Dogmans U11's report v Blackheath

Sidcup U11's travelled to Well Hall on Sunday to play Blackheath. Reports emanating from the Blackheath camp resulted in our initial target being 'operation let's not get hammered' however, as it turned out a fired up Sidcup team gave a great account of themselves with honours shared over the three games (one drawn, one won and one lost).

With Sidcup’s ex-captain having switched camps after Christmas there was an added spice to proceedings but I am glad to report that the scenes in Germany between Chisora and Haye were not repeated at Well Hall! In fact the boys from both sides played hard but fair rugby and were a credit to both sets of coaches. The morning’s events unfurled as follows;

BLACKHEATH A – 0 SIDCUP A – 0

Sidcup – Reece Novo, Ryan Powell (Vice Captain), Luis Bristow, Campbell Crouser, Jonathan Cain, Billy Hally, James Innes, Toby Baldwin, Isaac Ayliffe, Ethan Nightingale, Dash Smith, Joseph Leigh (Captain)

This game was a real fire and brimstone affair with no quarter asked or given. With both defences making their first up tackles and scrambling well when breaks were made the action was largely contained in the middle third of the pitch. Both sides made promising breaks but good covering defence more often than not resulted in a line-out or scrum for the defensive side. In the backs Baldwin (who was excellent all day), Ayliffe, Nightingale, Smith and Leigh (who put in a captains performance) all looked dangerous with Hally directing his forwards commandingly and Innes linking the plays together well. The Sidcup forwards matched and often bettered the Blackheath pack at scrum and ruck time and the multi-phase play achieved through their ‘dogged’ support work was a pleasure to see. It was great to see Luis back and together with the stalwarts of Powell and Novo the front row edged proceedings for this writer. Cain and Crouser were the unsung heroes as is often the case in the boiler room. The boys stuck well to their tasks right up to the final whistle and given our pre-stated expectations (and notwithstanding that we felt we had the opportunities to score) overall Sidcup were happy with the draw.

BLACKHEATH B – 1 SIDCUP B – 2

Sidcup – Jack Davenport, Reece Page, Ben Coleman, Ryan Donohue, Max Loughran, Billy Hally (Captain), James Innes, Sam Jinks, Mathew Lay, Isaac Ayliffe, Ethan Nightingale, Dash Smith

Sidcup took the field sporting a totally different pack from the first game with Jinks and Lay slotting into the backline. To be fair to Blackheath they also made wholesale changes and it was good to see a competitive game develop with some excellent passages of play. Davenport and Coleman continue their marked improvements with the Sidcup scrum generally going forward. Reece Page looked very promising in his first start for Sidcup and he was well supported by Loughran and Donohue. Matthew Lay fielded a number of kicks and looked generally solid and it was good to welcome back Jinks (for whom it has been a frustrating season to date with injuries and illness) who once again showed great potential. Sidcup scored both of their tries in the first half through Billy Hally and held on well for a 2-1 win.

BLACKHEATH A – 3 SIDCUP A – 1

Sidcup – Reece Novo, Ryan Powell (Vice Captain), Luis Bristow, Campbell Crouser, Jonathan Cain, Billy Hally, James Innes, Toby Baldwin, Isaac Ayliffe, Ethan Nightingale (Sam Jinks / Reece Page), Dash Smith, Joseph Leigh (Captain)

Having drawn one and won one Sidcup would have been happy to call it a day at that particularly as a few players had played in both games however, it would have been churlish to deny the pleading puppy dog eyes of one of the Blackheath coaches (backs?) who ran on at half time in the previous game to request another crack at the A team! We therefore, took the field knowing that Blackheath would be going all out to redress the balance and to their credit they forced Sidcup into repelling wave after wave of attacks. In the end the Sidcup line was breached for a deserved Blackheath score. Sidcup came straight back and almost immediately had a try disallowed (for a knock on in the act of scoring) after a strong run from Powell. As the father of the disallowed try ‘scorer’ it seemed to the unbiased eye a clear try! Sidcup were not done and following a number of phases the ball was recycled through the backs and Jack ‘Dash’ Smith scorched in for a well taken try to level the scores. As the game progressed Blackheath became stronger whilst Sidcup’s tiring defensive line pushed up slower giving more opportunities for the Blackheath backs (who had previously been subdued) and in particular their scrum half to orchestrate proceedings. An entertaining contretemps between Sidcup forwards coach (and ex Blackheath centurion) Jim Roques and the referee over the finer points was the only highlight for Sidcup of the final quarter with Nightingale going off injured and Blackheath scoring two unanswered tries. Nevertheless Sidcup remained competitive throughout and can be proud of the part they played in a full blooded game. On a personal note the fact we had been coach of all the try scorers until very recently (Luke Cooper getting all Blackheath’s tries) was somewhat bittersweet!

Well done to both sides for three excellent games of rugby.