Sidcup U15s 26 vs. Tonbridge Juddians U15s 5

Sidcup U15s 26 vs. Tonbridge Juddians U15s 5

A beautiful sunny morning greeted all as the Sidcup U15's played host to a strong Tonbridge Juddians B team.

The first half saw an outstanding performance from our lads which left the visiting head coach in a state of surprise and full of praise.

With what has become a typical start this season the pressure was immediately on TJ's. Excellent ball retention saw a chance to score which was thwarted when the defence was penalised for going off their feet.
A training ground move paid off as Connor Potter crashed through to open the scoring. Samuel Foster, taking over kicking duties slotted the kick to make it 7-0.

With some heated moments the referee had to intervene to stop a couple of players on each team from taking the aggressiveness too far. Sidcup kept their heads and took a strong hold on the game with the forwards dominating.
The second row pairing of Conor Coakley and Bobby Williams getting through an immense amount of work, allowing good ball for Samuel Foster and to make a good forward run.

After a powerful forward run by Bobby Williams, Jake Davis chose the perfect time to kick the ball forward into space and as Robbie Smith chased down the defence, causing panic, the loose ball was gathered up by Toby Amos to increase the lead to 12-0.

There was no way through for Judds as the Sidcup tackling was of the highest standard. As a great line was run by TJ's centre a magnificent covering tackle from Ben Stock stopped him in his tracks.

One more score closed out the excellent half. TJ's won a line out but as the ball went to their fly half he was hit with a crunching tackle from Scott Humphryes, losing the ball in the process.
Robbie Smith took the ball on and with support from Ben Stock fed the ball out to Toby Amos for his second try of the day. The straight forward conversion giving Sidcup a 19-0 lead at half time.

After such a great first half it was always going to be hard to maintain the level of performance. The guests' coach must have also made an inspirational speech as the second half was far more even.

Judds began to get into the game, with their number 8 in particular raising his level. Also evident was some 'clever' play as the visitors played very close to the edge of the rules in many areas, and beyond in some.

The match was soon put out of reach as the best try of the day was scored with some play that the England team could have done with 24 hours earlier.

With 'forwards ball' called, Charley Smith went on a marauding run breaking through tackles. Holding back his pass perfectly he found Robbie Smith who drew in the defence and fed Toby Amos. As it looked like a hat trick was on (and a jug from his Mum and Dad) a fine tackle from the TJ's full back stopped him, with good awareness the ball was popped up and Robbie was there in support stepping inside to score under the posts.
The simplest conversion made the score 26-0.

After such a great play the lads then seemed to lose impetus. The clean sheet was lost as Judds' quick right winger made a good break, as it appeared he'd be stopped by the most reliable tacklers Connor Potter and Ryan Livermore decided now was a time to tackle each other! The misunderstanding allowing the score under the posts. A poor kick saw the score stay at 26-5.

Despite continued pressure and a string of penalties conceded the defence held firm with Sam Leek ripping the ball clean in our own goal area to save a try.

The final whistle was blown for another good victory for the lads.

Whilst the backs scored the majority of the points this had been a full squad win.
Special mentions go to the front five who were outstanding. Bobby Williams having his best game for the club, Callum Morton consistent as ever and excellent games for Charley Smith and Samuel Foster; both of whom ran Bobby very close for the man of the match award.

Next up is Beckenham and a chance to measure the lads improvement against a team that defeated us a year ago.
Remember lads, they like to kick that ball!!