National Bowl: Divisional Quarter-Final, 8 March 2009
This weekend saw the first games in the National U17 competitions, where the best sides from each county play in Divisional knock-outs that can lead to national honours. Medway U17s were nominated to represent Kent RFU in the National Bowl competition and were drawn away to Romsey in Hampshire in the Divisional quarter-final.
Every match at this level will be tough as every team will be rated as one of the top four in their county: Romsey had seven county players and one playing in their first team. It was clear from the kick off that Romsey were a class act, with aggressive tackling and rucking evident and strong running in the backs. Medway flankers Joe Jelfs and Jon Saddington, and the midfield pairing of Stewart Stockford and Richard Verrall, were up to the task, with Verrall especially putting in some punishing tackles. The first five minutes were Romsey's but they made no real scoring chances, and eventually Medway broke out of their half and looked threatening in attack.
Using Tom Barnes, Billy James and Richard Petch as their heavyweight chargers Medway put Romsey on the back foot, and although not completely in tune with the game plan they went close to scoring. The pressure had told though, and a penalty for offside in front of the posts was slotted comfortably by Stockford and Medway had the lead on 15 minutes.
Romsey came back strongly and bossed the game for the next ten minutes, going close to scoring on four occasions. Medway were struggling to clear their lines, and were lucky not to concede a try when a clearance kick was charged down in the in-goal. For what seemed like forever Romsey were winning scrums on Medway's five-metre line, but stubborn defence by Medway held them back from the line or held them up over it. Medway were let off when Romsey missed a penalty goal from in front, and for all their pressure Romsey were repulsed without putting points on the board.
Then it was Medway's turn. Getting into Romsey's five-metre zone and piling on the pressure, player after player crashed into the Romsey defence which stood as firm as Medway's had minutes earlier. Eventually, however, the Medway team complied with the pleas from the sidelines to get the ball wide, and Joe Jelfs was waiting to exploit the space for the first try, which Stockford converted.
Judging by their captain's explosive remarks to his team as they waited for the conversion, Romsey were not used to going behind by as many as ten points at home, and they surged back into the game at the restart. But Medway stood firm in defence and saw out the half.
Usually the team that's behind at half time start the second half by redoubling their effort, tempo and commitment, but it didn't happen for Romsey. Medway came out of the blocks like greyhounds, with Manil Johail, on at number 8 for the half, nailing the receiver at the restart and winning the ball. A minute later after recycling cleanly three times, there was space for Jelfs to go over in the corner for his and Medway's second try. Stockford missed the conversion, but it was just two minutes later that a good passing sequence and a clean break from his own 22 by Richard Verrall ended between the Romsey posts and effectively ended the game as well once Stockford's conversion sailed over. They might have stretched their lead even further when Saddington broke from his own half and looked sure to score, but a heroic chase by Romsey's winger from the other side of the pitch caught the Medway player as he reached the line and wrapped him up so that he couldn't ground the ball.
Medway have never lost a 22 point lead and were not about to start now, but it didn't stop Romsey trying. They came back just as strongly as they had in the first half with powerful running, especially from their outside-centre, troubling a Medway defence that began to tire from the constant assault as the half went on. At last Romsey deservedly got on the scoresheet with a penalty given for offside, but shortly afterwards Stockford sensibly chose to restore the margin by kicking a Medway penalty rather than running it. His side needed a breather!
The rest of the half was Romsey's as they kept their heads up and battered the Medway line. Things might have been grim for the visitors but for their domination of the scrum in the second half, shunting Romsey backwards, disrupting their ball and thus often preventing clean set moves that might have unlocked the defence. Strong tackling from Verrall, Stockford, George Dyer, Richard Petch, Aaron Dimmick and Tom Bourne amongst others kept the home side out for lengthy periods. Bourne, reprising his performance at fullback last week, dealt confidently with anything that Romsey put over the top and counter-attacked at pace with ball in hand, earning the man of the match award. His audacious capture of a high ball at full pelt and without breaking stride will abide in this observer's memory, as he sliced through the forward defence before passing long and wide to the wing, nearly resulting in another try for Medway.
Medway would have liked to deny Romsey a try but it wouldn't have reflected the level of effort and skill that the home side applied. Medway were conceding a lot of penalties trying to keep Romsey at bay - in fact they might have expected to lose a man to the sin bin. Eventually, after being marched for an untoward comment to the referee, the Romsey pack drew in the defence to the extent that swift ball to the left put a Romsey player into the corner despite a valiant effort by Simon Brooks to prevent it. The conversion missed.
Ten minutes remained but Medway were in no mood to allow Romsey back into the game and the referee, who was excellent throughout, brought the game to a close with Medway winning 25 - 8.
Continuing the good work from last week, this was another game in which every player gave their best and their all for the team. Captain Stewart Stockford's leadership was exemplary and has improved greatly since the beginning of the season. This was a great rugby match to watch (if somewhat tense on the touchline at times), played in good spirit between well matched sides that asked and gave no quarter - just as it should be.
