Fixture

Caerphilly RFC | Under 9s 4 - 2 Hafodyrynys RFC | Under 9s

Match Report
01 February 2017 / Team News

CAERPHILLY BEARS - MATCH REPORT 15/01/2017

Another home fixture at the Constructaquote.com Stadium, this time against the U9s from Hafodyrynys, which for those uninformed among us, is a village situated between Pontypool and Crumlin. As I sit here penning this week’s match report against our opponents, my first thought is how many points on a Triple Word score would you get in a game of Scrabble for those combination of letters? Answers on a postcard please …..

Turning to the game, it was to transpire that the players from Hafodyrynys U9s were to provide our toughest opposition of the season far, especially the level of physicality they brought. This was one of those encounters where you could hear the hits going in from both teams from the sidelines. Definitively not for the faint-hearted, with no quarter asked and no quarter given and not a backward step to be taken anywhere!

Caerphilly Bears 4-Hafodyrynys 2

Jason signalled the start of the game and it was nip and tuck initially, with neither side able to gain the upper hand in attack because of the water-tight defences on show. However, just when it seemed neither side would be able to find a breakthrough, Hafodyrynys were able to race into a 2-0 lead thanks to two moments of individual brilliance from their players. However, this minor setback only served to show the strong bond that has developed between the boys over the time they have been together and just when it seemed the game might be going away from them, their doggedness and resolve in adversity dragged them back into game, the first Bears try of the day going to Owen. A variation in tactics today, with the first receiver looking to take the pass from the scrum half from a deeper position so taking the ball at pace, Owen demonstrated this superbly, taking the ball and embarking on a mazy run to beat would-be defenders to cross for the try.

Try 2 was scored by Jacob, showing another textbook example of taking the ball at pace from the scrum half. He went on one of his arcing runs around the defence gliding over the surface to straighten up against the touchline and outpace the defence to grab the equalising try.

The game continued in the same vein, with line breaks at a premium and it was one of these from Hafodyrynys which took their player clean through looking odds-on to score. Owen had other ideas though, chasing his man down to execute a try saving tackle right on the stroke of the half time whistle, with the teams level going into the break.

The Bears were able to take the lead soon into the second half, with try 3 scored by Sam Colwill. Another nice break from Owen, he drew his man before offloading to Sam on the wing who showed great strength as well as skill with a few defenders in front of him, he stepped inside each of them, breaking tackles to force his way over for the try.

Try 4 for the Bears came as Hafodyrynys quite understandably began to tire as the half went on, their squad size meaning that they did not have the luxury of being able to rest any of their players. The scorer this time was Alfie. An initial break made by Hywel was stopped by yet another crunching tackle. Luke then took the ball on and was able to make ground deep into the opposition half before spotting Alfie in space, a nice offload allowing Alfie to step inside the last defender and stretch his legs to cross in the corner to score what proved to be final and decisive try of the game.

The variation in tactics today with the first receiver running from deep to take the pass as first receiver at pace presented some challenges for the boys, sometimes resulting in them looking for contact instead of making the line break and looking for the offload but none of these issues are insurmountable. The boys have consistently shown that they are quick learners and these issues will undoubtedly be addressed sooner rather than later.

Man of the Match

This was the toughest decision of the season so far, with a number of the boys putting in outstanding performances today. Owen, Hywel, Sam Morgan, Luke and Devon each staked their claim because of their impeccable defensive displays along with lung busting attiacks. However, because he returned to the fray after taking a nasty knock to his chin from a stray stud following another piledriving tackle, the award this week goes to Devon.

Most Improved Contribution

This award also presented a tough decision for the same reasons as above. It was decided though, that the award should go Cian for the number of tackles that he made today.

One last thing to mention today. On behalf of the all the boys, parents and grandparents, a huge thank you to Sarah for arranging the boys’ post match trip to the White Water Rafting Centre in Cardiff Bay. The boys enjoyed themselves immensely with an experience I am sure they will never forget!

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