Match Reports
Sevenoaks U17s 20 Taunton U17s 18
19 Apr 2010
Oaks hang on to march onto Northampton Saints!
Another great day, in a season of great days, saw the the record breaking U17s foil a titanic Taunton fightback at Henley RFC to qualify for the National Final to be held at Premiership side Northampton Saints on 2nd May; a first in the long and successful history of junior rugby at Sevenoaks RFC. With a seemingly inpregnable 20 - 8 lead and with only 8 minutes left, the Oaks defence, that had held pretty firm all game, suddenly let in 2 tries at the death. A great break from the big Taunton centre, who had threatened all afternoon, scored the first try and this was followed by a further try after a defensive mix up. The conversion for the second try hit the post and Sevenoaks held on. Had the conversion gone over, Taunton would've gone through having scored more tries, and with only minutes remaining it would have been difficult for Oaks to come back.
It had all stared so differently, with Oaks playing at a high tempo and controlling the ball. A blindside move after 7 minutes saw Ollie Shirtcliff dart through the defence for the first try which he duly converted from the touchline. The rest of the first half was a case of Taunton putting a lot of pressure on Oaks and controlling the linouts. Only a magnificent try saving tackle from tighthead prop Jack Walker and some great turnovers from centre Jonny Short and openside Will De Smith kept Taunton out, leaving the score 7-3 at half time. The second half couldn't have started worse for Sevenoaks as another defensive lapse straight from the kick off, saw Taunton score to lead 8-7. This seemed to galvanise Oaks who now had their best period of the match. A penalty apiece for Ollie Shirtcliff and Dom Saunders put the score at 13-8, before Jasper Thompson bulldozed his way over for a try. When Saunders slotted the conversion, ensuring the team's 100% success rate with the boot, it stretched the lead to 20 - 8 and with only 10 minutes left it seemed the game was won. Credit to Taunton, who on another day could've won the match.
It was another great squad performance with every player stepping up to the mark, particularly as at the last minute, two regular players were not able to get back from holidays abroad because of cancelled flights.
The team now look forward to the final knowing that they have great momentum and a chance of winning their 3rd cup of the season
Squad: Jamie Owen, Charlie Roberts, Freddie Tan, Charlie Nohre, Jonny Short, Dan Foley, Ollie Shirtcliff, Dom Saunders, Seb Goodhew, Jasper Thompson, Jack Walker, Will Hunt, Alex Bowles, Joe Johnson, Alex Hadi, Tom Lonnergan,Tom Naismith, Will De Smith, Fraser Forward, Matt Gill, Zandy Medhurst (Capt).