Sefton RUFC U10s v Hoylake RFC U10s
Another Sunday and another away game, this time to one of the stronger sides Hoylake will play – Sefton who have a deadly combination of tricky, fast runners, great passers of the ball and every player able to tackle hard (if this was a film you’d probably get the idea early on as to the tone of the film – in my journalist class of ’63 this was called “The Lazy Filmmaker’s Set Up”).
With the mild weather disappearing there were a lot of rugby mitts on show but with the sun sitting low in the Liverpool sky it was a beautiful day for rugby. And so it proved because the rugby displayed this morning was hugely entertaining.
Another healthy turn out meant there were plenty of boys keen to play as much of the four 10 minute games as possible which were bound to be refereed expertly as the same ref from the Birkenhead Park game was on hand today.
The first game went as expected with Sefton taking to the new rucking and mauling laws with aplomb. Every time a Hoylake player took the ball into contact or went to ground, it was Sefton who popped up with the ball to turn Hoylake’s attack into scattered defence in the blinking of an eye. It was the sort of rugby that had coach Kev’s eyes bulging out of his head, a stickler for strong defence it was through no lack of endeavour that Hoylake conceded 3 unanswered tries in the first game just a lack of coordinated defence and tackling. At the break Kev explained in words of 1 syllable what they needed to do. Si then overcompensated by turning the team talk into a lecture that would have bored acknowledged rugby students like Stuart Lancaster (rumours that he is after Kev and Si’s jobs are unfounded). So what would happen in the second game?
More of the same except Hoylake’s defence was better and they became a little more protective of the ball when it was taken into contact. Not quite to the level of “treat the ball as your lover” but certainly treating it like it was somebody you liked a bit. This allowed Hoylake to pass the ball out wide where their strengths lie in the form of James and Harvey and Joe. Meanwhile Reece and Luca were taking the ball into the fiery heart of Sefton with better results than in the first game as their Hoylake teammates saw more of the ball. It wasn’t wholly successful because Sefton scored two breakaway tries both from turning the ball over at the tackle area when Hoylake were in possession and at times it was like watching England play Australia (my new analogy for men versus boys). But fair do’s to Hoylake who stuck to their task. Freddy saw a lot of the ball out wide but mostly it was when Hoylake were on the back foot facing relentless Sefton pressure and he did well to keep the ball and prevent Sefton from running away with the game thanks to the likes of Archie who brings a level of calm and solidity to the side. Hoylake’s commitment was thankfully rewarded through a typical score by James using his power and pace to cut through Sefton’s defence to score another long range try. Sadly for the travelling Hoylake faithful it wasn’t enough to avoid another defeat as the score remained 2-1 to Sefton.
The third game was a bit of a horror show from Hoylake’s point of view. Sefton blew Hoylake away with 5 tries and it looked like another scoreless game was on the cards for Hoylake before Sam demonstrated his growing rugby acumen (the message from Si and Kev finally sinking in?) that you need to be more aggressive in the maul and turn your body towards your team mates instead of handing the ball to the opposition like a bunch of flowers on a first date. As Sam was tackled he turned himself to the supporting Leon who whizzed the ball out wide instantly (Si nearly fainted with pride) to George who showed huge determination to break through the pride of Sefton’s tenacious defence and dot down in the corner just as the excellent referee beautifully blew his whistle for the end of the game. Well done George but also well done Sam for having the presence of mind and the strength to keep the ball alive. So Hoylake avoided a second whitewash thanks to great teamwork – something that the boys need to believe in more and more.
And so, on to the final game of the morning. Another opportunity for Kev and Si to repeat the mantra of “getting the ball away from the tackle area” which was where Sefton dominated so well. And what a game! Hoylake finally able to demonstrate that when the ball is presented after a tackle as well as Sefton were able to, the game is much easier. Particularly when you have runners as willing and able as Rudi and Liam to get your team up the field before releasing the human rocket (Joe) to go and score his first try of the morning! Sefton huffed and puffed but couldn’t break through the grim line of Hoylake defenders, their passing and running as potent as ever but Hoylake stood strong. More mistakes crept into the game as both teams started to tire after a long morning of rugby but it was Hoylake who seemed to adapt the quicker to any advantage the referee played. Following a Sefton knock on it was James who reacted the quickest and he powered through the middle of the Sefton tacklers to close in on the line for a certain score. However, Sefton are made of sterner stuff and he was chased to the line all the way but James was just able to summon up enough energy to cross the line for his second and Hoylake’s second of this game.
Kev and Si steeled themselves for the expected Sefton backlash and whilst a lashing out of a different sort saw the referee ask a Sefton player to absent himself from the game, the red, white and green line held firm. Firm enough for Hoylake to enjoy more of the ball than they had in the previous 3 games which allowed their runners to put more pressure on the Sefton defence than they had been used to. And so, as the game drew to its conclusion, there was time for one more Hoylake try. Archie (who never shies away from a congested area of the pitch!) decided he would chance his arm, forget about his wounded eye and take himself on a magical mystery tour of a run that looked like it would end in a heap of 9 and 10 year olds in the mud scrapping for the ball as usual. But no! With half of the Sefton team hanging off his legs and arms he managed to muscle his way over for a famous try that brought tears of joy to the Hoylake faithful who had been put through the wringer this morning.
And that was that. The fabulously fair referee brought the morning’s fun to an end with the final game a 3-0 victory for Hoylake. Yes Hoylake had lost overall but to Sefton that is no disgrace and it was Hoylake who finished the stronger, finally giving their opponents some of their own skilful medicine.