Brentwood vs Rochford U12s, 22 November 2009

The match started in a low key manner, and after initial Brentwood pressure, and a bundle near the Rochford line, the referee bless him, awarded Brentwood a try (blink and you would have missed it …..as many of us did!). Brentwood, to their credit, were passing the ball well along the line, and with our players missing tackles, they got a de­served second try.

Now on a high, Brentwood were visibly superior in the scrum and rucks, and with the run of play scored a third try fairly quickly. Rochford were now facing the prospect of a seriously heavy defeat. Rochford did begin to then make some tackles after an inspired low ‘double’ tackle from Tom and Oliver, and further strong challenges from Lewis and Jack. There was also a couple of brave fine runs from Kyle into the heart of the Brentwood defence.

Soon afterwards, there was a collarbone injury to a Brentwood player requiring an ambulance (We all wish him a full and speedy recovery), and also Connor went off with a back injury after a run at the Brentwood defence.
The match was then relocated to a dif­ferent pitch, with Adam H and William D coming off the bench, for the next period of play.

Perhaps it was a case of Feng Shui, with the pitch in an opposite direction, but Rochford came out really fired up, and were chasing down every ball, with solid tackles being made by Lewis, Owen, Jack, Adam H and Oliver. Both Karl and Adam Banks were like terriers in close play, and Michael took many a Brentwood player with him in strong runs down the field, and when Oliver scored to make it 15-5, Brentwood looked a bit rattled.

This spurred the lads to raise their game even further. William D and Owen made good runs in midfield. Adam H was quick to ruck over, and with even crisper tack­les, and the closing down of Brentwood players before they even had a chance to think, it was with the run of play that Rochford scored a second try to make it 15-10.

Brentwood, a team who had recently played in ‘select’ festivals, and other ‘out of area’ competitions (check their web site!), were now definitely rattled….so step forward the ‘man with the whistle’. He decided this would be an opportune time to ‘have a long word’ with the Rochford team about what they should and should not be doing.

At this point the lads did seem somewhat isolated and vulnerable on the pitch to the referee’s preaching, which in all fair­ness, could have easily have been viewed as bullying and intimidating tactics by many on the touch line. Not surprisingly, in the customary man­ner of most opposition referees, he did not pass on his ‘wisdom’ to his own team, and naturally with Rochford still ponder­ing the referees ranting, Brentwood took advantage to score and lead 20-10.

To their credit, Rochford fought even harder, and from one of the few scrums that was not wheeled around by Brent­wood, the ball emerged cleanly and Louis passed it along the line, where Jack ran on to it for a text book try. More words of wisdom from the referee followed, and with their eyes and minds now off the ball, Rochford allowed Brent­wood to scramble two ‘soft’ tries down the wing in the final minutes. Brentwood ended up 30 -15 winners.

At the ‘end of match’ talk’ the team was commended for its gutsy performance, with Adrian stressing the need and the benefit for all players to become acquaint­ed in the future with other various posi­tions on the field, so they can slip easily into them as and when required.

Areas where we could have done bet­ter….

(i) The scrum was prone to being turned frequently by Brentwood.
(ii) We were ‘slow’ to start in this match, costing us dearly.
(iii) We seemed vulnerable along the wings to Brentwood’s along the line style of play. Most tries came ‘down the wings’.
(iv) We did not seem to initiate much play from scrums, and did not pass the ball along the line very much, with our attacks mainly going through the centre.
(v) When we had penalties, we looked a bit uncertain as to ‘who was going to do what’

Areas where we performed well…..

(i) Despite facing the prospect of fac­ing a heavy defeat, the lads showed great team spirit and self motivation to get back into the contest.
(ii) Many of the players showed their ability to tackle really hard and effectively against good opposition.
(iii) Individuals displayed their tough­ness and determination, and succeeded in ensuring the 20+ Brentwood squad knew they had a match.
(iv) The team showed durability and dare I say it, a sense of humour, in responding to the referee’s attempt to intimidate the players. I can still hear several Rochford players shouts of ‘its my ball’ in some of the final rucks, ….and they were right because it was their ball when it emerged from the ruck!

Well done to everyone. Keep up those tackles and quick challenges for your next match!