SUNDAY 15th JANUARY (Gosforth HS) TRAINING 0950 start for 10-11 session
SUNDAY 8th JANUARY (McCracken Park) v NOVOS (h)
WARRIORS (Rich/Phil)
The Warriors started the ball rolling against a very strong Novos team, a bit complacent and were surprised to be a try down as the big Novos players tackled and supported well.
Once we got going, we had some great charges from Eddie and Zac who got us close to their line. And after exerted pressure and a mis-understanding about the try line a try was awarded to Northern.
Straight away a blistering run from Will Haslam scythed through the defence and he touched down, unfortunately on the wrong line - try disallowed.
Novo's rolled out their big guys and managed to get over for a try. We tried hard, no-one harder than Jonty who seemed to be helping with every tackle and grabbing the ball back. Jonty's stealing of the ball freed James Holder who fed the energetic Ollie Johnson who was hauled down close to the opposition line. Hamish's support of the next break almost got the team the equalising try they deserved.
…to work on next week.
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE OPPOSITION
Tackle and support each other
Body positions when going into contact get the ball behind and go in with your shoulder to protect it.
TIM PEACH to let everyone know where he has put the lines
Man of the Match: Jonty and Will
Man of Steel for his support play Hamish RICH
BARBARIANS (Darren)
There were some solid performances from many of these players and they won convincingly 7 -0 against quite a strong (and big) Novos side.
Man of Steel should go to Jonny Bell who not only scored a couple of good tries but also took down the huge Novos lad by tabckling low - excellent work. In fact most players tackled really well, which is why the Babas kept their clean sheet. (Darren says it was due to his full-back sweeper system…?!) BenP was beginning to play with some aggression and confidence before he injured his foot - he, Toby and George were splendid in the scrum, driving much heavier opponenets off the ball - well done, great body positions and technique. George made some great runs when he had the ball in space and Toby powered over for a couple of scores as well as foraging and winning the ball on a number of occasions. Matt and Jonny created a great partnership and Matthew's service was very good. Euan was solid in the middle of the field and showed his strength and pace well. Samir enjoyed his time in the backs and was good in defence. Harley helped out in defence too (am sure there was some brown on his shirt!) Player of the team was James McArdle who not only had some great runs but also defended superbly covering both wings and really putting in a massive effort. He was everywhere … and played with a smile on his face - excellent to see.
Man of the Match: James McArdle
Man of Steel: Jonny Bell TIM
VIKINGS (Angus)
It was great to see, virtually, all the Vikings team turn out and looking to carry on where they left off before the Christmas break.
The forwards, James, Freddie and William, picked themselves and in the backs we had Anish at scrum half, Harry N in a new position for him at fly half, Aaron in the centre with Alex T and Harry C on the wings.
We were also fortunate to welcome Seb into the centre to make up our team.
After a reasonably good practice session involving passing, rucking, our restart and penalty moves and some line out work we took the field for the inter club games.
Unfortunately we left our focus and concentration of the basics back at home with our Christmas presents and this was especially true of our tackling and rucking where we left too may big gaps for the opposition to run through at will.
However, to their credit, the boys kept their heads up and approached the Novos match with much more purpose and determination.
James and William had some good direct runs and scrummaged well too. Freddie was his usual darting self looking for the action and also executed our new line out move, “Boshi”, with James very well indeed; this will be a good weapon for the future.
Anish, our captain again, remembered he could tackle big and small opponents and also had some lovely mazy runs and Harry N settled into his new position well, leading the back line and getting some good tackles in.
Aaron started doing some of his strong direct running and Seb was like a boy processed with his direct running, rucking, tackling and support play and thoroughly deserved his try.
Harry C went looking for the ball and opponents as did Alex T. HarryC had one memorable hit late on in the first half. It’s just a pity we could not utilise the speedy wingers more often.
A much better half and 1- 1 at the turn.
Unfortunately the second half started very badly with Novos scoring unopposed direct from the restart. The heads did then go down and we let in a few very soft tries and a sense of frustration all round developed. There was some good direct running from all towards the end however and they did keep going.
It’s always demoralising to be on the end of heavy defeats but if we can work on the following areas we will get the confidence back and start to really take on all comers.
