A&C meet Phoenix U14 for the first time

In the warm up Phoenix looked like an athletic bunch and in the game this proved to be their strength. With several good runners they consistently ran a strong attack to put A&C under pressure - in the course of the game A&C put in almost twice as many tackles as Phoenix.

Keeping it tight, A&C were strong but the consistency of attack from Phoenix forced errors resulting in spilled and loose ball, which gave them to opportunity to score. All of Phoenix’s tries came from players who used their pace to great effect and they scored four, with two converted, before A&C replied.

Eventually A&C got the upper hand in the ruck, with those lost mostly due to unseen foul play. A good passage of several phases saw Ethan bundled over in a rolling maul.

Set piece wise, we were having the better part of the game, showing the boys overall technique was stronger, but in broken play Phoenix exploited their running advantage well and added two more scores. However, A&C enjoyed the last score of the half with a great sweeping movement across the pitch to John H on the wing as he fended tackles well for the last 10 metres to score in the corner.

Phoenix scored first in the second half but A&C responded quickly with a good movement finished by James M-E – again in the corner. Whilst Phoenix showed they could sprint, A&C can take credit by showing they could play rugby. Tiredness and a few mistakes started to creep in as A&C conceded twice more before one final passage of play pushed the ball out wide to Charlie who scored again in the corner.

A&C Scorers - Ethan Nelson, John Hazel, James Makins-Elliott, Charlie Barraclough

Anthony Fulgoni