Match Report

Another powerful display from our special U16 team saw an impressive 42-14 win

We returned back to our Old Pat’s fortress today for the penultimate game of the year against a valiant 12 man Cheltenham North team. In order to make the match worthwhile and competitive for both teams, we lent North 3 of our players – Josh Hansen, Kai Sherrington and Jack le Roux. The visitors won the toss, opting to kick off to us and we decided to play uphill on a soggy pitch.

42

Tries 8
Conversions 1
Penalties Conceded 0

14

Tries 2
Conversions 2
Penalties Conceded 0

We scored within 2 minutes of the kick off after tricky Isaac Evans made a break to put North on the back foot. After quickly recycling the ball it went through several pairs of hands to find lightning fast Henry Brock in space and with the try line ahead, unselfishly he passed the ball to lethal Charlie Langmaid who scored in the corner – TRY.
5-0

A few moments later from the kick off, we disrupted their ball which was bobbling about leaving Sam Stevens to precisely fly hack ahead and dive to score a great opportunist TRY.
10-0

It looked like the flood gates might open, but to the credit of Cheltenham North, they stiffened their spines and resisted several of our surges. This was in no small part aided by our loaned lads, seriously strong lock Kai Sherrington, silky scrum half Jack le Roux and surging centre Josh Hansen, who played like their lives depended on it.

There were also several great interplays from us, including centre Isaac Evan’s half break and off load to hard running prop Ben Chandler who showed great fitness to be on his shoulder. Powerhouse Luke Smith had another impressive game for us both in attack and defense. Physical Jack Cochrane’s impact was also noted in the loose and it was good to see his self-confidence continue to grow, whilst gritty Sam Woodward was always at the bottom of everything.

The next try came about through great forward play from us meaning Charlie Langmaid found himself in a tight area between the touchline and the covering defense. He used the available space to skillfully get on the outside of several defenders and was well-tackled just short of the line. Instinctive Isaac Evans, running a great support line, was on hand to pick and go scoring a well deserved TRY.
15-0

Towards the end of the first half, another dominant scrum from us saw Isaac Evans slice through North’s defense to score another great TRY which was converted by Sam Stevens.
22-0

The half ended with a great defensive effort from Old Pats with North moving the ball from their 22 all the way to our line. After heroic defense on our own line, they moved the ball wide and looked sure to score in the corner but an uncompromising tackle from hooker Jack Harrison saw their winger get bundled into touch.

Half time allowed us to re-jig both teams as North had a few injuries meaning we lent them several more players. Josh Hansen returned to his familiar lock position for us. Our inspiring captain and lock Charlie Houlston, not to be outdone by Josh, went to play centre for North together with the always impressive Angus Walker whilst our tough prop Ben Chandler stabilised their scrum. Dynamic and ever reliable Chung Lu came on for us to put in another important effort.

Our next try came after a handling error from North who had knocked on. From the resulting advantage Charlie Langmaid skillfully fly hacked ahead to dive on the ball and score his second TRY of the game.
27-0

From the next kick off, lock Josh Hansen caught the ball between our 10m and 22m line. He must have thought he was still playing at centre because he then took the ball on the outside and Lomu-like, beat several covering defenders to run down almost the whole side line and score an impressive solo try. He made the art of back play look easy when we all know it is not. He then showed his true forward heritage by missing the kick in front of the posts!!!
32-0

North then strung together several phases of impressive play to score a well deserved try from short range which they converted.
32-7

Not content with one flamboyant try, Josh Hansen showed his versatility to then return to his forward trade and crashed over for a more traditional TRY from short range.
37-7

North scored their final try which was a lovely move that Old Pats would have been proud of. From their scrum, Jack le Roux ran blind passing to centre Angus Walker who showed lovely hands to create space for fellow centre Charlie Houlston who had a lot of work still to do. With pace and power, he broke through our Old Pats frontline to score a TRY that Henry Slade would have been proud of.
37-14

The final score came from us after too much forward pressure saw dangerous Henry Brock use his pace and several intuitive side steps to beat the tired defenders for a well deserved TRY.
42-14

This was more of a practice game where we tried some new combinations of players as well as putting into practice some of the plays we work on in training. Thank you to our lads who put their bodies on the line for Cheltenham North today and allowed both teams to be competitive. For the sideline, there were no ‘reach for the valium’ moments and everyone enjoyed an easier game today but take nothing away from our boys – that is 7 impressive wins from 7 so far this season. Importantly, this team continues to show great humility and are always looking to learn and improve their performances.

Well done boys, another great victory.

Training on Wednesday at Old Pats and our last game of 2022 next Sunday at Old Pat’s versus Old Richians.