Dorking Rugby U12 Boys
Red Team Vs Farnham 1 and Waterfall Cup Group Stage round-up
One half of the U12s Boys squad had their rescheduled concluding group stage match on Sunday against Farnham and held on for a gutsy 5-4 victory. The oldest cliché in sport holds true that this was very much a game of two halves! A dominant display in the first half with powerful running from Harry Marsh and Aiman Kanderian put the team on the front foot and the slightly reluctant defence under immediate pressure. Good ball retention by the whole team with Kit Somerville and Finn Collins blasting rucks and tidy work at the base from Benji Rowland and captain Harry Lewsey ensured that the territorial gains resulted in points on the board, within short order we were 2 scores up and in danger of feeling comfortable. At this point Farnham seemed to wake up a touch and manage to hang on to the ball for long enough to effect a well worked score of their own. However, the Reds continued to use quick thinking and effective use of space to chalk up another score, 3-1 at half time. The second half had a very different feel to it, perhaps the heavy conditions were starting to take their toll on some of our strike runners and the increasingly muddy ball became something of a leveller for the ball handling, but to their credit Farnham ground their way back into the match, managing to turn over a few rucks and convert the possession into territory. Stubborn resistance from the Reds meant hard work for Farnham to make much progress, big tackles raining in from Zack Taylor, Lyle Hoddinot, Cole Nunn and Ted Hopper epitomised the commitment and heart, but a couple of sniping runs around some tired legs saw Farnham drag themselves to within one score of level-pegging. In the final quarter in increasingly damp and sticky conditions, the spark from the first half magically reappeared, Arthur Spear on the receiving end of some tidy handling to run in the try to push the lead back up to two scores. Farnham kept fighting until the end and manged to pull back another try but time was against them. Great heart on display from the Reds and an excellent end to a tough Waterfall Cup group campaign.
The Boys U12s entered two mixed-ability teams, The Reds and The Whites, into the middle tier Waterfall Cup this year. The competition is a steep learning curve for boys and coaches alike, a first taste of proper competitive rugby for the boys coupled with all the post-match bells and whistles, Number 1 dress code providing an opportunity to show off brand new club ties at the post-match meals ! The Reds found themselves in a brutally tough group but got off to a great start at Trinity with a hard fought victory, coming back from 2-0 down to win 6-4. From that point forward they were up against it, a very strong Haslemere created a lead that was too tough to overcome despite another heroic fight back, and a streamed A-team from Cobham, who admitted that they had entered the tier above but somehow found themselves in this group, were held for most of the game by some outstanding defence and commitment but ultimately just wore us out, that the boys went toe-to-toe with an A team for much of the game was a point of immense price for their supporters. The penultimate match away against Chobham saw the squad missing a few regulars for half term and tough outing in the freezing rain and mud. The final fixture for the Reds against Farnham documented above, whose strength in depth we have seen first-hand, was a richly satisfying victory after a very tough group stage campaign.
The Whites certainly had the better luck of the draw in their group, although there was some trepidation going into the first match at home against Sutton & Epsom after a friendly earlier in the season produced some mixed results. Like the Reds, the first match for the Whites was a nerve-jangler for the raucous home spectators, an early two-try lead was dragged level by half time. But galvanised by their belief in themselves the boys galloped into a 5-2 lead, the scintillating ball handling and tireless work in the loose to turn over possession was the difference, a consolation score at the death for S&E did little to disguise an emphatic statement win, off to a flyer! For the next three fixtures the Whites had a relatively comfortable ride of it, Old Cranleighans at home were spirited throughout but an early lead and stout defence provide a slightly more comfortable watch. Our first away fixture with a trek into SW London to face Battersea Ironsides, a vast club with three teams in the competition (and probably should have 4!), but this result suggested that they maybe hadn’t got their tier level quite right as we raced to a 6-0 victory after just 3 minutes of play, with the result agreed (enforcing the 6-try maximum margin rule) we reduced ourselves to 10 men to enable some game time to continue. Following that fixture up with another away match in SW London, this time against Hammersmith & Fulham: after a week of biblical weather a miracle was needed to get a game but the H&F pitches delivered that miracle with amazingly dry pitches. A nervy start to fall behind quickly turned around with some outstanding individual performances, another game stopped with a 6 try difference at 7-1. Our final match was against Farnham at home, they were top of the table on points difference and early sight of their team suggested that they were a head taller than us on average. Horrendous weather was very much going to play against the Whites who favour a fast-paced offloading style of play and we quickly slipped to a 2-0 deficit whist playing up the slope which remained the half-time score. Despite the freezing rain and mud this team dug deep, determined to prove to their rivals that they were not going to simply roll over, a wonderful second half fight back saw them draw level only to be denied in the last seconds of the game by a very late (!) Farnham score.
The coaches are immensely proud of both teams who have had wildly different journeys through the group stages, they have done themselves and the club proud, bring on finals day!
