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Under 17s Match Reports

Sun 9 Mar 08: Kent prelims

Sidcup’s first pool game was against Westcombe Park who had beaten us in the league earlier in the season. In fairness, the Park pack dominated this game most of which was spent in the Sidcup half of the pitch. But the Sidcup team never crumbled and did not concede a try. The difference at half time was a penalty awarded to Park when Sidcup were adjudged to be not releasing the ball after the referee had called a ruck. In the second half, Park were awarded a second ‘kickable’ penalty which allowed them to double the score. The game ended with an attacking flourish by Sidcup searching for that elusive try under the posts which would have allowed us to steal the game. But Sidcup never got the ball across the line, leaving the final score 0 - 6 in favour of Westcombe Park.

The second game was against Maidstone, a team which this age group at Sidcup had not played in recent years. Again it looked like being a tight match with each defence able to stop their opponents’ attacks. There was an exchange of penalties with Sidcup taking the lead through Liam Cleary’s accurate place kicking only to have the score matched when Maidstone converted a penalty. Thereafter Sidcup crept into another lead following a second penalty making the score 6 – 3 in our favour. Then as the match neared the end, Liam Cleary controlled an awkwardly bouncing ball and burst past a couple of Maidstone defenders. Just as he was hauled down, Liam off loaded the ball to the supporting James Hanney who was able to evade the last defenders and run the ball in from 30 metres out to score under the posts . Liam Cleary converted the try leaving the final score 13 – 3 in Sidcup’s favour.

Sidcup’s third and final pool game was against Thanet. We began the game thinking that we had to score about 5 tries to go through as winners of our pool. In fact we only had to win the game in order to progress into the Plate competition. There was nothing that we could do to overhaul Westcombe Park as they had beaten us in the opening game. In any event our ignorance of the rules probably added a certain urgency to our game. In the first half, Joe Crust opened the scoring when he beat a large part of the Thanet defence with a mazy run from the inside centre slot to score near to the posts on the left. Liam Cleary slotted the conversion. Then Connor Mansfield took a pass from James Bousher to score another try. Again Liam Cleary made the conversion leaving the score at half-time at 14 – 0 to Sidcup.

The second half began with Sidcup setting the pace. The ball was moved away from the rucks and mauls as quickly as possible and down the back line. But Thanet held us up. However Liam Frondigoun scored out on the wide right when he finished of a move that had seen the ball passed out wide to the left, won by the Sidcup forwards and then moved back across the field. This made the score 17 – 0 in Sidcup’s favour.

The scoring was completed when Sam Stamp took a quick tap penalty and moved the ball towards the right. It got to Connor Mansfield who was having a fine game and he charged through the Thanet defence. When Connor was held up just short of the line, the Sidcup forwards took up the drive and got the ball over the line for Joe Thomas (I think) to score just to the right of the posts. Liam Cleary kicked this conversion to make the final score 25 – 0 to Sidcup.

At this point, we weren’t sure who we were playing next and in what competition. It transpired that we were playing Dartfordians in the plate competition. This proved to be tense affair with the Dartford pack playing at a tremendous pace and with great (but fair) aggression. This meant that Sidcup were never really able to release their backs. Dartford went into the lead when they kicked a penalty. But Sidcup struck back. The Sidcup forwards won a lineout close to the Dartford line and drove the ball over to score out wide on the right. This made the score 5 – 3 in favour of Sidcup. But Darftford drove the ball back up the pitch and after a series of rucks near to the Sidcup posts passed the ball out to their winger who was able to scramble across for the try. Dartford converted this to make the score 10 – 5 in their favour. Sidcup tried their best to regain the lead. But it had to be a converted try so a number of kickable penalties were ignored in favour of tap penalties and the Dartford defence never gave way. So Sidcup went out of the competition.

SB - 9 Mar 08

Sun 2 Mar 08: Sidcup U17s 32 - Cranbrook U17s 14

As we had no further part to play in the League competition, we were pleased to welcome Cranbrook to Sidcup for a friendly match.

