Match Reports

Congleton 10 v 22 Longton Under 15s

Longton Under 15s travelled to Congleton a little rusty since their last match before Christmas, knowing that Congleton would be desperate to avenge two crushing  defeats to the Potteries lads earlier in the season.

Longton started brightly and immediately took the game to Congleton with some strong runs by forwards and backs.  But Congleton, clearly having worked on their defence, put in some good tackles to snuff out the early scoring opportunities.

Longton's lineout was effective and the scrum held strong, which meant the backs had good ball to use for their back-line drills.

The first score of the match saw ruck ball being secured by the Longton forwards and then recycled well for the backs.  H shipped the ball to Ethan who passed to Suli entering the line from his full-back berth.  The speedy number 15 weaved in and out of several players as he ran down the right flank from inside his own half to score a great try. H missed the tricky conversion 0-5.

The second score came from a dominant Longton scrum 10 meters out.  Dale picked up from 8 and took the ball on the open side.  Although he was half-tackled just short of the line he managed to execute a perfect swallow dive and his momentum saw him slide over the try-line for his first try of the day.  Without the aid of a kicking tee the conversion was again missed. 0-10.

In earlier matches, Congleton may well have let their heads drop by now, but with a few new faces and a more steely resolve they came straight back at Longton, with their main attacking weapon being the chip and chase. 

In open play, Congleton fly-hacked the ball forward from 40 metres out and there then ensued a foot-race to see whether it would be touched down by Longton or Congleton over the Longton try-line.  Although both Ethan and Suli reached the ball first and Ethan grounded it, this was unseen by the referee who deemed that the Congleton player who was following up was the first to actually apply downward pressure on the ball.  To the astonishment of some spectators and the delight of others, the try was awarded.  With Congleton missing the conversion the score was brought to 5-10.

Half time 5-10. 

At the start of the second half, Congleton played with some new found belief and scored a good try with their tall inside centre picking up a loose ball on the edge of the Longton 22 and out-flanking the cover down the Longton left wing.  A missed tackle allowed him to score a well-deserved try.  Conversion missed. 10-10.

As they waited behind the posts for the conversion, Longton were reminded that they needed to put in more effort if they were to win, and that this would now be a test of their character against a side they had no doubt expected to beat comfortably. A result would have to be earned.

The response from Longton was immediate.  H sent the restart kick deep into the Congleton half where, with Longton's speedy backs chasing after it, it was fumbled by Congleton.  Although the ball was deemed to have gone backwards it slowed down the clearance and gave the Longton forwards a target.  Turnover ball was secured and Longton's big fly-half, H, ran it back to within 10 metres of the try-line where it was taken on several times by Longton forwards picking and going. Charlie secured the ball at the back of the ruck and the scrum-half drove forwards to within inches of the line where, although half held, he was able to stretch out to score a superb try - a real team effort and a demonstration of the determination that lies at the heart of this side.  Ethan secured the conversion to bring the score to 10-17 in Longton's favour.

Soon after, H had to move from Fly-Half to Prop (that is a positional change that will probably not be seen during the 6-Nations!) when Potsie retired through injury following a collapsed scrum - we wish the tough loosehead well, and he should be OK for the next match.

Longton's last try saw Captain Dale, in a near-replica of his first half effort, picking up from a 10-meter scrum and barnstorming his way over to score his second try of the match.  Ethan just missed the tricky conversion.  10-22.

The second half was reduced to about 20 minutes of play due to a couple of serious injuries (the clock keeps ticking in junior rugby).  The final play of the game saw Ethan just miss a very difficult penalty kick from 30 metres out.

Full-time score 10-22.

This was a great team-effort with all the team members playing well and doing their bit to secure the victory.  It was particularly pleasing for the coaches to see how well the lads responded when Congleton had managed to get back into the game early in the second half.

Some pleasing individual efforts that are worth noting are:  

Charlie was like a terrier around the fringes of the scrums and rucks all match - belying his size, he made several sniping breaks and took the ball aggressively into Congleton's defence, giving his forwards a target to ruck over, and so set up good ball for the backs.  A man of the match display.

Dale once again led by example and made some typically barnstorming runs from the back of the scrums direct at the opposition boshing players over like skittles as he charged forward.

Suli's maisy counter-attacking was excellent to watch.  Running opposition kicks back from deep tormented Congleton all match.

Longton Under 15s next match is scheduled for this coming Saturday 30th January away at Leek. Please check the website for confirmation and details.

AC