Date: Sun 4th Nov 2018
Time: 11:30am
Match Report
Sunday 4th November –Harlow u13s 35 Dagenham u13s 10 – Friendly
Today we hosted Dagenham for a friendly on a day when the sun shone and we hoped to right the wrongs of the last couple of weeks. We didn’t have to wait long…..
The preparation for this week’s game had been very much player led, the boys have been encouraged to work together to correct the wrongs and find the answers to the questions posed. We have seen the players lead the discussions all week. There has been focus on teamwork and how they can react to a negative situation.
We started the game well and it wasn’t long before we had a penalty in the opposition 22. In a change from our pre-set move we took advantage and popped the ball to Montelle who stepped and jinked his way to the try line and open the scoring.
Next up it was fantastic to see the ball moving through so many of the team’s hands to end up in Joe’s hands to finish a great team try
Our forwards were dominating, the pressure we were putting on Dagenham was showing as we pushed them further and further back. From a scrum Henry was passed the ball and he stepped and sprinted to the line. Henry hadn’t had enough of the space he was given at fly half today, he kicked ahead and chased to ground for a second try.
Next up Danny took on a number of opposition defenders, bouncing them out of the way on the way to grounding himself.
Special mention to Archie at this point who was really rallying the troops and making sure we were keeping the pressure on. Will was also bounding around the pitch like a demented giraffe showing that other teams are worried about big men when they run at them, yards gained for Will in the this game alone is probably more than in all of last season!
This pressure from Archie, Will and Owen lead to Dagenham spilling the ball, Owen hacking it through and getting there, just ahead of Will to ground the ball to score the last try of the half.
Half time: 30-0 (6 tries to 0)
In the second half we were in danger of the game being blown up early, this time because Harlow were so dominant and not the other way around! We took advantage made a number of changes at half time and tried some experiments positionally so we know what other options we have in future games. During this period Dagenham made some good progress to score two good tries. But we weren’t done and still managed some good play, which meant Henry could complete his hat trick outpacing the defence once again.
Second half score: 5-10 (1 try to 2)
So the elusive first win is upon us and from here we build and go forward
An old rugby coach used to say “You got yourself into this mess, now you’ve got to get yourselves out of it” they did just that today. Next week we travel to Bancroft to continue our journey.
Final score: 35-10 (7 tries to 2) – Well done Redmen. See you on Wednesday.
Tries: Montelle Levy, Joe Court, Henry Stovell (3), Danny Billington, Owen Eynon
Referee: Geoff Hargreaves
Dagenham’s Man of the Match: Ed Lea
Harlow Man of the Match: Montelle Levy
Special mentions: Will Pite, Joe Court, Archie Goodger
1st Half Team
1. Jacob Morgan, 2. Archie Goodger, 3. Ed Lea, 4. George Snowdon, 5. Will Pite, 8. Jamie Oliver, 9. Owen Eynon. 10. Henry Stovell (Captain), 11. Joe Court, 12. Danny Billington, 13. Montelle Levy, 14. Freddie Adams, 15. Jack Rushworth
2nd Half Team
1. Corey Kelman, 2. Archie Goodger, 3. Ed Lea, 4. Charlie Jacques, 5. Will Pite (Sub Callum Boyce), 8. Jamie Oliver, 9. Owen Eynon. 10. Henry Stovell (Captain), 11. Joe Court, 12. Danny Billington, 13. Montelle Levy, 14. Callum Hewett, 15. Noah Reynolds