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Under 16s Match Reports

Sun 15 Apr 07: Sidcup 36 - Ashford 0

On a hot Sunday morning, Sidcup welcomed Ashford to our home ground for the last 15 a side game of the season.

The beginning of the game was very even between the two teams. From the initial kick off the early pressure was all from Ashford who spent some minutes camped in the Sidcup end. But as the half went on Sidcup began to exert more authority on the game. After 15 minutes, Luke Wooldridge carried the ball on from a tap penalty. The Sidcup forwards won the ball at the ensuing ruck and after some good interplay between Liam Cleary, James Hanney and Matt Chapman, the ball was spun out to Aaron Patterson on the right wing. Doing well to keep his balance and to stay in play, Aaron beat the cover and touched down in the corner.

A few minutes later, the Sidcup forwards won ruck ball on the right hand side of the pitch. The ball was fed along the back line with Sidcup doing well to retain possession against some determined defence. Tom McNally and Joe Crust especially combined well to pass the ball onto to Aaron Patterson, this time on the left wing, who was able to dive over to score.

There was no more score in the first half and the teams turned round with Sidcup 10 – 0 up.

In the second half, although Ashford defended vigorously and well, Sidcup were largely on top in the game. First, following a scrum, the ball was passed down the line for Liam O’Brien to score out on the wing. Then Michael Taylor, on at full back, fielded a missed touch kick on the half-way line. He glided down the wing (per Andy Wooldridge) beating several Ashford defenders before passing the ball to Liam O’Brien who ran an angle that almost took him in under the posts. When Liam was stopped just short of the line, the Sidcup forwards won the ruck ball quickly and it was passed to Josh Emery who scored. The try was converted by Luke Wooldridge. A few minutes later, the ball was passed out to James Hanney, now playing on the right wing, and James ran hard and straight to touch down in the corner. Finally Sidcup worked the ball clear to Liam O’Brien to give him an unopposed run in to score. However Liam was supported by Connor Mansfield and just before the line, Liam passed the ball to Connor who was able to score under the posts. The try was converted by Luke Wooldridge.

There was no further score in the game and Sidcup ran out winners 36 – 0.

SB - 15 Apr 07

Sun 18 Mar 07: Kent Festival preliminary rounds - at Beckenham

Sidcup was going for a third straight championship. But it wasn’t to be.

Our opening game was against a lively Dartfordians team. The match was played in a very strong wind which made handling the ball difficult. The first half was end to end stuff but ended with Sidcup 3 – 0 up. At the end of the half, the Sidcup forwards had driven towards the Dartford line and been awarded a penalty when the defending players killed the ball. Despite the conditions, Liam Cleary slotted the penalty.

In the second half, the Sidcup forwards began to establish their superiority. From a heel against the head, James Hanney broke down the blind side and passed to Liam O’Brien who ran hard and straight down the left wing to score. Shortly after the restart, the Sidcup forwards won a series of rucks. From the final ruck the ball was spun out along the Sidcup backs to Aaron Patterson, in the clear, who scored.

Final score 13 – 0 to Sidcup.

The second game was against Maidstone, who were an unknown quantity to us. Again the first half of the game was even with neither side establishing clear superiority. However towards the end of the half, a Maidstone penalty did not find touch and was caught by Aaron Paterson. Aaron brought the ball in field and linked up with the Sidcup backs. The ball was carried forward by Joe Crust, who delivered a well-timed pass to Liam O’Brien who again ran hard and straight down his wing to score. 5 – 0 at halftime.

In the second half, Sidcup had a series of penalties. From one the ball went to Greg Nye who, with a typically elusive piece of running, nearly made the try line. Greg was stopped just short and the Sidcup forwards won the ensuing ruck. The ball was passed quickly via Alex Tompkins to Luke Mallen who crashed over the line to score. Liam Cleary made the conversion to give a final score to Sidcup of 12 – 0.

Having successfully negotiated the pool stage, Sidcup’s quarter final opponents were Beckenham. Suffice it to say that this was a tense game marred by too many penalties. The game was settled by a penalty, advanced an additional 10 metres by the referee, which Beckenham converted with the last kick of the game. Sidcup lost 0 -3.

SB - 18 Mar 07

Sun 4 Mar 07: Blackheath 10 - Sidcup 13

Happily Blackheath were able to accommodate this match at Charlton Park when our pitches were waterlogged. It proved to be a tense and close fought affair.

Early in the opening session a powerful tackle by Joe Crust stopped a Blackheath prop in his tracks and set up a ruck on the Blackheath 22. The Blackheath forwards were spotted handling the ball and the penalty awarded to Sidcup. Liam Cleary calmly slotted the kick to take the first points of the game.

