Fixture

Llantwit Major RFC | Under 15s 5 - 27 Chepstow RFC | Under 15s

Match Report
13 February 2017 / Team News

Match Report u15s vs Llantwit Major

Having suffered a heavy defeat the week before, another serious test of our progress lay ahead at Llantwit Major.

Deprived of several players through illness and holiday, could the remaining 14 players learn from the lessons of Dinas Powys. 

It didn't take long to discover the answer.

Before the game we spoke about playing the game in correct areas of the field and applying pressure to the opposition and after a short sharp warm up in conditions that were cold and windy the team retreated to the dressing room.

The way they returned to the pitch told everyone watching that the opposition were in for a battle. That ran to the pitch with real energy and togetherness and this attitude did not stop for 60 mins.

From the kick off the forwards charged into contact, winning collision after collision and allowing Edwin to distribute cleverly. He varied his passes to bring both backs and ball carriers into the game.  Players crossed the gain line and presented clean ball for our backs to attack. Slick handling from the backs put Jake in the clear and he outpaced the defence for a great opening try.

The fast pace of our game continued relentlessly. The front row of Dan, Angus and Lewis held the scrum superbly and allowed the back row opportunities to run from the base. Great support from the second row pairing of Jayden and Jake meant that ball was recycled with speed and the accuracy of our passing allowed the centre pairing of Callum and Joe to attack the opposition and gain position deep in Llantwits half.  Strong carries by Harry and Will splintered the defence and with confidence high, able to produce offloads of real quality. One offload allowed Will a run at the back 3 of the defence and there was only going to be one outcome. A great conversion from Edwin followed and Chepstow found themselves 12-0 in front.

Llantwit were not going to give up and had ball carriers of their own to get them over the gain line. The defensive effort was surperb and commitment to the tackle relentless. Rhys gave another text book display of tackling bigger opposition by performing chop tackles time and time again. This allowed supporting players to compete for the ball to either win turn overs or at least slow down opposition ball.  This made them kick a lot and Tom confidently gathered loose balls and ran strongly back to the opposition to create attacks of our own.  More sustained pressure from everyone's hard work led to several phases being created in the opposition half. Great distribution from Morgan brought Callum on to a flat pass and from about 20 yards out, Callum ran aggressively to the line, taking several defenders with him.

Score at half time was a thoroughly deserved 17-0.

We were turning around into a strong wind in the 2nd half but to their credit the players spoke themselves about keeping the ball tight and not making mistakes to allow the opposition an easy exit. 

Some of the Rugby played in the second half was a pleasure to watch. The inter passing between backs and forwards created real continuity and changed the focus of attack. Time and time again the defensive line was broken and it was only our own mistakes with the try line within reach that stopped us from scoring.  Llantwit tried to play out of their own half but the pressure created by our defensive line speed meant that the only option they had was to kick to touch. Our line out functioned extremely well with the link between Angus and Rhys very effective.  This allowed us to attack the opposition and with more passing out of contact and quick recycling of the ball meant that the home defence was disorganised. More quality link play with the ball being passed out of contact inside and out put Angus in the clear. From around 25m out he outpaced the defence to score a brilliant team try.

Chepstow continued to work tirelessly in defence making tackle after tackle and showed real composure with ball in hand, turning the opposition with accurate kicking into the bottom corner of the pitch. 

Once there Chepstow were determined to come away with points and some forceful carries took us close to the opposition line. Commitment to the breakdown was very impressive with both backs and forwards showing excellent technique in clearing the ruck to allow Edwin to pick a pass. One such pass found Will at close range and again he proved too strong to score his second try of the game. The conversion was missed but this made the score line 27-0.

To their credit Llantwit continued to attack with width and pace and exerted pressure on our defence. The defensive work of both Harry and Jake noticeable from the sidelines because of its unrelenting nature. 

There were however penalties being conceded and from one penalty Llantwit went quickly and spread the ball wide to allow their wing a clear run to the line for what was a deserved try. One defensive lapse from an otherwise excellent performance.

The score remained at 27-5 for the rest of the game as Chepstow continued to attack. More composure was needed in the opponents 22 to allow better ball retention as several opportunities for further scores were squandered. The desire to offload and the effort of support runners to provide options either side was a real highlight of the performance.

At the end of the match the Llantwit Major coach gathered the boys together and told them how impressed he was with their rugby and how much progress they had made in the 2 years that fixtures had been made. 

I also reminded them of the progress they had made in one week. Learning from the mistakes of Dinas Powys and playing a far more tactically aware game. A real sign of maturity and leadership in the group.

Well done everyone.

Things to work on.

  • From today's performance not a great deal. Composure and decision making when in the final third to allow us to score the number of points we deserved. We left 3 or 4 tries on the pitch today.

Things to be pleased about.

  • Ability to adapt to players being away. A number of players played out of position today.
  • Set piece work was very strong. Scrum provided excellent attacking ball. Credit to the front five here but especially to Lewis who played the whole game against older and bigger opposition. Well done Lewis.
  • The line out worked well in both attack and defence. Angus threw well and Rhys well supported by his lifters provided clean possession. Better Line out calls also made to reduce the pressure on the halfbacks.
  • Decision making by the whole team meant that pressure was applied to the opposition and not to ourselves. This came from excellent leadership from Will who was supported by a strong core of players. A real positive.
  • Finally our link play between backs and forwards was a pleasure to watch. This only happens when we win collisions and go forward. Off loads can only work if support is present and the effort of players to support the ball carriers was of the highest quality. Handling skills meant that attacks were relentless and our high fitness levels meant that we played with real intensity.

Well done everyone, a really good team performance.

On we go.

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