Match Report Archive

Sevenoaks 60 Amstelveen u16 0

25 Apr 2011

So the boys did it. An unbeaten season whilst playing some outstanding rugby against a lot of very good teams takes a lot of doing but this squad is made of strong stuff both physically and mentally.

With the Kent and Colchester tournament winner’s cups in their bags Sevenoaks u15 headed off for an Easter tour to Holland looking to maintain their 100% record and have a huge amount of fun en route and happily both objectives were achieved. The tough challenge was always going to be to win the Hilversum round robin event (ironically against English opponents) on Sunday but first the boys had to overcome local opposition from Hilversum RFC. Arriving at the ground the boys were well into their warm up when the eagle eyed coaches spotted a bunch of lads in Hilversum kit who were warming up nearby. Our fears that this was the opposition were well founded when we enquired about their ages – they were a touch on the small side – only to be told that in Holland u15 means that none of them are 15. In the interests of safety we all agreed that this match up was dangerous and it looked like the game couldn’t go ahead. A few of the more thirsty fathers piped up that this gave us the perfect opportunity to get into Amsterdam earlier than planned! The coaches resisted this feeble attempt at a putsch and opted instead to play a series of 7s matches against the home side boys who seemed now to have been added to by a few bigger lumps.

 So out went the first, randomly chosen Oaks 7 ready to run rings round these splendid chaps from Amstelveen. The best laid plans and all that! The hosts started superbly passing and looping and scoring with consummate ease in the corner whilst the “Not Magnificent 7” struggled to catch a cold. Some offers of advice from the coaches seemed to do the trick and Oaks scored 2 tries to sneak a 12-7 win. Luckily the coaches remained eagle eyed and we noticed that a large number of bigger lads had arrived and surely they were looking for a proper game! So the 7 s experiment was cancelled (phew! Thank you Hans), the little fellas were put back in the cupboard and full blooded game between Oaks and the Amstelveen u16/17 side began. With 2 of the Dutch U17 players in the opposition ranks this was always going to be a big physical encounter and so it proved. Oaks took some time to get into their stride as the inside centre ran hard aggressive lines at our midfield but eventually the engine started and the ball went wide right twice for winger Money to power in for a brace of tries. Ward, again outstanding at 8 all weekend, added another having stepped and powered through half of their team for a converted try and a comfortable 17-0 lead. It was very hot out there and Oaks players seemed to be feeling the effects of, ahem.... a long coach journey as more and more started feeling tweaks in hamstrings they didn’t know they had! However, the human pin ball that is Russell-Vick and his silky-running centre partner Pettitt added further tries which hooker Barnes converted via drop goals and at half time Oaks were out of sight at 29-0.

The start of the second half saw the try of the day. With the hosts wilting in the heat and in the face of Oaks superb executions a long kick was expertly caught by lock Morgan, recycled perfectly and moved through the Oaks midfield at pace. Skipper Vizard, revelling in the freedom of playing at 7, put his own skilful stamp on the move and the angle of attack changed in an instant. A quick ruck in midfield saw the ball moved early to the left and into the hands of winger Parker who needed no second invitation to “gas” his man and dot down under the posts. McKeen, making a welcome return to the squad after a severely disrupted season showed his pace to leave his opposite number clutching at thin air and with the conversion Oaks moved to 43-0 before Russell-Vick, man of the match Barnes (who hit a superb line onto a pop pass from McKerlie) and Pettitt all added further tries and a 60-0 victory was recorded with the 7s experiment consigned to the History Channel!

What goes on tour stays on tour is a dearly held value in rugby so nothing will be recorded here about what went on in Amsterdam although we do all remember having a decent club sandwich at one stage.

On Easter Sunday a bunch of “tired” parents and sprightly players jumped on the coach for the journey to the Hilversum festival and a first encounter of the season with our near neighbours Dartfordians! Darts have been rebuilding and we haven’t played them since the u13s so they were a bit of an unknown package but their coaches and players deserve huge credit for the work they have done. Although it is fair to say that Oaks were rusty and a little slow to get going our friends from Kent pushed us all the way. They harried every mistake, they competed vigorously at the break down and put in thumping tackles all game. Oaks on the other hand opted for a very loose off-loading game when a tight approach to suck in opposition defenders was needed. After a few hairy moments near our own line the ball went wide right to Parker, who was immense all day, and he rounded his opposite number to score a converted try. This proved to be the only score of the game and the boys left the field full of respect for the new Darts side.

