Newbury U13B 26 - Reading Abbey U13B 33

This match between the Blues and their nearest rivals and the current league leaders was always going to be a tough game but add selection challenges caused by significant drop-outs across both squads and appalling weather which saw the Blues play their game first in heavy rain, then hail and finally see the game finish in heavy snow and you may have some idea of how tough this game was.

Good performances in prior games and non-availability meant that the Bs were already missing key players when we arrived at Monks Lane, with three guys being moved up to the As. Two additional no-shows from the starting prop forwards on the day meant it was a patched-up team that was sent out to play against a very big (and well insulated!) Abbey B side. Hooker was moved to prop, sub to hooker, lock to prop, 8 to lock, flanker to 8 and a winger/SH to flanker.

The Blues had a lot of territory and possession early in the game with the ball making it to the wings on a number of occasions for the Swann brothers to make some great runs. But when turn-overs occurred they seemed reluctant to tackle the big Abbey runners early and around the legs. This resulted in the Blues conceding two converted tries in quick succession (0-14).

However, the Blues stuck to their game and continued to dominate territory and possession. They were rewarded when Matt King ran in a tap penalty from 15 metres. The conversion was missed.

Then something happened which allowed us to make a positional switch that worked in our favour. When it become known we were short of players Jack Grove-White had manfully come out to play despite suffering from a chest infection. However, after 15mins or so he could run no more and we had to bring Ieuan (a centre) into play hooker. With no front row experience this meant we had to go to uncontested scrums but a side benefit of this was that we could move Matt back to number 8 where he could pick and go.

Another tap penalty saw Matt go over and score under the posts from close to the Abbey 22. David converted.

Half-time came with the score at 12-14 in favour of Abbey. The Blues had had the majority of the territory and possession thanks to some hard work by the forwards, with Will B prominant, some great runs by the backs and some intelligent kicking for position by David West at fly-half. The tackling had greatly improved after a poor start and the boys were buoyant despite the weather.

The turn-around saw the Blues playing into the wind and the worst of the weather. However, at first this didn't seem to faze the boys and they soon took the lead.

Matt picked up from the back of a scrum mid-way between our 22 and 10 metre line. A quick sprint saw him break through the Abbey blind side and on into the Abbey 22. With the Abbey fullback closing in the ball was passed inside to Will Butcher who drove it on to within 5 metres before passing inside again to Ieuan Cleghorn who scored under the posts. A great example of supporting the runner, Will and Ieuan had been in the front row of the scrum which started the move! David made the conversion and the Blues were leading 19-14.

Then the weather worsened, with snow falling and Abbey switched to a forward dominated game sending their big guys down the middle. Freezing hands and cold bodies aren't conducive to good tackling and running and a number of the boys checked out from the game. This resulted in Abbey running in three converted tries in succession (19-33).

Abbey continued to send their big guys down the middle at the Blues but there was still some fight left in the boys and a number of great tackles, particularly by Alex Crossman, David West and Will Butcher, kept them out.

With time running out the Blues scored the fourth try which earned them a valuable 2 bonus points from the game. Matt picked up from the back of a scrum on the Abbey 10 metre line, broke down the blind side, through their winger and around the covering fullback to score under the posts. David converted. The game finished 26-33 in favour of Abbey.

In truth Abbey were no more up for tackling big runners than the Blues, they just had more of them.

Considering the various challenges this was an excellent performance by the Bs and the two losing bonus points still leaves them in a good position in the race for the U13 BYL Division 2 title.

David West was awarded man of the match for some excellent tackling and rucking combined with great game management and tactical kicking.