Dursley RFC 40        North RFC     25

                                    Ollie 2, Josh 2, Guest

Thank you to Dursley for offering a fixture to give our children some rugby this weekend.  Again the weather was amazing for mid-November.

The squad of eleven had made a special effort to come the distance including Joe who dashed up for 12 minutes as a makeshift hooker.

The players showed commitment by taking on roles they were not used to: Iona moved up to prop and Adam played at hooker for the very first time and played really well.

Unfortunately, North started badly and simply did not look like they wanted to be here. Shoulders dropped after giving away a try straight from our kick off.  Before we knew it we were 15-0 down without really having competed.  This could be a long morning!

Then the forwards seemed to get annoyed with themselves and started competing.  Thomas had his war-face on, Ollie remembered how scary he is, Iona started throwing her weight around, Adam learnt how to hook in a matter of minutes and Verity mad a difference at he maul and ruck.  North won a scrum about 10 metres out, completely annihilated Dursley’s pack and Josh ran in from the base of the scrum.  How easy was that!

With seconds to go before half time, our guest player Max ran in a try after more forward power secured the ball.  15-10 after the first period.

The second period was our best of the day.  However, it started with the customary free try for the opposition. From that aberration North proceeded to completely dominate Dursley.  The next 10 minutes the score was North 15 Dursley 10.  Josh ran in another try from the base of the scrum after our pack had again powered Dursley off the ball.  Then came the moment of the match – an extraordinary rolling maul which travelled from deep into our 22 into theirs.  Thomas broke free of the maul and made for the try line.  He had support outside him but fell agonisingly short of the line.  Unfortunately the result was that Dursley ran it all the way back for a frustratingly disappointing score.

No matter, North had started to believe in themselves and Ollie showed some bone crunching power in scattering Dursley backs like skittles on two occasions to smash over for two well deserved tries.  The score was 30-25 and North were in with a chance.

It was not to be and Dursley closed out the game deserved winners.  The North forwards for long periods completely dominated their opponents at the backs improved as the game went on.  Jonathan made some fine forays beyond the gain line, Finlay made wise decisions and plenty of yards aswell as kicking intelligently.  Dan H. grew as a player as the game went on.  Dan E. surprised himself by clutching a high kick out the air, surprised himself by running forward, aiming for a space not a face and breaking their line and surprised himself again by offloading neatly to Dan H. who was unlucky not to score.  Dan E. needs to stop being surprised that he is good at rugby.  In fact, everyone needs to stop thinking the other side is better than them.  If North could take the first 15 minutes of last week with the middle 15 minutes of today and the first 20 minutes of Yatton then we would win more than we lost.

Players of the Match:            Ollie & Thomas

Back of the Match:                Josh 

NBRFC          0

Avonvale        55

North came up against a very strong and well drilled Avonvale side for the first time this Sunday.  It was fair to say that the first half was one to forget for North as they failed to live up to the standards of play shown last week v. Yatton.

Tackles were missed (or not even attempted) and again it was left to a few individual s to lead the line in terms of defence. 

Some glimpses of last week’s fine play shone through at times but all too little to prevent a procession of Avonvale tries.

The first part of the second half was a huge improvement with line out ball being won neatly and scrimmaging improving.  However, we were just not quick enough to the loose ball and absent without leave at the breakdown.

North slowed Avonvale’s scoring considerably for 10 minutes or so but as legs tired and probably our best forward Joe had to go off with a serious injury Avonvale soon returned to scoring ways.  Get well soon Joe!

A hard lesson in aggressive and competitive but fair rugby for our children today.  The squad all agreed afterwards that they need to find that streak of meanness and desire to win they showed on tour at Plymouth.

Player of Match: Dan Hicks for his fearless tackling. 

North 0 St. Mary’s 35

For the first 16 minutes today North played some really competitive rugby and I think took St. Mary’s a bit by surprise with their strength and determination.  The forwards (Joe, Dom, Ollie, Iona and Verity) were particularly powerful in the scrum and were swift to the break down which allowed the backs to enjoy possession in the St. Mary’s 22.  The highlight was a 20 metre rolling maul which was unlucky to not end in a well deserved try.

The tackling was more effective with less shirt grasping than last week and energetic enough to cause St. Mary’s players to lose focus as they tried to pass.  

With the score at 0-0 whoever scored first was so important.  Unfortunately, St. Mary’s peeled off a maul on the blind side and North cover was missing allowing the first try to be run in unchallenged.  St. Mary’s scored on the stroke of half time again to create a 10-0 lead which did not reflect territory, possession or sheer effort.

Lots of substitutions and players in unfamiliar positions after half time unsettled North rather and it took time to return to the rhythm of the first half.  Nevertheless, North never gave up and continued to compete all over the field.  St. Mary’s coach was kind enough to point out that the final score was very harsh on North.

Development points identified by players afterwards:

• backs must run forward with the ball
• passes must be made before arms are trapped in the tackle
• rucks that were won were being lost because forwards were not looking down

Positives:

• tackling was better
• mauling was excellent
• scrummaging was good in the first half

Player of the match: Joe 

North Bristol             28        Yatton             35

Tries:      Johnathan 2

Iona

Josh

Conv.:    Finlay 3

                George

It was with some relief after 4 weeks of training with more new rules than you could shake a stick at to finally get on with an actual fixture.  The coaches (welcome to the fray Justin) may have thought we were undercooked but were pleasantly surprised.  North began well after being nagged that the poor starts of last year were to be banished!  North drove towards the Yatton 22 with persistent running rugby and only fell short of the try line by inches in some cases. 

The forwards were proving totally dominant both in the scrum and the line out.  The breakdown was proving fruitful aswell and the backs were getting a great deal of good ball from their hard work.  North’s pressure told in the end and Johnathan managed to wriggle his way over for a score.

Yatton replied with a try of their own after creating space in their own 22 and managing to travel the length of the pitch to score.  A rolling maul from North took them well into Yatton’s 22 – Iona ripped the ball free and dropped over the line to take North into the lead again.  Yatton pulled another back before half time.

The rugby was truly compelling and both sides were to be congratulated for great running rugby and tenacious tackling.  Both sets of parents were enjoying watching “real” rugby in the glorious sunshine.  The players were starting to feel the pace as the sun beat down – even the referee was struggling!

The second half started well with Josh carrying from the back of a ruck ran over in the corner.  However, the pace was starting to take its toll and North were starting to flag.  Tackles were missed and the breakdown scrappier.  Yatton took advantage and ran in three tries in the last 5 minutes to steal the win. 

Nevertheless, if North can stretch out the effort and commitment shown in the first 15 minutes of each half into the full 20 minutes then the portents look very good for the rest of the season.

Player of match: Finlay