Later in the half as the game flowed from end to end, the Sidcup forwards won the ball in their own half and it was passed out to Liam Cleary standing on the left. He put in a raking kick down towards the Blackheath goal line. This was chased by Liam O’Brien who managed to force a lineout close to the Blackheath line. There then followed a series of lineouts and scrums as Blackheath attempted to escape their 22 and Sidcup attempted to score the first try of the game. At one point the Blackheath full-back looked as if he was about to break clear down the touch line when he was tackled cleanly into touch by Luke Wooldridge. Finally from one of the ensuing rucks, Matt Chapman powered over the line to score. Liam Cleary was successful with the conversion; 10 – 0.

However the Blackheath forwards didn’t give up. They forced the ball back towards the Sidcup line. With Sidcup under pressure, the Blackheath backs caught a sliced clearance kick, passed the ball out wide to the left where they had numbers and scored. 10 – 5 at half-time.

The second half showed how evenly matched the teams were as the game ebbed and flowed. Neither side was able to get the upper hand. At one point, Sidcup forced the ball towards the Blackheath line when Joe Crust caught his man in possession and Aaron Patterson put the supporting Blackheath backs under pressure as they attempted to move the ball around. The Sidcup forwards took up the pressure and drove Blackheath backwards. Blackheath were penalised at the ruck and Liam Cleary scored the points; 13 – 5.

Shortly afterwards Blackheath played the ball down the left side of the pitch and following a kick ahead scored their second try; 13 – 10.

There was then a period of intense pressure as the Blackheath forwards battered the Sidcup line. Twice they thought that they had scored to take the lead but on each occasion the referee decided that the ball had been held up and awarded 5 metre scrums. The Sidcup forwards fought well and kept their opponents out. Eventually Sidcup were awarded a penalty and the pressure was relieved.

There was no further score. So Sidcup scored more points and won the game but Blackheath scored more tries.

SB - 4 Mar 07

Sun 25 Feb 07: Thanet Wanderers 7 - Sidcup 41

In extremely wet conditions and against a spirited Thanet team, Sidcup managed to score 7 tries whilst conceding only one.

The initial score was by Matt Chapman who drove over from a scrum on the left. Liam Cleary converted. With the Sidcup tight forwards increasingly in control of the game, the back row and James Hanney at scrum half were able to exercise considerable influence. From a scrum on the right, the back row picked up the ball, passed it to James Hanney who went over the line to score. Finally at the end of the first half, the Sidcup forwards won a series of rucks and from the final one the ball was spun out to the left where there was a clear overlap and Alex Tompkins scored out wide. 17 – 0 at half-time.

The weather didn’t ease for the second half. However Sidcup continued to move the ball around. From one such move, James Bousher broke near to the Thanet line, chipped the ball over the last defenders into the in-goal area and won the race to the touch down. Michael Taylor on at fly half in the second half converted to make the score 24 – 0.

Then the Thanet forwards raised their game and fought back to the Sidcup end of the pitch. They won the ball, passed it to one of their centres who cut back against the play towards the Sidcup line. He was ably supported by the Thanet forwards who fought for the ball in the ensuing ruck and drove it over for a deserved score; 24 – 7.

As the game continued, the conditions meant that both sides were forced to kick for field position. The Sidcup backs dealt well with all the kicks coming down on them and ran the ball back towards Thanet. From one such kick, Greg Nye fielded the ball cleanly and ran elusively towards the Thanet line. When he was stopped, he passed to Matt Chapman who was supporting alongside and Matt scored in the corner; 29- 7.

From the ensuing kick off, the ball was fielded by Michael Clarke who rampaged through the Thanet pack. It was only a brave tackle (that was felt by all the spectators) by the Thanet full back that stopped Michael running through to score. But he was ably supported by Callum McGregor who took up the charge and scored out on the right. Michael Taylor succeeded with the conversion; 36-7.

Sidcup was now in control of the game and there were a series of attacks towards the Thanet line. In a final thrust down the left wing, the Sidcup forwards won the loose ball and Josh Emery touched down to make the final score 41 – 7.

SB - 25 Feb 07

Sun 18 Feb 07: Westcliff 15 - Sidcup 17

In a thrilling game that was a credit to both teams, each team scored 3 tries. Sidcup eventually won by virtue of converting their last score shortly before the final whistle.

The game started badly from the Sidcup perspective when, almost from the kick off, the ball reached the powerful Westcliff inside centre who capitalised on weak Sidcup tackling to run half the length of the pitch to score. However Sidcup did not let their heads go down. They re-grouped and the forwards began to impose themselves on the match. Although the play was end to end for some of the time, the Sidcup pack was outstanding. At the lineouts, accurate throwing by Liam Frondigoun together with forceful jumping and catching by John Muir and Michael Clarke ensured a plentiful supply of ball. In the scrums, the front 5 of Luke Wooldridge, Calum McGregor together with messrs Frondigoun, Muir and Clarke imposed themselves on their opponents. In the loose, the Sidcup forwards were quick and hungry. The back row of Matt Chapman, Dan Wakefield and Alex Tompkins each made excellent contributions and generally secured the loose ball around the fringes of the scrum.

