the ball Tom V who put in a fantastic shift on the wing where Fullerians started directing a
lot of traffic and Archie who came on as a replacement prop, was solid in the scrum and dynamic at the
rucks. As both teams tired, the play became more broken and Fullerian’s outside centre was able to
score another 2 solo tries. Vees played their hearts out and with backs in the rucks and forwards in the
line, scored a final full team try the result of multiple phases of play, guts and determination. The game
finished 4-7, but what U13 will be most proud of is the style of rugby and teamwork they demonstrated
to each other and everyone watching.