New Year Win for U15 Greenies

This Sunday the HWRFC U15 team travelled to Worthing for their first game of 2012. Cold but firm the pitch looked set for a good game of running rugby. Over a month since their victory at Crawley, they were keen to play rugby!

The Greenies started with a jitter, with impatience and an urge to force the game showing in the lack of precision in their passing and positioning. A few knock-ons and overruns set the tone for the first few minutes.

Will Ross began to show good direct running and straightening things up in the centre with great lines bursting the gain line with powerful acceleration. It was his linking with tight-head Jack Baird who made the first try which was finally scored by Flanker Owain Groves. Another try soon followed with winger Caio Mann also scoring down the right flank.

Worthing soon struck back with their Open side Flanker intercepting a long pass within Worthing’s own half to score under the posts to yield a converted try. The greenies showed good intent to move the ball, but the passes weren’t always finding the team mate!

Two further tries came before halftime, Lock Cameron Carr set up Captain Henry Paul in an unstoppable run from the twenty two, and Caio Mann got a second try running half the pitch in a foot race from a speculative Worthing Pass.

Half time 7 - 20

Both sides raised their tempo in the second half and things began to look a bit more polished. Henry Paul and Jack Baird were ever present in the loose. Tom Taylor sealed several phases of play dummying a defender on the line to score from a pass from Caio.

Number 8 Miles Geldart picked from the scrum, to break free the first line of defence to set up a great field position for Lucas to set up Phil Sutton for a characteristic bulldozing try. Shamus Smith scored from a powerful run from Cameron Carr showing how backs could link in union with forwards with good passing.
The Greenies then went to sleep conceding a try from a penalty; lazy tackling and awareness being the culprit. Too many instances like this will be catastrophic in the A league.

Chester Duff scored at the end to seal the game from a well worked move that gave him a clear run to the line. The game was frustrating to watch with the Greenies lacking some of the precision they have shown in previous games. All players seemed to panic on the ball and perhaps a couple of more steps to fix the opposition and look at the receiving team mate would have delivered a crisper more clinical performance. However the squad’s fitness looks good, the backs look ever improving unit with moves and decoy runners beginning to emerge.

The Greenies earned a bonus point and remain undefeated with two league fixtures left to play – hopefully this game will have cleared out the festive cob webs and got the squad ready for the two further tests against Haywards Heath and East Grinstead.

Match Report by James Geldart

Match Photos by Michael Michael