When the game started it was all Cranbrook. Sidcup barely touched the ball in the first five minutes of the match. But Sidcup clawed their way back into the game. On the 10 minute mark, Liam O’Brien prevented a line out by jumping to palm the ball back into play before it crossed the line. Greg Nye was supporting Liam and gathered up the ball and charged down the line. He passed inside to Joe Crust who cut in field before being hauled down by the Cranbrook defence. This signalled the start of some concerted attacks by Sidcup with the ball being passed rapidly along the back line. However the Cranbrook defence held firm and always managed to clear the ball away. About 20 minutes into the half, Sidcup again were on the attack. The ball was passed down the line. Greg Nye joined in from full back and took the ball on before passing to Liam O’Brien on the wing. Liam was tackled just short of the line but managed to pass the ball to the supporting Joe Crust who went over to score: 5 – 0 to Sidcup.

Ten minutes later the Cranbrook defence failed to adequately clear a kick ahead by James Bousher. The clearance kick was gathered by Liam O’Brien who drove at the Cranbrook defence. Again the Cranbrook defence scrambled the ball away but this time it was caught by Michael Taylor who sped past the Cranbrook defence to score out on the right. Liam Cleary succeeded with a difficult conversion into the wind: 12 – 0 to Sidcup.

But Cranbrook were far from out of the game. As the first half of the match was coming to the end, they fought their way towards the Sidcup line. They were awarded a penalty which they quickly took and gained another 10 metres as Sidcup had failed to withdraw promptly. From the second penalty, Cranbrook drove over to score under the Sidcup posts. This try plus the conversion made the half time score 12 – 7 to Sidcup.

Early in the second half, Sidcup resumed scoring. From a kick ahead down the right wing, Aaron Paterson almost caught the Cranbrook defender in possession in his in-goal area. But he certainly made him hurry the clearance kick which didn’t make a great deal of yardage. In the line-out a great leap by Joe Thomas secured the ball and the Sidcup pack drove over the Cranbrook line. The eventual scorer was Connor Mansfield: 17 – 7 to Sidcup.

A few minutes later Aaron Paterson was again chasing a kick ahead down the right wing. But this time he caught the Cranbrook full back in possession behind his goal line. Aaron managed to rip the ball away from the full back and only had to drop on the ground to score: 22 – 7 to Sidcup.

However, again, Cranbrook fought their way back into the game. They won a scrum on the right hand side of the pitch and their pack put on a good shove. They then drove the resulting possession down the right side of the pitch until they scored out on the right. Their kicker then converted the try with an outstanding kick to make the score an uncomfortably close (from Sidcup’s viewpoint) 22 – 14.

But a few minutes later, Joe Thomas again secured good ball at the lineout and passed it rapidly to Liam Frondigoun. Liam broke through the centre where it took three Cranbrook defenders to stop him. The Sidcup forwards secured quick ball from the ruck and Sam Stamp broke blind. As Sam was caught by the defence, he slipped a good pass to Liam Cleary who was able to stroll over the line unopposed to score: 27 – 14 to Sidcup.

Then just before the end of the match , Sidcup won another ball at the lineout and again Liam Frondigoun was the link between the forwards and the backs. The ball was spun down the line to Liam O’Brien who was stopped just short of the line on the right. The Sidcup pack again won the loose ball and together drove over the Cranbrook line to score. This time the last Sidcup player with the ball was Lewis Paterson.

This was the final score of the match which ended 32 – 14 to Sidcup. Our thanks go to Cranbrook for an enjoyable, well fought match.

SB - 9 Mar 08

Sun 17 Feb 08: Tunbridge Wells U17s 10 - Sidcup U17s 3

The form book suggested that this was going to be a very close match and so it proved to be.

For most of the first half there was little to choose between the two sides with both sets of forwards dominating the game. In the backs Sidcup’s two centres Joe Crust and Tom McNally tackled fearlessly to break up any Tunbridge attacks. With minutes to go to half time the score stood at 3-3 which reflected the evenness of the game.

However, shortly before the half time whistle Tunbridge succeeded in moving the ball cleverly along their back line with their full back creating an overlap for their winger to score in the corner. The difficult conversion was missed making the score 10-3 in Tunbridge’s favour at the interval. The second half proved to be very tense with Sidcup dominating the first period but unable to take advantage of some forward play by putting points on the scoreboard.

