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Under 14 Match Report

SUNDAY 23rd October 2005

Hinckley 24pts  V  Lutterworth  17pts

Pitch Conditions: Dry

Weather: Sunny

Winning Run Halted

As the teams walked out to the pitch it was difficult to tell with the Hinckley team which age group they were, Under 14's or the under 16's !!  As long as this reporter can remember the Hinckley teams have always been on the large side.

All started promising with Lutterworth kicking off and for the first 10 minutes had all the play in the Hinckley half. There were some exciting passages of play with the nearest to a try being with some slick movement of the ball down the line which was unfortunately dropped on the line. This  set the scene for the rest of the game. Lutterwroth kept the pressure up with wave after wave of attack, even though Hinckley defended well Lutterworth's handling let them down even more so. George Hargreaves had an immense game and constantly won the ball against the head. Deep in Hinckley’s 22 George won the ball and it was shipped out down the line, Ryan Bruce with his trade mark jink and run set up the first try for Dan Thacker to burst through the line and score. The conversion was a lesson in how to ensure that the ball is set up correctly and that as you start your run up you have to complete the movement.

The play moved back and forth, but still mainly in the Hinckley half. There were some controversial moments, not least when Barney had a clear interception but was it was ruled that there had been an earlier Knock on. During this time Bradley Pell made a couple of excellent catch and take on the run, with long clearances to match. One of the highlights was when Ryan took the ball and chipped ahead with Jo storming through and forcing Hinckley into mistakes which led to the ball coming back on the Lutterworth side with the line begging the ball was dropped. At the scrum the Hinckley number 8 ( one of the bigger meat eaters ) picked the ball up and drove , only to find Jack Lewis more than up to the challenge in driving the number 8 back and putting him on his large backside. As Hinckley recycled the ball it was fed down their blind side with the wing storming through the defence. There stood Bradley Pell last man in defence. Full frontal tackle and then up to ensure the ball wasn't recycled. Try saving and a brave tackle.

As Hinckley's larger boys started to gain some momentum (but they had a long run up by then) we saw some brilliant defending by Lutterworth. With a double whammy on the large Hinckley wing by Ben Stone and Josh Williams who managed to hold the wing up short of the line and force him into making a double movement .We then had Hinckley putting pressure on the Lutterworth defence until eventually they found a small hole and jinked through for there first try. At the restart Ryan kicked off and at the resulting ruck Lutterworth managed to get the ball back and quick hands moved it down the line to find Dan Thacker in some space. Two side steps later, with his blond hair blowing in the wind, he put the ball down behind the posts for a try. Ryan duly converted and we were back in front.
Hinckley now exerted more pressure and as Lutterworth started to buckle we had a charge down and misunderstanding on the line which led to Hinckley gaining an opportunist try, which was converted. Lutterworth came back though and we saw most of the play again in the Hinckley half with some terrific scrummaging by the tight 5. Obviously the gym sessions have been working for Greg Taylor who had his prop under pressure throughout. At this time Josh Connor showed his strength. Taken, illegally, off the ball he showed how to move the WHOLE of the opposition pack back by himself. Please ensure you do this at every ruck from now on. Again we hooked against the head and one of our blonde bombshell centres made a dash down the wing and scored in the corner. Prizes for which one.

At the kick off Hinckley charged back down the pitch and kept the Lutterworth defence fully employed on their line with some desperate last second tackling. None finer than Alex Chans on the large (they where all large) centre. Text book stuff, but saved a certain try. In the end the Lutterworth defence started to miss some tackles and Hinckley scored under the posts. Only to mess up the conversion. At this point the scores where finely balanced at 17 - 19 in Hinckley’s favour.  Both sides attacked ferociously with some fine running by Jo down the touch line, only to be dragged down. Eventually Hinckley had the break they where looking for and managed to squirm through the defence to score. Hinckley 24 Lutterworth 17.

This was a game Lutterworth could have won but toooooooo many mistakes with handling put undue pressure on the team. They should have been three tries up by half time and out of sight of Hinckley and the mobile pie factory they call the forwards. It is this reporter’s belief that tactical substitutions could have perhaps, won the game. Still I believe the boys know that they could and should have won, but if they meet again in the Cup then they will definitely win. But a shame to lose the unbeaten record

I have taken certain licence with the above as I at times was too engrossed in the game. So apologies , but if the real reporter hadn't been absent then this wouldn’t have happened
Man of the match : Bradley Pell   (Reporters choice)
Tackle of the game: Alex Chan
Best side step : Ryan Bruce
Best supporter : Lou Hargreaves
Next roving reporter : Who ever doesn't pay to come to the Jazz evening on the 2nd December