London Irish B U15's 41 vs Sidcup U15's 14

Sidcup U15’s were back on the road , after having 2 matches cancelled due to weather, they along with a good number of supporters travelled to London Irish, for a match with their B Team. Coach travel was the order of the day and with supporters and players travelling in equal numbers the Sidcup 15’s departed in good spirits. Waved off by your usual match reporter, who along with his son had commitments of a County nature elsewhere.

With the rain falling constantly during our journey, it was fair to say that conditions were not going to be easy. Fair to say that our pitch was more mud than grass and the ref did say that it could well become unplayable during the match, we were very close to being called off before we started. God knows what would have happened in the bar if it had.

On to the match, it would be fair to say that our forwards did not travel well. A distinct lack of intensity at the breakdown gave Irish 2 easy tries, and it looked like being a very tough day at the office. But the spark came from our ever reliable centres, Robbie and Sleek.

After a series of good drives by the forwards Sam Foster to the fore, the ball was recycled and Robbie broke through, only to be hauled down by the Irish 7 who had a great game. This gave our lads the lift they needed, and led to Sidcup’s best attacking period of the half. A series of penalties awarded to Sidcup for Irish being either off their feet at the ruck or coming round offside pushed us further into their 22. TIME FOR THE MOVE. With Conor Potter bursting through and quick ball from the ruck, stand in scrum half Ben Stock sold a dummy and went over under the posts. 10 – 7 to Irish and game on.

Unfortunately we could not compete with the intensity Irish bought to the breakdown and conceded 2 further scores. Half time brought a much needed rest and a chance to regroup. The message was greater organisation at the breakdown, not overcommitting and making it harder for Irish to break our lines.

For the first 10 minutes this seemed to have got through, but again the breakdown proved our undoing. Irish with better organisation and handling in the worstening conditions applied constant pressure and scored twice more. Injuries played their part also, with Sleek (hand), Jake (back), Sam Foster(hamstring), Ben Williams (all over) all coming off.

A Sidcup rally late on in the match showed the fighting spirit the lads have, Conor Potter, having yet another great game, smashed their second row from a kick off and the ball was fed quickly to Robbie. Somehow he was stopped just short and the ball came out quickly to Charlie Smith, another who’s effort for the whole match was top notch. Charlie went on an arcing run, and spotting a gap went over close to the posts. Irish had the last say with a try to finish what was a pretty comprehensive win.

Whilst it sounds as if we got a right beating, it was far from it. With a greater level of commitment at the breakdown, things would have been different. Plenty to work on for Thursday. Toby Amos had a good game with a series of darting runs and Steven Orford stood out when replacing Jake at Fly Half. Conor Coakley had his usual solid game, with just a hint of what he can do with ball in hand being shown when he burst through in the second half.
Our rejigged back row of Connor, Laurence and Ben Williams, started well and until Ben Williams went off, were the equal of their opponents.
Stand out performances from Connor P and Robbie again. One player even comparing Robbie to Jonny Wilkinson!! High praise indeed.

Game over and into the bar (it’s not all about the lads), Irish hospitality and not having to drive home, for some not all, contributed to a great after match session. Coach departed and rehydration continued. With various sports drinks being consumed, London Pride, Pedigree, Kronenbourg, and Scrumpy have all recently introduced these and we were happy to try them, some of the lads even taking the chance to rehydrate a bit more. Back to the club to watch the days’ second England v Ireland clash. Not before Ben Williams had relocated his trousers AND pants !! England won to finish off a great day, and we all departed happy.

Great day out, shame about the result, but it had to happen sometime. Next time we’re on a coach , France will be our destination. More games before then, starting with Medway next week. Another tough one.