Tunbridge finished the strongest of the two teams with some good movement in their three quarters involving their full back, however, they could not break down Sidcup’s defence to score again. No points were scored in the second half reflecting how well matched the teams were. Tunbridge went through to the final winning 10-3 in what was a close and tense game played in good spirit.

RN - 19 Feb 08

Sun 3 Feb 08: Sidcup U17s 20 - Ashford U17s 15

The whole of the Sidcup team seemed to be ‘up for this match’. Sidcup kicked off and Matt Chapman immediately charged across the 10 metres and caught the ball before the defending Ashford forwards could get to it. The rest of the Sidcup forwards piled in and that set the tone for the game. The Ashford forwards were never less than resolute but, generally, the commitment of the home pack seemed greater and this week the rucks were producing much quicker ball for the backs.

In the opening minutes of the game the ball was won from a ruck and passed down the line. Tom McNally drove forwards and passed to Liam O’Brien but then the promising move was stopped as the ambitious movement was penalised (rightly) for ‘crossing’. However from the resulting line-out, the Sidcup forwards won the ball and Joe Crust drove into the heart of the Ashford defence. The Sidcup forwards won the ruck quickly and the ball was passed cleanly down the line for Liam O’Brien to score in the corner; 5 – 0.

As the half progressed the Sidcup forwards continued to play well. In the line outs, Joe Thomas and Dan Wakefield leapt powerfully, helped by accurate throwing by Liam Frondigoun. James Hanney at scrum half made his presence known by loudly encouraging his forwards and generally directing his pack.

However Sidcup did not have it all their own way. With 25 minutes gone, Ashford kicked into the Sidcup half. Michael Taylor at full back was isolated and had little choice but to concede a penalty for ‘holding on’. The quick thinking Ashford players took a quick tap penalty and immediately gained another kick 10 metres further on because Sidcup had failed to retreat the necessary distance. This brought Ashford into range of the Sidcup posts and Ashford duly converted the penalty: 5 – 3.

This was the last score of the half. Sidcup had had most of the ball but had failed to break down the convincing Ashford defence. There were good runs by Michael Taylor and by James Bousher. But the Ashford defence always held and finally cleared the ball. Nor did Sidcup get through the half unscathed. Both John Muir and Will Ogburn had to leave the field through injury after each of them had done well in the forward exchanges.

10 minutes into the second half, the Sidcup backs showed what they were capable of. The pack won the ball from a ruck on the right side of the pitch. It was passed to Liam Cleary at fly half, James Bousher ran an aggressive dummy move back towards the forwards but Liam passed the ball to Tom McNally in the centre. Tom drove forwards until he was stopped by the Ashford defence but rather than go to ground, he stayed on his feet, turned his back on the defence and passed the ball to the looping Liam Cleary. Liam straightened his run and attacked the last defender, drew him in and then passed to Liam O’Brien who ran in to score out wide on the left: 10 - 3.

Five minutes later Matt Chapman scored on the right. Again the ball was won by the forwards and moved down the line to Tom McNally who was having fun in the centre. Again he set off on an angled run into the Ashford defence. Tom was stopped and after a series of rucks won by Sidcup, the ball got to Matt who drove across the Ashford line to score: 15 – 3.

But Ashford could not be counted out. A couple of minutes later they gained a line out in the Sidcup 22. Then for once in the game they seemed to catch the Sidcup forwards ‘napping’. The ball was thrown short to a large Ashford prop at the front of the line out and he charged up the short side to score in the corner: 15 – 8. So despite Sidcup dominating possession and really spending most of the time in the Ashford half of the pitch, the latter were still very much in contention.

A few minutes later, the Sidcup forwards drove the ball down the right hand side of the pitch. They won quick ruck ball and Sam Stamp, on at scrum half, flicked the ball out to the backs. Again Tom McNally went close but was stopped near the line. The Sidcup forwards again won the ball and it was passed out to the left to Luke Wooldrige. Luke wasn’t able to make the line but he drew in several defenders and with a deft pass released James Bousher to barge his way over in the corner to score: 20 – 8.

