North Yorkshire Under 17s deliver big win against South Yorkshire.
North Yorkshire U17s put in a huge amount of effort to turn over South Yorkshire in a great game of rugby at York RI on Sunday 7th October.
On Sunday 7th October the 2012 – 13 squad of North Yorkshire’s Under 17s got their season under way with a fantastic win against a well organised and spirited South Yorkshire team.
With the sun shining and ground conditions perfect from the start the game couldn’t have been better from a North Yorkshire perspective. However, the first ten minutes were no indicator of the superb play that came later.
South started brightly and enjoyed 90% possession in the opening ten minutes. In this time they won a scrum against the head and snaffled a North lineout to put the North lads on the back foot and in their own 22. Defending doggedly they made tackle after tackle, the whole team contributing and relying on the next man to do his job. As this was the first match the squad had played together it was a terrific effort. Eventually, after yet another ferocious tackle, the ball was spilt by South and from the ensuing scrum the ball was cleared to nearly half way and the team could start to settle down.
Over the next ten minutes the game ebbed and flowed between the two 22s with the North team looking the sharper on attack and both well organised and aggressive in defence. From a static ruck in midfield North were awarded a scrum 20 metres in from the touchline. With a clean, quick strike and cohesive team work between No 8 and scrum half the ball was moved quickly into midfield. Choosing his line to perfection and running onto a beautifully weighted pass, James Wright brushed aside several tackles and powered to score the team’s first try under the posts. Nathan Booth then slotted the extras for a well deserved 7 – nil lead.
The South team responded immediately, attacking down the right and getting into the North’s 22; here they stayed for several minutes but couldn’t find a way through. Attack after attack was foiled and again, the North team, working well as a unit, secured possession and moved up field through a combination of penalties and aggressive defence.
Five minutes from the break, after great preparatory work, Campbell Thomson pounced on a loose ball and, shrugging off the nearest defender, ran 30 metres to score a fine try wide out on the right. Booth was unsuccessful with his second attempt and soon after the half time whistle blew with the North team in a well deserved 12 – nil lead.
The second half that followed was almost a mirror image of the first although for this half the North team were looking into brilliant sunshine. Expecting high kicks into the sun that never came it was the South backs that struggled to contain a North back division playing with more cohesion and confidence as the game wore on.
After several attacks that flowed from right to left both centres came close to scoring but after some stout defending by South metres from their line, Campbell Thomson again found himself the player closest to the ball and crashed over for his second and the team’s third try. Again Booth kicked the extras to extend North’s lead to 19 – nil.
Soon after Joe Pickles came off for a blood injury after an hour of hard work at the coal face, Matt Vatanitawake was injured and had to come off as well as Angus Bankier. On came the bench with half an hour to go and the fresh legs added extra impetus to the North’s attacking play.
With minutes to go the re-jigged team began a series of attacks from their own half; in the final move the ball was transferred between a dozen pairs of hands as the ball was moved first right and then back left. A series of great offloads, soft hands and clear vision resulted in James Wright scoring his second to the applause of the whole crowd. A great team try to close out the match, the missed conversion being the last act of the game; North had won a great game 24 – nil, South Yorkshire had contributed fully and now attention moves to October 17th and the next game against the Yorkshire U16 squad.