U11A v Birkdale

U11A Vs Birkdale

This was always going to be a tough match. We needed to show more determination and grit than we did in our last fixture and to an extent we did but we were still far too polite and unwilling to make the hard yards. Birkdale’s handling from the start was very good and they put us under a lot of pressure. Our tackling and defence stood firm for some time but after a while the strain told and Birkdale went over for the first try of the match which they converted. Soon after they made their dominance of possession tell again as they went over for their second try that was unconverted. In the dying moments of the half we kicked the ball long and great hands from the Birkdale full-back and a good turn of pace led to Birkdale’s third try. Sometimes you have to put your hands up and say ‘well played’ and this was one of those moments. At half time we trailed 0 – 19.

The second half required much more from us in the break down, more direct running and more aggression. The early stages were not promising on this front. Birkdale made their superior possession count again and scored their fourth try. Then, something clicked, the tide turned and we started playing as we know we can. Hamish O. was very much at the fore of everything that was good about our play in the final ten minutes of the match. He made every tackle, ran with power, was truly fantastic at the breakdown and showed how good a player he is becoming. The team were now galvanised, we were winning every 50:50 ball, rucking well and making ground. Phase after phase and excellent ball retention finally allowed George W. to go over for a very well earned try. From the restart we continued in the same vein, quickly working our way up the pitch with good interplay between Hamish O., Angus E. and Sam W. A poor clearance by Birkdale from under their posts was well gathered by Toby C. and he went over for our second try. In the end, time ran out and we lost 10 – 24, a fair result in the end.

With 10 minutes of the match remaining I had already decided on my after match talk. I would have led with; ‘well, on this occasion we were beaten by a better team, we need to learn from this’. Our performance in the final 10 minutes however, forced me into a change of tack. We probably played some of the best rugby on the day in those final minutes and the boys proved that we were not beaten by a better team, we just took far too long to realise that we can actually play this game pretty well. The boys have given themselves a problem now; they have proven how good they can be when they want to and their challenge is to maintain this level, anything less is now not acceptable!

Result: Lost 10 – 24 

Man of the Match: Hamish O. – An all round top performance.