Back to League Action for the U14s

We knew from our match with them last year that they would be well drilled and tough to break down; we could only hope that the boys had improved sufficiently to take the game to them.

With the forwards already carrying injuries to Henry Willis, Daniel Harvey and Harrison McKenna, the late withdrawal of Jacob Lipscombe with a virus left us with only 9 fit forwards. The improvement Joe Mitchell has made over the last few weeks meant that we knew he would do well at hooker but we couldn’t afford any more injuries. The full complement of backs meant that, with Gareth having his hands tied over numbers, he had a hard task selecting within the league limits.

The front row started with Jack Stickings at tight-head prop, Joe Mitchell at hooker and James Mowle at loose-head. Jack Cahill and Jack Murphy continued their second row partnership, Reece Garstin continued at openside flanker with Reiss Sellwood at blindside and Corey Lazell at number 8. Rob Sheldrake began at scrum-half, Tom Harris at fly-half, Ethan Hepton and Joseph Cottam at inside and outside centre with Aaron Cocks and Louie Dawkins on the wings. Callum Stanley completed the side at full-back.

Rochford began the strongest and began a series of moves into the Maldon half. With a Maldon Scrum on their five metre line Rochford looked like they would open the scoring but a breakaway and missed tackles allowed Maldon to run the length of the pitch to score under the posts. 7-0 down and their heads could have dropped but these boys are made of tougher stuff this season and it wasn’t long before the boys made the most of their possession. A typical Jack Stickings run, handing off several defenders and scoring under the posts. Callum Stanley converted. Gareth then made a tactical change with Callum Blackman replacing Callum Stanley at full-back and Rob Sheldrake tacking on the kicking duties.

From the restart Rochford began to build again, making inroads and using the ball well through the backs. A break by Ethan Hepton saw him caught just outside the Maldon twenty-two. The lost ball was then moved out quickly to the wing and Maldon scored their second. The pressure from the home side continued and it was Louis Dawkins, interchanging passes with Corey Lazell, who showed that he has power as well as pace to force himself over the line and score in the corner. This was repeated in the last play of the half when Louis scored his second of the match to put Rochford ahead at half time.

Half-time - Rochford 17 Maldon 12

The second half started with Callum Stanley replacing Rob Sheldrake at scrum-half, Liam Baker came on at full-back which saw Callum Blackman replace Aaron Cocks on the wing and Louis Croll replacing Ethan Hepton at inside centre.

The second half began to yo-yo with both teams adding to the half time score. First it was Maldon to level and then Jack Stickings scored his second and Rochford’s fourth with another unstoppable run. Maldon then scored twice in succession to put them in front again and it was important that the boys kept their shape. Chris Martin replaced James Mowle in the front row and the scrum domination continued, often pushing the bigger Maldon pack off their own ball. Tom Harris had made a few runs through the Maldon defence only to be stopped before he could score but this time he wasn’t going to be stopped and a burst through the defensive line to get a well-deserved first of the season.

The forwards regained possession quickly and began to press again, hoping to open up some breathing space some powerful runs from the boys saw them move the ball down towards the Maldon posts and it was that man again, Jack Stickings with his hat-trick try between the posts, successfully converted by Callum Stanley. Maldon weren’t finished and a late try by them meant nails were being bitten for the last few minutes but they were unable to get the second score they needed.

Full time –Rochford 34 Maldon 31

This was another great performance which saw the scrum dominate, winning against the head on numerous occasions and the backs using their pace and width well.

Jack Stickings, Tom Harris and Callum Blackman were all selected as Man of the Match. Gareth was in too good a mood to make the boys whittle it down to one. Jack for his usual a barn-storming game, driving the team forward, Tom for his leadership and organisation and Callum for his work joining the attacks at pace and a try, if not match saving tackle.

Tries
Jack Stickings (3)
Louis Dawkins (2)
Tom Harris

Conversions
Callum Stanley (2)

1, James Mowle; 2, Joe Mitchell; 3, Jack Stickings; 4, Jack Cahill; 5, Jack Murphy; 6, Reiss Sellwood; 7, Reece Garstin; 8; Corey Lazell; 9, Rob Sheldrake; 10, Tom Harris; 11, Aaron Cocks; 12, Ethan Hepton; 13, Joseph Cottam; 14, Louis Dawkins; 15, Callum Stanley; 16, Louis Croll; 17,Callum Blackman; 18, Chris Martin; 19, Liam Baker