Match Report Archive
Sevenoaks 12 - Crawley 0
28 Mar 2010
No Karg, no Rugg, no Perrera-Slater, no Leahy, no problem. Without four of their star performers, Sevenoaks under 15’s were back to winning ways this weekend. This match came not a moment too soon as it was necessary to expiate the gut wrenching defeat and associated bile that still lingered in the throats and on the palate of coaches and players who participated in last weeks unsuccessful county final. Rugg’s pre-match message was simple, ‘get over it, mash em, bash em –and on a more technical note-move the ball through at least three phases, disrupt the defence, make the opening and then spin the ball wide’.
In accordance with these instructions the game began with just such a move. Renton caught the kick off and drove at the Crawley defence. With Barnes and Rolfe leading the charge the forwards bashed and crashed their way through at least eight phases all the way to the Crawley try line whereupon the ball was spun out to the backs. What Rugg forgot to mention was that once you spin the ball wide, make sure that you catch it and drive forward, as all the forwards hard yards went to waste when the ball was shipped back along the line, without barely a step being taken forward and then dropped. Nevertheless, an encouraging start to the game.
Indeed, the first half was to take place in Crawley territory. Without the kicking power to clear their lines and with the Sevenoaks pack dominant, Crawley were forced to run the ball out of their twenty two and try to find passage through or round Sevenoaks backs. Craddock was quick to erect a ‘no entry sign’ on his wing in the form of his trademark dump tackle which he had to repeat once more until Crawley got the message, mentally promised not to trouble Craddock again and instead use their centre to drive up the middle and into the Sevenoaks defence. This was quite an effective ploy as Ryan Harvey the stocky powerful Crawley centre made good yards on many occasions, but there was little support from the other Crawley backs whose passing was a little pedestrian and therefore ineffective in putting any real pressure on the Sevenoaks defence.
With all the territorial advantage, it was only a matter of time before Sevenoaks breakthrough came. Park stole the ball at the line out and Barnes collected the ball and drove towards the line. The ball was recycled out to Scott, Briggs drew the Crawley defence on to him, full back Rupert Harris hit the line at speed, the pass was delivered at pace and Harris was over. (5-0) Sevenoaks dominance continued for the remainder of the half as Keevis and Renton regularly disrupted and stole Crawley’s line out, Barnes took the ball against the head in the scrum and was quick to pounce on any ball in the loose and Sewell made a pacey, penetrating run down the left flank after Sinclair made a positive charge from the back of the scrum. However, at half time the score remained 5-0.
Crawley looked a little more lively after the break and dominated the early part of the second half without ever posing a threat as Sevenoaks stood firm and tackled well. George Reilly made a welcome comeback and showed his pace as he thrust his way into and through the Crawley pack. However, it was captain Alex Rolfe who set the second half alight when he went on a fifty yard run, side stepping and shrugging off tackles, showing good pace but unable to deliver the final killer pass to finish what would have been a remarkable try. As the second half proceeded, the referee stuck fastidiously to the letter of the law, supporters were wrapped across the knuckles and rightly told to ‘shut-up’ and allow him to get on with the most difficult of tasks, scrums were set and reset and it was some time before the Oaks supporters were treated to another score.
When the score did come, it was opportunist in nature as Rory Martin pounced on untidy work by Crawley, pinned back his ears and skated through to put the game beyond Crawley’s reach. Cook obliged with the kick and it was 12-0 to Sevenoaks.
When the final whistle sounded, Sevenoaks coaches were satisfied to be back to winning ways with a job well done. Coaches Rugg and Barnes were especially pleased with the performance of open-side flanker Matt Hilden who performed well in executing the unglamorous task of link man at the breakdown, ensuring that the ball was recycled on the Sevenoaks side. Rugg was also pleased with the ‘tenacity’ of the side and mentioned this word several times in the refreshment area after the game. Crawley were good opposition, beaten only twice this season and face promotion, after finishing second in the Sussex ‘B’ league. Once again, Oaks players and supporters leave the Paddock unbeaten-therefore an unbeaten record still survives. Can someone tell the scribe the last time Sevenoaks were beaten at home. I do like an unbeaten record-don’t you!
Final Score; Sevenoaks 12 Crawley 0
Scorers Tries Harris, Martin.
Conversion. Cook