16 September 2007
A try from Worthing two minutes from the end of this tough encounter beat
Medway in their first match of the new season. The U16s will face equally
good or better opposition nearly every week, so this promises to be a challenging
year. Worthing deserved their victory for the quality of their forward
play and perhaps should have won by more.
Medway started well enough, and applied some initial pressure in the Worthing
22, but it wasn't long before Worthing broke out and manoeuvred upfield.
Retaining and recycling the ball well, they drew in the Medway defence
to create an opening out wide for their winger to exploit for the first
try.
Medway came back strongly but were making too many unforced errors to get
into a proper rhythm. Passes were made too late or were inaccurate, and
far too often possession was being turned over on the ground. Poor handling
skills plagued the Medway team throughout the match.
It took some individual flair from Stewart Stockford to get Medway on the
scoresheet. Receiving the ball from a scrum, he dummied past one challenge
and sidestepped another to go under the posts, before converting the try
himself.
Medway continued to struggle to get into their stride, however, and as
Worthing's forwards grew in confidence so did their domination of the set-piece.
Another efficient drive upfield saw them create an opening on the left
wing this time, and the Worthing outside centre scored to make it 10 -
7 to the home side.
Medway don't lie down easily though, even when they aren't playing well.
Back they came, and some fine interplay between Stockford and Gill put
Jonathan Saddington in to the corner, earning Medway a half-time lead of
12 - 10.
In the second-half, the Worthing forwards took complete control. Their
scrummage was solid on their own put-in, and highly disruptive on Medway's,
taking six against the head. Almost every lineout seemed to go to Worthing,
and the Worthing backs enjoyed good clean ball time and again.
In contrast, Medway's backs were starved of decent possession and reduced
almost entirely to a defensive role.
Medway forced a couple of breaks from Jamie Chapman and Tom Bourne, but
both came to nothing and eventually Worthing's persistent stretching of
the Medway defence earned the reward of a winning try in the corner identical
to the two they scored in the first half.
On the plus side, defence in the open was as determined and aggressive
as ever. Joe Jelfs on the openside flank was a tireless nuisance to the
opposition. Stewart Stockford and Aman Gill were at the heart of every
combination in the backs.
But it's impossible to win a rugby match if you don't have the ball. Medway
failed to win their own scrums and lineouts, were too often turned over
on the ground, and didn't pass and handle the ball well. This game was
won through technical superiority.
