Westcliff 'A' vs. Rochford U12s, Westcliff Festival 11 April 2010

The ref lined up our boys and for a moment it looked as if they were going to have to sing the national anthem?. Fortunately not - twas merely an inspection of their boots for dodgy studs. A bit of a first and somewhat confusing to all as no other team got this honour throughout the tournament. Indeed, when the ref then singled out Adam H to remove the leggings he was wearing for no known reason we all started to get a bit of déjà vu.

Still, on with the game!

Unfortunately none of the Westcliff boys had shrunk since last we met, and as our boys were still measurably smaller, this was never going to be an easy start to the tournament. Rochford kicked off well but when their full back caught it and slipped past two of our players to run the pitch for Westcliff’s first try in the first minute, all looked bleak. Rochford then gave away a penalty and one of Westcliff’s pack stormed through a nervous Rochford defence for try number two. We needed to get to grips with the game and the coach stepped up to the block and gathered the boys together for some hasty pep talk. As parents looked on in hope, play resumed and slowly Rochford began to regain their confidence. However, Westcliff were still the much stronger team and by half time they had added another try to their score.

The second half saw a revitalised Rochford, the one we have come to expect. An early interception by Little Lew saw him so nearly reach the Westcliff try line before he was bundled into touch. Some strong and sustained pressure by Rochford resulted in a try by Jack and big cheers all round. Westcliff looked worried and rightly so. The ball made it out to Matt and he stormed up the wing to great encouragement from the parents and team mates alike. Alas another try was not to be as their full back put in a great tackle to push him into touch. The final whistle went and despite the score Rochford had certainly given the favourites a run for their money.