Sidcup U15s 7 vs. Canterbury U15s 6

Sidcup U15s 7 Canterbury U15s 6

On a miserable and wet morning the Sidcup U15's welcomed their peers from Canterbury RFC as they aimed to continue their unbeaten start to the 2012-13 season.

Expectations from the watching parents were high, yet tinged with apprehension as the vistors came with the reputation of being a tough and technically strong team.
A tad of attempted intimidation was also evident with the sight of three Kent warm up tops among the Canterbury players. Sidcup as ever looking resplendent in their matching maroon, looked slightly unsure.

From the start however our lads looked up for the challenge. Straight from the kick off Robbie Smith and Kieran Moore chased down the kick and with support from the pack forced Canterbury back to their 22.

Strong counter rucking ensured that the defence held onto the ball though and as it was recycled is was kicked forward for some good territorial gain. This would prove to be a tactic employed by our guests a great deal during the match.

Despite some strong tackilng and organised defence Sidcup conceded a penalty around 20m out and Canterbury chose to kick, getting themselves into an early lead at 0-3.

Jake Davis floated a beautiful restart and once again the pressure was on. As Canterbury tried to play their way out of defence they constantly found their way barred. Fantastic rucking turned the ball over and a quick feed out through the backs drew in the tacklers and set Kieran Moore free on the left.
Though there was still work to do he finished well and cut in close enough to the posts to enable Ben Stock to convert to give Sidcup a 7-3 lead.

A couple of near misses saw the score remain the same as Sidcup started to really play. Samuel Foster became the first prop any of us have seen to try a chip and chase, which nearly came off.
Next Sam Leek came close after kicking through to the goal line but just losing out to the defence.

After taking 3 high balls in a row and returning each one with interest Ryan Churchill (having his best game for Sidcup since becoming a skinny rake and moving to the backs) came close in the opposite corner, only to be stopped by some great tackling.

Finally Canterbury managed to make some headway and for what was to be the only time in the match, managed to get beyond our centres with a cheeky but well executed chip and chase. Little did they know that one of the hardest things to do is get past the Sidcup full back in a one on one situation.
Ryan Livermore gladly introduced the lad to the Crescent Farm mud!

Half time came with Sidcup more than deserving their 7-3 lead.

The second half continued well for Sidcup as Robbie Smith (who was excellent all day in defence and attack) assited by Vlad Riamzinas, release debut boy Toby Amos on the left. Toby showed a great turn of speed and looked certain to score but for a foot in touch in the 22.

Again Sidcup were thwarted as Robbie ran a great line but failed to get the ball down in the goal area. Despite the dominance Sidcup were still less than a converted try in front and nerves were jangling on the touchline.

Time and again the visitors used the boot to gain ground, and why not when it was being very effective. In contrast, each time a Sidcup player waved their boot at the ball we seemed to lose ground or just give the ball straight down the throat of oncoming runners.

Despite letting Canterbury back in the game with a few errors the defence continued to hold firm. Suddenly a break away came for Connor Potter and the lead would have increased but for a tackle by the Canterbury full back that was as good as Ryan's in the first half (almost)!

Sidcup had to defend deep as the visitors pushed to win the game. The commitment of our lads though was exceptional. Charley Smith carrying ball after ball and ably assisted by Vlad we continued to dominate both the scrum and the loose ball.

With less than 3 minutes to go a penalty was conceded in front of the posts and surprisingly the decision was taken to kick for 3 points. This would still leave Canterbury behind, so one can only think that they felt confident they could gain another penalty or a drop goal to win the match.
The penalty flew over nicely to bring to match to a point difference at 7-6 and kept the nails nicely short.

Ther was to be no further chance for Canterbury though as Sidcup closed the game out in their opponents half and to the delight of all, secured the win at 7-6. The scoreline was, if anything, a little flattering to our guests given our periods of dominance and the few near misses.

Once again all lads played their hearts out and gave full commitment. Robbie Smith with a fantastic man of the match performance, Ryan Churchill excellent, Connor Potter strong in both the pack and on the wing plus Charley Smith and Vlad Riamzinas gaining consistency in their play.
Also, the unsung heroes are the darlings of rugby...the second row. Connor Coakley, Alex Spring and Cameron Batney all did their hard and dirty work well allowing the 'flair' players to do their thing. It should never be underestimated how important the rucking and mauling is to winning these tough matches.

Finally a word for the new boy Toby, who showed speed, good hands and an appetite to play that will stand him in good stead as a Sidcup player.

Fantastic result ladds!! Next up is Maidstone and an opportunity to put right last year's result when we managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as we imploded......something I expect NOT to see this season.

COME ON SIDCUP!!!