But Ashford refused to give up. A minute later, the Ashford left winger fielded a Sidcup kick that failed to find touch. At this point he was standing more or less on the half way line. He then proceeded to run in field past what seemed like the majority of the Sidcup team until he straightened his run to score under the Sidcup posts. This try was duly converted to make the score 20 – 15. There was then the realisation that another converted try would give Ashford the match. Happily (from a Sidcup point of view) this was the final score of the game and Sidcup ran out 20 – 15 winners. But it has to be said that Ashford pushed us close. Well done to both teams for an exciting match.

SB - 7 Feb 08

Sun 27 Jan 08: Canterbury U17s 14 - Sidcup U17s 14

The match kicked off at 1:03 pm and by 1:04 pm Sidcup were 5-0 down! From the kick off, the Sidcup forwards gathered the ball which was passed back and the clearance kick from the Sidcup 22 was immediately charged down. The Canterbury forwards gathered the loose ball, moved it through a couple of pairs of hands, brushed off some ineffectual Sidcup tackling and scored just to the left of the posts. The conversion was straight forward and so Sidcup were 7-0 down before most of the team had even touched the ball.

From the re-start kick off the true pattern of the game began to emerge. The game was to be played largely in the Canterbury half of the pitch with Sidcup winning lots of ball. But Sidcup hardly ever threatened the Canterbury line. There were good runs by Liam O’Brien and Matt Chapman. Joe Crust tackled well and covered back effectively when Canterbury were in possession and likely to kick for territory. Against a physically bigger pack, the Sidcup forwards won plenty of ball in the rucks; but rarely quickly. The slow ball was taken forward by the pack until the weight of the opposing pack caused a turn over followed by a rapid clearance kick. Or it was moved down the static Sidcup back line where it normally arrived in the centres’ hands along with the Canterbury defence.

Nevertheless after about 20 minutes play, Sidcup were awarded a penalty out on the right close to the Canterbury line. James Hanney took a quick tap penalty and moved the ball towards the backs. The ball got to Tom McNally in the centre about 10 metres out. Tom took the ball on the burst, cut inside the covering defence and barged his way over the line near to the posts. Liam Clearly slotted the conversion: 7-7.

Five minutes later, Canterbury were making a relatively rare incursion into the Sidcup half of the pitch. Again a Sidcup clearance kick was charged down in their 22. From this self-inflicted pressure, Sidcup found themselves defending a scrum. Canterbury won the ball and with some good inter-passing amongst the forwards created space for one of their players to break free and score. The conversion was successful: 14-7. This was the half time score.

The start of the second half was marred by an injury to Jake Mallen who hurt his knee in a tackle and had to be stretchered off. However apart from this unfortunate event, the second half was very much like the first. Although there were promising signs, Sidcup never really managed to speed up their game and cut loose. However 25 minutes into the half, James Hanney made a very good clearance kick from the Sidcup half. Liam O’Brien and the Sidcup forwards chased the ball into the Canterbury end of the pitch. Suddenly the Canterbury players were caught in possession and the Sidcup forwards attacked the ruck and won quick ball. This was passed out along the line to Tom McNally who attacked the Canterbury line aggressively at pace. With at least two Canterbury tacklers hanging onto him, Tom forced his way across the line to score under the posts. Liam Cleary made the conversion to even the match.

14-14 was the final score. Sidcup proceeded to the next round of the cup.

SB - 27 Jan 08

Sun 9 Dec 07: Sidcup U17s 3 Blackheath U17s 17

Sidcup began the game playing up the steep slope. From the off, Blackheath made the most of the pitch advantage. In the first couple of minutes a powerful drive by a Blackheath flanker was only stopped when Sidcup were able to touch the ball down in their own in goal area. From the resulting 22 drop out, the ball went to the Blackheath fly half who kicked ahead towards the Sidcup line. It was only good covering defensive work by Joe Crust that prevented a Blackheath score. The Sidcup forwards managed to defend the 5 metre scrum and drove aggressively out of their 22. But Blackheath drove back down the slope and the game continued to be played in and around the Sidcup 22.

