4th Oct'09:
Hinckley U11s v Derby U11s
So, the first
competitive weekend of the 2009-2010 season saw 22 eager
players descend on Hinckley Rugby Club. Previous encounters
with our opponents were usually closely contested, hard
fought games against well organised teams and so it was to
prove on this occasion.
The first game saw Hinckley firmly in the ascendency early
on as the Derby players struggled to find any rhythm and
cohesion. Too often our players were guilty of failing to
secure the ball when taking it into contact or of attempting
to pick it up at ruck situations instead of clearing out the
opposition. Staunch defence in the 2nd half saw Derby gain a
foothold in the match but unfortunately it was not enough
with Hinckley running out as 3 - 1 winners.
The second match saw the introduction of the remaining 10
players and they immediately applied much more pressure on
the opposition although a few promising opportunities were
squandered during the first half through running across the
pitch rather than straight. A quick chat at half-time sorted
this out and Derby continued to exert strong pressure
throughout the 2nd period. The Derby forwards dominated the
scrum & the team scored some excellent tries to run out
eventual 4 – 2 winners.
The final game turned out to be a very close affair as both
sides made regular substitutions which gave us a good chance
to experiment with one or two combinations of players. Some
of our earlier failings returned as players failed to
control the ball effectively but overall there were a number
of encouraging signs with the line-out in particular
starting to function well. Hinckley just managed to edge the
game however with the final score being 2 – 1 in their
favour.
Match Report by
Nigel Bentley