• Tackling; everyone and always, low and hard. Don’t leave it to someone else its 9 v 9
• Driving; Our big lads, James, William, Flynn, Aaron and Sam realising how big and strong they are and driving hard, low and full of aggression in attack and in the scrums.
• Rucking; everyone and always low and hard and clearing out the ball and opponents
• Supporting and making noise; always looking for the pass and being in the game and letting the team mates know they are there.
Thanks for all your own support.
Man of the Match: Seb
Man of Steel: HarryC ANGUS
SUNDAY 11th DECEMBER (WB Rockcliffe RFC) v WB ROCKCLIFFE (a)
The WARRIORS confronted Whitley Bay on the potato pitch with a few changes from recent weeks. Eddie starting on the wing and Ruariah propping giving much more mobility but considerably less bulk than The Kain Boys.
A good start and handling from Seb and Jonty set up a well worked try for Jonty. Followed by a bullocking Toby charge to allow him to crash over. Some silky running and pace got Jonny Bell in in the corner.
The second half saw Jonny run in another pacey try and passed at least twice - well done mate.
Euan did a couple of wonderful tackles but needs the ball in his hands
Eddie got hold of the ball and made great yards and defended well.
Matt Jennings service was great good passing from a dive pass, and very tight defensive work.
Alex coped well with a serious graze to his cheek - weaker men would have died.
Will Haslam work up a bit and his running created space for others.
Charlie and George did a lot of unseen work and got the ball back for the glory boy backs.
What will live long in the spectators memory was "that tackle" or more accurately 3 tackles in a row from Master Peach, destroying their big ball carrier and then driving on further and further before a big loopy (not the best) pass out, caught skillfully by Eddie who opened his stride to score in the corner as the final play.
Well done Warriors - a completely different team to the one starting this year, I was impressed how we continued to play rugby and really put them to the sword.
To work on:
Will waking up
Matt getting hold of the ball and passing out as soon as he can
Eddie lining up deeper
Toby showing the same defence and passing better
Jonty, tackling a bit lower
Seb tackling lower
Jonny Bell Passing
Alex Ling passing
George clearing out at rucks
Charlie doing the same as this week, great driving and clearing out a rucks
Ruariah gaining 4 stone
Euan, getting involved early in the game
(Rich)
VIKINGS
We welcomed some reinforcements into the Vikings this week although we took some time, after only a short practice, to gel and get into the “zone”.
This meant a slow start to the game and we found ourselves 0 – 3 down after a few minutes with our lack of tackling, once again, letting us down. We also committed too many guys to the rucks and left open field for the sea - siders to stroll through and score.
However we slowly got our act together and were rewarded with a great try from Freddie picking up from a ruck and charging down the wing crashing over for our first score.
The front row of James, Freddie and James performed well in the scrum winning most of the set piece ball and also contesting the line outs well.
At scrum half Anish found his terrier like qualities in tackle and attack and Ollie , new at fly half, had his usual bursting runs and chasing down of opponents.
Our crash ball centre pairing, Aaron and Sam, continued with the recent excellent progress and must strike fear into smaller opponents.
On the wings Alex and Matthew ran and tracked well and showed good wing speed.
First half summary; great attacking and set piece play but poor tackling and rucking and 1-3 down.
At half time we reshaped our front row bringing on Zac and Flynn and also Hamish and Harry into the back line.
Zac immediately showed his power and driving skills in the lose and was reward with two crash over tries.
Hamish, filling in for the injured Anish at scrum half, did very well in a new position and Harry tackled and tackled.
Indeed the whole side woke up and started to tackle and ruck with much more purpose and although we did not win the match, again letting in two more soft tries, we drew the second half 2-2 so 3 -5 overall.
This side has great attacking threats and started to play some good supporting rugby…if we can tackle, ruck and tackle some more we will not be far short.
The side was well led by Ollie and well done to them all for sticking at it and starting to believe in themselves.
BABAS
The final game was just wonderful!
The team, drawn from those guys who had not had much match time on the day, performed quite superbly and in true Babas style.
They tackled, they rucked, they mauled, they pushed, they jumped, they supported, they passed and they scored a bucket load of tries.
Some of the off-loading from tackles was the best we have seen this year and when Alex touched down virtually all of the team had touched the ball in the move - superb!