Sidcup were under almost constant pressure. Unfortunately Sidcup suffered the first of several injuries when Liam Cleary had to leave the field after a knock on his head left a very impressive lump ! Liam was replaced at fly half by Michael Taylor. There was some sterling defensive work by Sidcup. The back row of Dan Wakefield, Matt Chapman and Joe Crust tackled every thing that moved. Greg Nye at full back was always calm and safe under the high ball. Then 15 minutes into the game a pass from the base of a scrum went awry and Tom McNally at inside centre ended up tidying up the loose ball. He was immediately overwhelmed by the Blackheath forwards and penalised for holding on. The Blackheath fly half was not going to miss a penalty on the Sidcup 22 in front of the posts and duly put his team into a 3- 0 lead.

The game continued in much the same vein. On the 25 minute mark, Sidcup were penalised for handling in the ruck and again Blackheath took the points. Then just before half-time Blackheath created the move of the game and showed the virtues of running straight and hard. They won the ball from a ruck near the half way line and passed it down their backs who ran straight down the hill at the Sidcup defence. Joe Crust tackled the first ball carrier but the ball was popped to the Blackheath No12 who was supporting right next to his colleague and he ran fast and straight through the scattered Sidcup defence to score on the right. The conversion was missed which left the score at half–time 11-0 to Blackheath.

The second half started with Sidcup optimistic that they could now take advantage of the slope. Two minutes after the re-start, Sidcup were awarded a penalty on the Blackheath 22 when a Sidcup player was blocked. James Hanney coolly slotted the penalty to make the score 3 – 11. But Blackheath didn’t appear to find the slope of the pitch such a problem. Their fly half kicked them out of trouble and down towards the Sidcup line. On one of their forays into the Sidcup 22, Blackheath were awarded a penalty when one of their players charged down a Sidcup clearance kick and Sidcup were penalised for playing the man without the ball. This penalty made the score 3 – 14.

The game re-started and resumed its usual pattern of being played on the Sidcup 22. Blackheath were awarded two 5 metre scrums and were constantly pressuring the Sidcup line. But the increasingly battered Sidcup forwards always managed to keep them out . Then shortly before the end, the Blackheath fly half demonstrated that one should never leave the opponents 22 without some points by stepping back and taking a drop goal. This was the final score of the game which left the result at 3 -17.

However just before the final whistle, Sidcup had a late flourish. Liam O’Brien chased a kick down the left wing and forced a 5 metre scrum to Sidcup. From that scrum and the ensuing ruck, Sidcup were awarded a penalty a few metres out. With Joe Crust leading the charge, the Sidcup forwards attempted to drive the ball over the line. But the bigger Blackheath pack managed to prevent Sidcup crossing their line.

This was a game that Sidcup had been looking forward to and no one could say that they did not try their best. The Sidcup injury list during and at the end of the game was worryingly long. Nevertheless Blackheath took advantage of the conditions when they were in their favour and dealt with then when they were not; and generally controlled the game. The better team on the day won the game.

SB - 15 Dec 07

Sun 2 Dec 07: Sidcup U17s 5 Beccehamians U17s 0

At kick off the prevailing conditions were wet, windy and miserable and then the weather deteriorated. Congratulations have to go to all the players on the pitch for producing such a hard fought and good quality match. In truth the sides were pretty evenly matched and each side had periods of some territorial dominance.

For Sidcup all the forwards had an outstanding good game. The front row of Will Ogburn, Connor Mansfield and Calum McGregor more than held their own in very difficult, slippery conditions. The second row of Jon Muir and Joe Thomas were always driving forward in the set pieces and the loose and each had a fine game in the lineout. The back row of Liam Frondigoun (who was replaced after 25 minutes of the first half by Ben Francis), Matt Chapman and Dan Wakefield were all effective at stopping the opposition when they had the ball, winning the loose ball and carrying on the forward momentum when Sidcup were on the attack.

This wasn’t a day for the backs to show what they are capable of but there were surprisingly few handling errors. The defensive tackling of Tom McNally and Joe Crust in the centre was never less than resolute. James Bousher showed a couple of neat touches at full back.

