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Oaks overcome Aylesford 33 - 7
04 Oct 2009
U16s open with five-try flourish
Sevenoaks U16s, in their first match of the season, took the game to Aylesford from the start spending the first quarter camped entirely in opposition territory. Connor O’Flynn and Connor Cooper made a number of breaks but after several phases of play the final pass would not go to hand. As Aylesford sought to relieve the pressure by kicking downfield, Rob Walker was solid under the high ball and launched several counter-attacks keeping the opposition pinned down in their own half.
It was not until the Aylesford forwards took control of the ball and drove up the midfield that Sevenoaks were tested. Two penalties took Aylesford close but characteristically strong goal line defence from Sevenoaks kept them out. The opening score came from debutant Ryan Wrest who finished off a multi-phase attacking move with a try that Tommy Fuller duly converted for a 7 – 0 half time lead.
The game swung decisively in Sevenoaks’ favour in the second period with a try from Will Grist, converted by Robert Eades, quickly followed by another from the impressive Walker, again converted by Eades. As the big Aylesford forwards began to tire, the Oaks used the breadth of the pitch to keep the ball moving and this disrupted the Aylesford defence. William Payne collected a high ball from the kick-off and broke through a number of tackles before being stopped on the Aylesford 22-metre line. A few phases later, Grist went over for his second try. With the conversion from Eades, the Oaks now had a commanding 28 – 0 lead.
A combination of rolling substitutions to give all players some game time and a reduction in the intensity of the Oaks’ play gave Aylesford the opportunity for a consolation score. From a scrum near the Oaks line, the Aylesford scrumhalf made a break and almost reached the line before offloading to a supporting forward who crashed over for a converted try that reduced the deficit to 21 points. The last score came from a quickly taken throw-in on halfway that caught Aylesford off guard allowing Ben Woodmansee to beat several defenders and run in under the posts. The final score was a resounding 33 – 7 win for Sevenoaks.