No individual mentions here just a simply terrific performance by all the 15 guys in this particular squad and it was great to see.
(Angus)
I thought all the teams and players did fabulously. There were lots of highlights - tries and tackles. I congratulate all the players on their discipline, especially Alex who was tackled very high and Toby who received a Rockcliff clothes' line neck-tackle and I did enjoy his lack of reaction, apart from a disgusted look back at the culprit, half-smile and shake of head jogging away - just store that for later, eh?!
I also have to applaud the Babas awesome try which I believe included not only almost every player, but also the pass of the season so far, from Seb, at great pace, taking out the defender with Alex running onto the perfect ball, at even more pace - could I keep up with my whistle? No chance! Memories of Babas v New Zealand (1973) Cardiff Arms Park - google Gareth Edward's try…
My biggest satisfaction was from the last game which really did see all the players coming into their own and showing us what we now know they are call apable of in a match. Great to see their confidence rise, albeit at the expense of Rockcliff, but am sure they will be back tougher - remember County Cup last season…
Well done Northern U10s - brilliant stuff. Looking forward to some fun games on Sunday…and those who cannot make it, Merry Christmas and look forward to catching up in 2012.
SUNDAY 18th DECEMBER (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start
SUNDAY 4th DECEMBER (Kingston Park) JOINT TRAINING with MORPETH and FALCONS COACHES - 1000 start
SUNDAY 27th NOVEMBER (McCracken Park) v PERCY PARK (h)
Barbarians v Percy Park (Darren)
1st match
A great team spirit despite it being cold.
Oliver S volunteered to play for Percy Park and had a great game some commanding runs too.
Barbars seem to be asleep or too cold to move, 2nd half seem to be a different game for the barbars
We started to drive in the pack, Harry was passing out. Matthew and Eddie were working well in the middle. Defence with James McA, Hamish & Harley started as well in the 2nd half
Final score 7-1 to Percy Park - bring on game 2
2nd match
Boy we were ready.
We lost Ben and Harley to Percy Park.
They both had a great game some great runs and tackles, look forward to their return,
The barbars part - 2 Ollie was fired up for this one, with his signature runs,
We had great play and super defence, Super Eddie with his great speed, Matthew with his zig zag runs. James and Oliver had powerful runs and tackling was superb and seeing the wingers play well hamish & James McA.
It was a great turn around and final score 6-1 to the mighty Barbars.
Best Team Player : Oliver Stevens for his powerful running
Ring of steel : Matthew Garwood - defence was superb
Roll on the next games….
Vikings (Andy)
A good warm up before the game saw us putting in some good practice tackling and then some ruck and maul drills. This warmed us all up nicely for the two games.
Both games were quite close with lots of effort and control from all the team. In the forwards we had a new team member - Will Earp who slotted in as prop really well. Along with Flynn (who showed great strength in the training and both games) and Freddie (who hooked well and did great line out throws) the boys pushed well in the scrums and more than held their own in the rucks and mauls. Matthew had another great game as scrum half (his passing is really improving and his control at the restarts is superb). Samir , Sam (good try) and Aaron were all excellent in the backs. All of them ran really hard and were not afraid to run straight at the opposition and take some hard tackles. They all then worked really hard to make the ball available for their team - I was very pleased with them all. Another newcomers Louis had a good game in the backs and got really stuck in. Alex and Harry played some of the games for us, but also played for Percy Park as they were short of players. Both ran hard, supporting their team mates and putting in key tackles. Good try for PP Harry - great support.
Although we lost both games, the boys all played their hearts out and deserved to win the first game. There was more aggression from our bigger players, which is great to see, and I hope is showing them what they can achieve when they put huge efforts in - we will build on this as it allowed us to keep moving forward most of the time. As ever we need to do more work on tackling (rather than cuddling!), but that will come with practice.
Man of steel: Matthew Jennings - all can learn from him as he tackles properly all the time…
Team player: Sam Cook for his crunching runs and scoring a try in each of the last 2 weeks
Well done all and be proud of yourselves!