The score at half time was nil all. As the second half progressed, the Sidcup worked the ball up the pitch until they were near to the Beccehamian line out on the left hand touch line. From the ensuing ruck, the big Sidcup forwards mounted a series of disciplined drives trying to get the ball the last couple of metres over the try line. Each time they were held out by determined Beccehamian defence. Sidcup were awarded a penalty near the Bec’s posts but in the conditions elected to take an attacking scrum rather than risk a kick at goal. Again the Beccehamian defence proved secure. Then, with the game about an hour old, a clearance kick from the middle of Bec’s 22 failed to find touch and fell to Liam O’Brien on the left wing about 35 metres out. Liam ran straight up his wing, got round his opposite number, cleverly cut inside at the last minute to elude the cover defence and touched down to score. In terrible conditions, Liam Cleary’s attempted conversion rebounded off the post.

From the re-start Beccehamians drove hard towards the Sidcup line. It was now Sidcup’s turn to defend stoutly. Bec’s were awarded a couple of penalties, one of which they kicked for a line out 5 metres from the Sidcup line. They pushed hard and forced the Sidcup defence to concede a 5 metre scrum. But they couldn’t breach the Sidcup line. Eventually the ball was cleared to the half way line and the siege was lifted.

A few minutes later the final whistle went to put an end to what turned out to be quite a thrilling match despite the conditions.

SB - 2 Dec 07

Sun 4 Nov 07: Sidcup U17s 43 - Old Dunstonians U17s 10

On a glorious Sunday morning, Sidcup U17s paid their first ever visit to local team Old Dunstonians. The opening few minutes of the match were pretty even. A sweeping move up the left by the Sidcup backs almost allowed Michael Taylor to score. Then with the game 15 minutes old a high tackle on Josh Barlow gave Sidcup a penalty near the Old D’s line. Electing to take an attacking scrum rather than a kick at goal, the Sidcup pack duly won the ball. James Hanney picked up the ball from the base of the scrum and spun past his opposite number but was stopped just short of the line. The Sidcup forwards won the ball in the resulting ruck and John Muir was driven over by his fellow forwards for the opening try which was duly converted by Liam Cleary.

But Old Dunstonians came back at Sidcup. Their fly half was an elusive runner and their big centres were always a potential threat. This threat materialised about 5 minutes after the Sidcup try when the Old D’s outside centre followed a kick ahead and ensured that he got to the ball in the Sidcup in goal area before 2 Sidcup defenders.

Then a couple of minutes later a late tackle on Liam Frondigoun as he sped up the left wing chasing his kick ahead led to a penalty for Sidcup where the ball had landed. At the line out John Muir secured the ball and it was smuggled to Ben Francis who was driven across the goal line by the Sidcup pack to score wide out on the left. Liam Cleary converted the try with an excellent kick.

The kick off by Old D’s went deep into the Sidcup 22 for a line out. They won the ball from the line out and it was passed down their line. But the Sidcup defence proved resolute. A subtle kick behind the Sidcup defence by the Old D’s centre led to a scramble near the Sidcup goal line. But the defence was strong and from a scrum, the ball was passed to the 2 Sidcup wingers, Liam O’Brien and Josh Barlow, who combined well to drive the ball out of defence for a line out on the left near the half way line. At that line out, the ball was won by the Sidcup pack and passed quickly down the back line to Josh Barlow who was in some space on the right wing. Josh charged down his wing and took out the last 2 Old D’s defenders by a step off his right foot to give himself a clear run to score under the posts. Liam Cleary converted the try.

But this wasn’t the end of the scoring in the first half. Just before the whistle, Old Dunstonians kicked ahead. Their winger gathered the ball and benefited from some poor Sidcup tackling. The winger was stopped by what was judged to be a high tackle and Old D’s took the penalty quickly. Sidcup had not retired 10 metres so the penalty was advanced. From the re-taken penalty the Old Dunstonians pack drove over to score.

So the half-time score was 21 – 10 to Sidcup.

Early in the second half, the Sidcup forwards won clean ball in a line out. The ball was passed quickly and cleanly down the back line with the Sidcup backs running straight. This created space for Liam O’Brien to score out on the left. This time Liam Cleary’s kick hit the cross bar and bounced the wrong way !

