Match Report Archive
Sevenoaks 45 - Eemsland 7
04 Apr 2010
Sevenoaks 45 Eemsland 7
Be honest, how many of you Sennockians have ever heard of, let alone visited the town of Amersfoort? None of you, apart of course, from the one person who will write to the Chronicle and claim otherwise. The reverse is not true of Amersfoortians who are posed the same question regarding Sevenoaks. Not because Sevenoaks - pleasant as it is - is more remarkable than Amersfort, but because Sevenoaks Rugby Club under 15’s played host to the Dutch, Amersfootian, Eemland Rugby Football Club this weekend.
Now anyone who knows anything about Holland, knows that a vast part of it is built on low lying reclaimed land and that global warming and rising sea levels necessitate the most robust of flood defences. Similarly, any under 15 team visiting the Paddock without the capability to resist a violent storm will also find themselves overwhelmed. So when directly from the kick off, Sinclair burst through the heart of the Eemland defence, with barely any resistance and supplied Matt Johnson (AKA Matt Hilden) with the easiest of finishes, the flood warning went up (5-0).
The trickle soon became a surge. Barnes made a mockery of his prop forward status and floated an exquisite pass to Craddock who side stepped the remainder of the defence to finish (12-0). Scott set Sinclair in motion again as he switched the ball inside, changed the direction of the attack and wrong footed the Eemland defence. Meeting little resistance and therefore needing no assistance Sinclair did not stop until he reached his desired destination (19-0). Eemland were unable to cope with the deluge, as Harris cruised in from 40 yards out (26-0) and Martin who prefers to collect passes from the opposition, rather than his own teammates, intercepted for the second week in succession and was on the score sheet again (33-0). Hillier was also enjoying his outing on the wing and sailed down the line for another score (38-0).
With only 15 minutes of the match played, and seemingly unable to resist the Sevenoaks onslaught, one may have expected capitulation from Eemland. However, this was not the case. Full of Dutch spirit and pride, they rallied and led by their most robust and able prop forward they mounted a rear guard action and battled their way up the field and after some determined scrummaging, created some pressure of their own and found themselves on the score sheet (38-7). Half time came and went in this shortened, twenty minute each way game and buoyed by their score, Eemland sent on their secret weapon-a young lady. It is not unusual to see young ladies mix it with the boys up to under 11 or under 12 level. By the age of 15 however, the sexes do not normally play competitive rugby together. However, this most remarkable of substitutions seemed to have a calming effect on the young men of Sevenoaks. Eemalnds defence was shored up, the flow of tries subsided and Briggs was the only player to breech the Eemalnd defence in the second half. Final score (45-7).
In the true spirit of rugby a final twenty minute game was organised, where players swapped sides. Amesfoortians became Sennockians and visa versa and both sets of players enjoyed and benefited from playing together. In the refreshment area after the game the visiting coaches commented that for many in their young team it is the first time they have visited a foreign country and that they will return to Amersfoort with friendships forged and rugby skills improved. As they say in rugby circles-‘worst of enemies on the field-best of friends off the field’.
Scorers
Tries Johnson, Craddock, Sinclair, Harris, Martin, Hillier, Briggs.
Conversions; Cook 5.