Just before half-time, following a series of drives by the Sidcup forwards to close to the Westcliff line, a tap penalty was rucked and passed quickly to James Bousher at inside centre who beat his man on the inside and drove over to score.

With neither side converting their try, it was 5 – 5 at half-time.

Sidcup somehow contrived to start the second half much as they had started the first! From a loose kick ahead by Sidcup, the Westcliff backs gathered the ball and attacked down the right wing. Their winger beat the cover and scored in the corner; 10 – 5.

As the game restarted, the Sidcup forwards kept driving towards the Westcliff end. During one such drive, Sidcup secured good ball from a ruck and it was passed to Aaron Paterson standing in the centre of the field. Suddenly a gap opened in the Westcliff back line and Aaron accelerated through it on a good angle. He managed to beat the Westcliff defence for speed and scored out on the left; 10 -10.

Both sides were trying their best to win a forceful contest. There were good attacking runs by Greg Nye and Liam O’Brien and some outstanding defensive work by Alex Tompkins. However when Westcliff got within the Sidcup 22, their inside centre cut back against the play and passed to their left winger who beat some weak Sidcup tackling to score in the corner; 15- 10.

Then as the game was coming to an end, the Sidcup forwards drove towards the Westcliff line. They won the ball in the rucks and in the set scrums and were camped on the Westcliff line for a while. After a couple of failed darts down the blind side, it looked almost as if the chance had gone. Then suddenly the ball came to Michael Taylor who ghosted through a gap in the defence to score. It was not an easy conversion but Liam Cleary held his nerve and slotted the conversion;17 – 15.

Westcliff never got back near the Sidcup line after that and a minute or so later the referee blew the final whistle.

SB - 18 Feb 07

Sun 11 Feb 07: Medway 12 - Sidcup 24

This was scheduled to be a home game for Sidcup but the weather had made our pitches unplayable. Happily Medway were able to accommodate the match and agreed to play the game at Priestfields.

Although most of the rain had blown away by the time the game started, the weather was cold and the pitch was extremely muddy. In a blustery wind both teams were always going to find open, handling rugby a problem.

Sidcup started the slicker. A sweeping move with good passing down the left side of the pitch nearly ended in a try for Liam O’Brien. Then a charge down the right side of the pitch allowed Jake Mallen to open the scoring for Sidcup. A few minutes later Sidcup again went close when Aaron Paterson just failed to touch down following a quick kick ahead by James Bousher. Shortly afterwards a powerful clearance kick out of defence by Liam Cleary was missed by the Medway full back in the muddy conditions and Aaron Paterson controlled the loose ball well, kicked ahead and scored. Liam Cleary was successful with the conversion. Shortly after the restart, James Bousher intercepted the ball as it was passed between the Medway centres and scored unopposed under the posts. Again Liam Cleary was successful with the conversion kick.

With the Sidcup forwards supplying a lot of good ball, the Sidcup backs were able to drive forward despite the conditions. Just before half-time, a series of moves involving good approach work by James Hannay and Tom McNally was finished off by the Sidcup forwards with John Muir touching down. 24-0 to Sidcup at half-time.

The second half was largely a different story. The Medway pack raised their game and most of the half was spent at the Sidcup end of the pitch. The Sidcup forwards defended tenaciously. A series of penalties against Sidcup allowed the Medway pack to edge ever closer to the Sidcup line. A final tap penalty from about 5 metres out was driven over by the Medway forwards. This try was successfully converted. A short while later, Sidcup again found themselves defending their line. A clearance kick from within the in goal area was charged down and a Medway forward had only to fall on the ball to score.

The remainder of the half became a game of attrition between the two packs in the increasingly muddy conditions. There was no further score.

SB - 11 Feb 07

Sun 8 Oct 06: Sidcup 0 - Saracens 41

Sidcup U16s came up against a physically bigger and well-drilled Saracens team. Whilst certainly two of the visitors’ tries might be described as opportunist (or the result of quicker reactions by a predatory flanker), the other 5 tries were the result of better play in all aspects of the game.

SB - 8 Oct 06

Sun 1 Oct 06: Sidcup 42 - Sevenoaks 7

Although missing several regular players, the U16 team demonstrated the depth of talent in the squad. Against a spirited Sevenoaks team that never gave up, Sidcup ran in 6 tries all of which were successfully converted by Liam Cleary.

The first half involved several attacking moves by both teams with Sevenoaks spending some time camped on the Sidcup line. However the Sidcup defence, particularly in the centre, stayed strong. Had it not been for handling errors, it was possible that Sidcup would have scored sooner. But tries by Michael Clarke and Joe Lipski meant that the half-time score was 14-0.

In the second half, tries by Josh Emery, Liam Frondigoun, Matt Chapman and Aaron Patterson ensured a comfortable victory for Sidcup. Sevenoaks scored a deserved try with the last move of the game.

SB 1 Oct 06