Warriors came up against 2 very strong Percy Park teams who played aggressive confrontational rugby.
in the 1st games starting playing up the steep slope they conceded 3 quick tries as rings of steel were broken and the rucking was non-existant, we then realised that actually we could take them on and great tacking by Will and Toby forced them back, and we turned round as the better team, down hill and with the wind we started to play a bit more and grabbed 2 tries through Jonny's elusive running and Toby on the crash ball.
we had them rattled and in the last minutes Jonny again crossed the line to be denied by a wonderful cover tackle and forced into touch in the dead ball area.
The second game was notable for the return of Master Peach to the forwards and his controlled aggression allowed Charlie and Zac to get some go forward, with Euan making hard yards and Ruariah elusive as usual we were soon in front up the hill.
Suddenly Percy Park looked mortal and Seb had a bit of freedom to try and create 2 passes just missed their recipients in the difficult wind and both would have led to tries. Alex harried their scrum half as he had done all day in a wonderful performance playing out of position. George and Will defended magnificently Will's rucking was also a great example for others.
Well done warriors!
Homework is:
More aggression in the rucks and scrums
Better talking calling names and where you re in support and defence., this is improving but can never not be improved.
Backs realigning to get deep on the scrum half.
Man of steel: Will Haslam
Team player: Alex Ling
Warriors had an excellent day. We started warm ups concentrating on tackling and getting the defensive line moving up to the opposition quickly when they have the ball. The forwards were immense, Charlie and Zac really using their strength in the maul, and driving forward. George played excellent with all round support, and would have got man-of-the-match had it not been for Jonty whose passing was precise and never failed to allow the backs to attack. Seb made some fantastic direct runs, making the defence commit to the tackle, whilst still distributing the ball excellently to centres. Will, Euan, Alex and Ruairidh all tackled well, and all 4 of them had a chance for some great fast weaving runs.
3 things to think about
1) Tackle cheek-to-cheek – around the top of the runners legs – there are still a few chest and shoulder high tackles to be seen – you won’t stop big men by trying to cuddle them. Get down low, tight ring of steel and drive with your legs
2) Don’t run sideways – run straight and pass the ball sideways to get it to the wings
3) If you take the ball into the tackle, keep tight hold of the ball, but think of going to ground and placing the ball back (let go!) for your support players. If you get held up in the tackle and a large maul develops, it’s difficult to get the ball out and then you might lose possession.
Well done. Excellent team play from everyone.
Nick, Phil and Tim
The Barbarians played against Ponteland strengthened by the addition of James Mcardle and Harley who added pace out wide a brave defence in their 1st game against the ponteland a team the forwards OliverJ , Flynn and James Holder were strong and competitive James scoring a well deserved try. Tackling was good in patched but better rings of steel would have prevented the ponteland reply.
In the second game the backs came into their own good passing and support from Amish and Matthew Garwood freed Eddie for 2 amazing pacey tries with the referee mr peach gasping for air to keep up. Harry supported and tackled bravely never far from the action A well deserved victory for Babas To work on rings of steel and listening to the coaches to avoid running lengths of the pitch
Vikings Match report vs Pontelend.
Angus and I were very proud of the whole team today and we hope all the boys went home proud of themselves too, if a little bruised. Everyone trained and played as a team today and supported each other. It was hard for Angus and Andy to pick out our one team player at the end.
The forwards were really strong especially in the mauls today - we came out with the ball almost every time - we mauled better in the game than we usually do in practice! The scrums were tight and we pushed really hard - well done James, Flynn and Freddie. Other players got involved in the mauls where necessary and they too used their strength and improving technique to wrestle the ball from the oposition. The boys are beginning to believe in their strength and ability, which is brilliant to watch. It makes a real difference when we come out of a maul driving forwards with the ball.
The backs, especially Matthew and Anish controlled the game well and set up great ball from the kick-offs as well as some fast, strong running. There was great runinng from every switch move at the start - some to the backs and some to the forwards. In both cases the runners ran straight at Ponteland and drove them back. We had some crashing centres who smashed their way through the opposition - namely Sam and Aaron - both of whom ran straight and refused to stop even when they were tackled - really excellent play both of you. Harry and Alex tackled very hard and gave really good support to the other runners as always.
Even though we did not win either game we played, Angus and Andy agreed that the Vikings fought really hard in the first match and actually deserved to win the second one. We will all work on tackling over the coming weeks, because everything else was fantasic today. Well done all
Andy Angus