Medway RFC U16s

14 October 2007

Knocked out of the Golden Boot competition at the pool stage by a last minute try and conversion, the Medway U16s had to make do with winning the Plate and did it with a last gasp try of their own from in-form wing Tom Bourne.

Medway had high hopes and were certainly capable of winning the Golden Boot - an invitational memorial competition for U16 sides held at Brentwood every year. Unfortunately the fine team play and excellent passing and handling of last week failed to materialise this week.

The nine minutes each-way pool matches began with a regulation victory over Barking. Medway controlled the play for most of the game and were rewarded with a 12 - 0 win. Midway through the first half Paul Pierce showed his strength to force his way through four tacklers after a quick tap penalty on Barking's five metre line, and Stewart Stockford converted.

In the second half Medway won the ball from a ruck on Barking's 22, and moved the ball wide. Tom Bourne was caught by two defenders, but stayed on his feet until the pack arrived to heave him over the line.

Against Chelmsford in the second pool match Medway again won the game without playing anywhere near their best. It was late in the first half before the angel-faced assassin Joe Jelfs broke clear from his own half and it looked like he would go all the way until a despairing tap tackle brought him down. But he popped the ball up off the ground for Stewart Stockford, who went over close to the posts from five metres out and converted his own try.

Late in the half Chelmsford kicked a penalty to make the half time score 7 - 3 to Medway, but Medway finished the game with a good backs move and finish from Richard Verrall in the second half to take the game 12 - 3.

Other results meant that Medway needed a win or draw in the last pool game against Chingford to go through as pool winners into the Golden Boot semi-final. It wasn't to be. Chingford were a dangerous side with a big pack and an athletic back three.

In the first half Chingford consistently put Medway under pressure, and as the defence was stretched a clever inside pass put their scrum half under the posts. Somehow the conversion missed and Medway turned round only five points down, when it might have been more.

Medway hit back in the second half with two tries. The first was made by a power run from Richard Verrall. He was hauled down by the defending fullback a few metres short, but Tom Bourne was on hand to take the pop-up and dive over from two metres out.

The second was straight off the training ground and a classic forwards try. A lineout on Chingford's five metre line was gathered at the front by Paul Pierce, the maul was steadily rolled to the Chingford line and Aaron Dimmick dropped over it to take Medway into the lead 10 - 5.

Chingford came straight back though and in the last play of the game from a lineout their forwards worked the ball into a position to score from short range. At 10 - 10 Chingford needed the conversion to go through as pool winners and unfortunately for Medway there was no mistake. Medway came second in the group and went into the Plate semi-final against Westcliff.

The U16s "don't do" Plate competitions, and for most of the semi-final looked and played as if they would rather have gone home. Westcliff put some early pressure on but when Medway won a lineout on their own five metre line and moved it wide, Richard Verrall went onto auto-pilot and stormed down the pitch in his usual buccaneering fashion and dived between the posts. But then the general malaise returned as he fluffed the conversion horribly.

Westcliff sensed Medway's bad mood and their forwards put pressure on Medway's goal line for long periods. Eventually a try was deservedly forced in the corner late in the half and the teams turned round at 5 - 5.

It was only three minutes from the end of the match that Medway's interest in the proceedings finally reawakened and it was Simon Brooks who was the catalyst with a fine individual try. A clearance kick from Verrall was chased up and gathered by Brooks who somehow span out of a tackle and ran the 60 metres to the posts. Stockford converted to take Medway to 12 - 5.

A minute later and the ball was moved rapidly down the back line from a lineout. Verrall was tackled but presented quick ball for Aman Gill to fire a pass to winger Bourne who stepped inside his counterpart to dive in once more. Stockford converted again and suddenly Medway had their biggest win of the day at 19 - 5, a place in the final against South Woodham Ferrers, and renewed enthusiasm for silverware.

The final was one of the strangest games that Medway has ever played. Medway seemed to be up for it and for the first five minutes kept the pressure on Woodham's goal line but failed to break through. Medway then spent the whole of the last 23 minutes of the match with their backs to the wall in their own 22 defending against wave after wave of Woodham attacks.

Whenever they won the ball Medway failed to find touch with their kicks. They failed to find touch with their penalties. And every one of those kicks was run straight back into the danger area. It seemed impossible that Woodham could keep up such pressure and not score, and three times they forced overlaps only for the final pass to go astray or be dropped.

Every one of the Medway team flung their bodies at the attackers without regard for their own safety. Richard Petch deserved a medal after being laid out for several seconds from a severe blow to the head, but got up and staggered like a drunkard back into the line until the ball went dead and he could collapse gracefully and wait for the sponge.

Skipper Stewart, wearing a huge
white sombrero, picks up the
latest shiny thing

Winning is a habit fed by strong, sound and stubborn defence - if the opposition can't score you've always got a chance. Medway's chance came seconds from the end of the game. Somehow Medway had got out of their 22 and Woodham had the put-in to a scrum on half way. They tried a switch in midfield, but Verrall was wise to it and put enough pressure on the fly-half that his pass went askew.

As the ball bounced loose Tom Bourne nipped in between the centre and wing, grabbed the ball, escaped both players and made off. As a covering player sprinted across to cut him off he half stopped and looked to pass inside, a movement that turned into a brilliant dummy as the Woodham player hesitated for the split second that let Bourne step out of the tackle, accelerate over the final 20 metres and dive into the corner for his fourth and best try of the day.

Having evaded the Woodham defence, Tom was nearly knocked flat by his exultant teammates. The conversion was missed but the final whistle went immediately and Medway had their second piece of shiny stuff for the season.

THE PLATE WINNERS
Standing, left to right: Ian Findlay, Billy James, Mitch Dalton, George Dyer,
Tom Bourne, Richard Petch, Jonathan Saddington, Steve Lowery, James Davies,
Simon Brooks, Stewart Stockford, Richard Verrall, Paul Pierce

Kneeling or whatever: Aman Gill, Ryan Ellis, Ryan Williams, Jamie Chapman,
Jack Thompson, Joe Jelfs, Jordan Hannah