By now the Sidcup forwards had the measure of their opponents and were winning a lot of ball for the backs. A few minutes after Liam scored, a high tackle on James Bousher was penalised and Liam Cleary took the 3 points. From the kick off, Old Dunstonians regained the ball and attempted to attack up the right hand side of the pitch. But Liam O’Brien was extremely alert and intercepted a pass between 2 Old D’s players to race in unopposed from 60 metres to score under the posts. Again Liam Cleary converted the try.

Finally, just before the final whistle, Sam Stamp, on at scrum half, gathered the ball from the base of a scrum on the right. He made a looping run towards the left hand side of the pitch, kicked ahead and cut through the Old D’s defence to gather his own kick and score. Again Liam Cleary converted the try.

Final score 43 – 10 to Sidcup.

SB - 4 Nov 07

Sun 7 Oct 07: Sidcup U17s 0 - Westcombe Park U17s 10

There can be no denying that the better side on the day won the match. The Westcombe Park forwards dominated the game and the tackling of their backs held out all the Sidcup attacks.

Much of the first half was spent with Westcombe Park seemingly camped in the Sidcup 22. Their forwards drove over the line twice only for the referee to decide that the ball had been held up on each occasion by the stout defence of the Sidcup pack. But just after the 30 minute mark, the Westcombe jumper won clean line out ball and tapped it down to one of his colleagues who drove around the front of the line. The Westcombe pack piled in behind him and this time drove the ball over the line to score out on the wide right. The conversion was missed.

There were some good moments for Sidcup in the first half. Michael Taylor at full back was very secure. There were good breaks by Liam O’Brien and Tom McNally and Joe Crust put in some crunching tackles in the centre. But Sidcup was never able to gain a period of dominance in the first half.

The half time score was 0-5.

In the second half the Sidcup forwards raised their game and this meant that there was more ball for the Sidcup backs. Liam Cleary was able to vary his game, either kicking to open space to set up opportunities for the Sidcup backs to chase down the ball or passing to try to release the Sidcup centres. However the Westcombe defence was resolute.

Then on the 55 minute mark, again from a take at a line out, the Westcombe forwards drove over the Sidcup line to score again.

But Sidcup didn’t give up and now began their period of greatest attacking pressure. During several passages of play there were breaks by Joe Crust, Matt Chapman and Liam O’Brien, each of whom was stopped close to the Westcombe line. The Sidcup forwards began to fight for the ball with greater success. But this period of sustained pressure was spoilt more than once by a final handling error by a Sidcup player and Sidcup were never able to cross the Westcombe line.

Final score 0-10.

SB - 7 Oct 07

Sun 23 Sept 07: Dartfordians U17s 7 - Sidcup U17s 23

This was Sidcup U-17s first league fixture of the 2007/8 season. From the kick off the two teams took some time to settle down and play was erratic from both sides. Sidcup put together their first meaningful attack after about 12 minutes; this ended with Jake Mallen breaking Dartfordians defensive line with a strong elusive run from 25m out. Liam Cleary converted from under the posts to make it 7 – 0. After this score the game remained evenly matched for most of the first half with the forwards dominating the game supported by some good tactical kicking from the half backs. With the last move of the half Dartfordians took advantage of an injury to Sidcup’s winger who was off the field receiving treatment, their backs attacking the space left on the blind side resulting in a try in the corner. Dartfordians were then successful with a difficult touchline conversion making the score 7-7 at half time.

In the second half Sidcup began to dominate territorially with Liam Cleary keeping Dartfordians pinned in their own half with some good accurate kicking. This, and some excellent follow-up tackling, forced Dartfordians into making errors and they conceded two penalties in 5 minutes; both being converted to make the score 13-7 to Sidcup. The home team came back strongly but were unable to find a way through Sidcup’s defence. With about 15 minutes remaining Sidcup’s scrum-half, James Hanney, found room to make an incisive break to get behind Dartfordians defence and Joe Crust was in support to finish strongly under the posts from 15m out. A successful conversion made it 20-7 to Sidcup. The last points of the game also went to Sidcup following a 60m break by their winger Liam O’Brien which led to Dartfordians conceding a penalty. Liam Cleary converted making the final score 23-7.

RN - 25 Sept 07