Next up was Stowe on the Wold – a lovely part of the country – who we knew nothing about other than their u14s looked quite tasty. Oaks took the field bristling with intent, after some home truths were spoken by the coaching team, and a furious desire to remain unbeaten pulsating through the team. This was more like the team we have been with all season as the forwards stopped hanging out and contested the break down with real aggression. Sinclair was his usual immoveable self at the break down, Farrance, Thresher, Wheadon and Murphy were (literally) huge in attack and defence whilst ever present tight head Briggs was quite simply outstanding. Parker soon opened the scoring before Briggs powered over from at least 15m and at 12-0 at half time Oaks were looking good and Stowe were looking  tired. How things can change in rugby. From a high kick off the ball was spilt and it bounced into the arms of Stowe’s powerful number 8 who hammered through several attempted tackles to thunder over the line for a converted try and the game was back on. A minor incident then occurred where the ball was petulantly thrown at Ward – this was a stupid thing to do because it only made him angry. Straight from the second half kickoff Oaks won a turn over through ferocious rucking. Scrum half Spence found Ward with a smart flat pass and off he went under the posts and normal service was resumed. With the game in its last moments Morgan showed what a class player he is by throwing a well balanced dummy before crashing over for an unconverted try and a satisfying 24-7 win.

And so to the final and the final game of this remarkable season. We were up against Oadby Wyggestonian from Leicester who had also won their two games. Research showed us that this is a good side who have had a very good season so we knew it would be a tough one and it certainly turned out that way. It is unfair to try and pigeon hole these two sides but Oadby certainly have a pack of forwards who are aggressive, strong and very competitive at the breakdown. Added to this was an open side flanker who was superb at the ruck situation and a very athletic lock who had the very rare pleasure of pinching at least 3 lineouts from Wheadon. Oaks, on the other hand have a very big and competitive pack and backs who combine superb attacking flair with excellent defensive line speed. The game was disrupted early on by two injuries to Oadby Wyggs players but once it settled down Oaks started to dominate territory and from a well worked penalty move Wheadon crashed through the defence to score and unconverted try and a 5-0 lead at half time.

The second half was a ferocious contest which Oaks were just about edging before Oadby created a storm which tested our boys defence to the very limits. A series of powerful pick and drives took our opponents into our 22 and a penalty was won. Having missed an earlier kick at goal, and knowing that they needed a converted try to take the lead they opted to give the ball to their forwards. Facing them Oaks defensive line was screaming “ready, ready, ready” and as soon as the ball was passed the Kent wave hit them. First Briggs made a huge hit on his opposite number, then Sinclair followed by Killick but the powerful Leicester boys edged ever closer. Most of their backs joined the maul and a tense few seconds occurred as Oaks put their bodies on the line to stop the score that would have given OWs the lead. As the maul collapsed over the line scrum half Mckerlie (on for the badly injured Money who had gone off to hospital with an eye injury that had dubious origins) leapt 3 feet in the air on the news that the ref had decided the ball was held up. From the resulting 5m scrum Rice-Wilson, effective and creative all day at fly half, cleared for touch and the moment of danger had passed. Whilst Oaks were buoyed by the defensive shut out, OWs, understandably, looked deflated and the play switched to the other end of the field. Oaks began to play with more creativity with Urquhart back to his magnificent powerful best. An ill timed high tackle on Russell-Vick led to a disturbing bust up but order was soon restored and from the resulting penalty Rice-Wilson found touch 20m out. With Barnes off the pitch Orsbourn continued his successful conversion from 12 to 2 with a series of thumping clear outs as the forwards sensed victory. One after another the forwards drove at the OWs line with Murphy using all of his size to get within yards. The tension was unbearable but the players on the pitch remained calm and controlled before McKeen finally dived over for a try which McKerlie converted and a massive game, against a very, very good team, was won 12-0. And so the season ended in unrestrained joy and celebration at a truly remarkable achievement.

The boys have been absolutely superb all season and they deserve this wonderful moment. We have seen over 30 players represent the squad this season and despite 7 or 8 top players missing this touring unit kept the machine rolling just as everyone else had all season. It has been a blast and a hugely rewarding experience being involved with this group of players (and parents) – have a great summer and we will see everyone back for pre-season training.

 

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