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U17's Cup Final: Match Report

U17's Cup Final: Match Report

Lewis Johnston14 Apr 2014 - 09:30
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The last two paragraphs written by a Member of Hull Ionians was a joy to read and is an outstanding testament to the Mowden Family Ethos.

This was a pulsating, nerve jangling game between 2 sides who who put everything on the line and ultimately did their supporters proud.

Darlington came to Brantingham Park with a formidable reputation having beaten Lancashire's top team Lymm, undefeated for 2 years, as well as West Park Leeds in the previous rounds.

They most certainly didn't disappoint either on or off the field. This was a cracking game that had coaches and supporters on the very edges of their seats from start to finish, with two very good teams putting absolutely everything on the line , with nothing decided until the very last blast of the whistle. It was as good an advert for U17s rugby as anyone could have wished to have seen and the only sadness was that there had to be a winner or loser, because the real winner was the game of rugby.

The outcome was ultimately decided by three unconverted tries from Ben W, Joe and Max L plus a penalty from Ben S to two converted tries by DMP. Both sides enjoyed periods of supremacy and pressure and both sides came close to additional scores on many an occasions. In the opening exchanges Ionians were well on top. Charlie, Aiden and Jack drove at the DMP defence with great power, with Charlie having the ball dislodged as he strained to reach over the line. James and Boss ruled the initial line outs, John was rock in the set piece, Ethan stole the first few scrums and Will S was just a thorn in the DMP side, spoiling ball and charging down 2 attempted clearance kicks. On both occasions the bounce of the ball favoured the DMP defence and resulted in 22 drop outs.

Out wide our backs looked threatening too. Callum fed Ben S with quality ball and Jack R and Ben W, though well marshalled, mostly broke the gain line and were able to send the ball wide where Will R, Joe and Max L came close to scoring. Will R was unluckily denied a try when Ben's pass went through the hands of its intended recipient, Will gathered the loose ball well and crossed the line for an easy run in only for the failed pass to be deemed the narrowest of knock ons. But eventually Joe was set free to attack down the left and, with the defence closing in rapidly, he looked inside and looped the ball over their heads to find Ben W in support for a easy try. 5-0

If the score was well merited, it was a meagre return for the pressure we had had. But not for the first time this season we were our own worst enemy and conceded 8 penalties in the first quarter giving DMP the chance to clear their lines. But DMP had shown enough in defence to indicate they would not be overwhelmed, and so it proved. From a penalty for going off our feet, DMP cleared to halfway. From there, they won their line out and bashed it up the middle, then quick hands down the line created space for their wing to round Max, cut inside Will R's covering run for an excellent try beneath the posts. 5-7

The remainder of the half was a full blooded affair. Now DMP were in the ascendancy, but the defence was fierce. Ben W, Boss and Callum put in notable tackles out wide and the line speed from the back line as a whole was much improved and consequently DMP progress stuttered through a series of knock ons. But we continued to surrender our advantage through carelessly conceded penalties and eventually the ref lost patience and carded Jack for going off his feet. Though DMP tried to turn their numerical advantage into points, it was a break from Ben W and Jack that nearly got the scoreboard ticking again as the half drew to a close. 5-7 Halftime.

From the restart, Ethan and Aiden made a good chase to close the defence down and as Will S and Boss competed for the ball, we were awarded a penalty some 30 metres out. Ben S kicked the points. 8-7

From this point on, it is fair to say, any attempt to make sensible notes for this report, simply disintegrated amid the frenzy of excitement, so what is recorded here is at best an estimate! Certainly DMP noticeably upped their game and drove at us with power and speed. But they did not have it all their own way. Andy was like an extra back row around the fringes and Leo, James, Charlie, Jack and Aiden put in some thumping hits too. But after pounding away in the 5m area for several minutes, DMP finally scrambled the ball over the line beneath a pile of bodies to take a deserved lead. 8-14

Fresh legs were required and Adam, Chunk and Shaun brought renewed vigour to our play. Soon after the restart, Adam won a penalty for not releasing when quick ball would have certainly seen us threaten the DMP line and a yellow card was shown again. Though Ben uncharacteristically put the kick wide, this subtly tipped the balance of play, this time in our favour. Now we had more ball, more opportunities to run, though DMP still looked dangerous especially when attacking down the blind side.

The game careered from one end to the other, great tackles from Max and Aiden denying DMP break out opportunities. Eliot came on to add muscle to an exhausted back row as we counter punched on the right, Ben S almost clear in the corner, denied by great cover from the DMP centre and then unable to loop his inside pass into Max's hands. But then with just 10 minutes to go were were able to win the ball in prime position in front of the posts inside the 22. Andy darted away from the ruck drawing the DMP 10, spinning to Ben S who ghosted between 3 defenders. With Will R and Jack attacking the inside line, Ben spotted Joe out wide and floated a perfect pass beyond the last defender for Joe to score. Ben's kick from 8m in was beautifully struck, but slid past the outside post to leave the score agonisingly poised at 13-14.

Time was now running short. DMP, now back to full strength, regained possession and again pressed us back, attacking first right then left but a knock on, their Achilles heel in this game, allowed us to clear upfield where a great chase from Chunk and Aiden secured the territorial gain. From the ruck James went right and was hauled down, Charlie and Eliot piled in to release quick ball. Andy went right again, a half break from Jack R, then Ben W into contact. He seemed well held but somehow freed his arm to effect an offload to Max who simply had too much gas and ran in at the corner. 18-14 and surely that was it, surely the DMP bodies strewn over the ground showed they were beaten.
Only 2 minutes to go! Surely?

Ionians won the restart and with coaches and supporters all thinking 'Stick it up your jumper!', they renewed the attack on the DMP 22. The ball was fizzing around with runners attacking from all angles, offloads being made and defenders throwing themselves into tackles desperate to get their hands on the ball for one more assault of their own. And sure enough the ball popped loose and DMP countered down the left. Suddenly it was Ionians who were scrambling to get back. They broke free of the 22 up to the 10m line. The inside pass went to ground but backwards, then a hack on into our half. Max, covering well, used his speed to outpace the attackers and hoof the ball off the pitch but turned over on his ankle to aggravate his existing injury.

A roar went up, that must be it, but no! Time for 1 more line out, won well and spun down the line through the centres, our drift defence struggling to get across. With a hint of an overlap beckoning, the final pass ... but the ball died at the winger's feet, Joe swung a foot to hoof it away off the pitch, off the planet, anywhere. And then the last long blast to bring this extraordinary game to an end.

When the final whistle went, there were tears from both groups of supporters - sadness, joy, utter exhaustion at the spectacle we had all witnessed. But above all there was great pride in the what the lads had done and the way in which both sets of players had gone about it. Though of course their shoulders slumped momentarily at the end, one DMP player was heard to say 'Come on lads, heads up, let's shake hands!' and to a man they did, wishing us well and congratulating us on our win, an attitude whole-heartedly reflected by their wonderful travelling support who were nothing but a credit to their club and the North East.

And when we all eventually retired to the clubhouse to recuperate and recalibrate our pacemakers, perhaps nothing said more about the spirit occasion than the sight of both groups of players intermingling and enjoying each others company (lager and chilli???!!) while the trophy they had all battled so hard to win stood on its own in a corner of the clubhouse, momentarily forgotten and neglected. Just wonderful!

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