Camberley U13’s vs Cranleigh U13’s

Camberley 10 – Cranleigh 20

After the recent cold, dry weather and last week’s narrow defeat away at Pullborough, the U13s were back on the road again at a damp, chilly Camberley.  We have had consistent success against this side in recent seasons and we went into this match having played some really smart and attractive rugby over recent weeks.  We were a depleted squad today with a number of players out through illness.  However even during the warm up the boys seemed unfazed by the absentees and were right in the zone with some sharp, crisp handling drills and the team in listening mode.

Camberley kicked off and right from that moment it was clear that our restart catches, an area we struggled with last week were much improved.  A clean catch and quick ruck ball (another vastly improved area when we arrive at the ruck quickly and with purpose) saw James at 9 move the ball wide through the backs and start the first of many superb attacking plays. Jim’s work with the backs is really starting to pay off and it was an absolute pleasure to see the boys letting the ball do the work so often, moving the ball wide through all the backs with some beautifully timed passes, or cutting back in to straighten the attack, with Josh F at centre coming in with real pace and  hard running on the crash ball.  Our definite superiority in the attacking phases was only thwarted by some really determined defence from Camberley.  

In the forwards, with the oppo fielding some much bigger players, as is so often the case, the boys stepped up brilliantly.  Paul has been working with the front row to get hips lower to the ground at scrum time in a more dynamic position to counter taller packs.  This they did well and some great strikes from Arthur meant we won plenty of ball.  Our rucking, now so much improved, was fast and aggressive giving our half backs time and space to make intelligent decisions.

Numerous attacking plays finally told and from a solid scrum the backs identified an overlap on the right. Johnny switched the play and a beautifully timed pass from James saw Johnny going over from 10m out for the opening score.

A nasty head knock meant that Will was forced off (hope you’re feeling ok Will) but unperturbed the boys stuck to their work with real team spirit.  Our defensive sets were also another much improved area of the game with tackles going in with real intensity.  Our line speed was so good that Camberley were forced into numerous handling errors. A mention here to Ben, Aden, Padg and Joss for some great work.  Camberley fought back hard with some direct running and a couple of rare missed tackles saw them crash over in the corner to level the scores.

Further attacks by Camberley came to nothing and some excellent defence including a superb ultra low tackle by Josh C and a cruncher from Joss prevented any further scores. With a minute of the first half remaining today’s skipper Vinnie called “giraffe ball” and Arthur (low slung and powerful) burst through some half hearted tackling to score and put Cranleigh 10-5 up at the break.

Such is the confidence in the squad at the moment that rotating the team at half time meant that changes made no difference to our intensity and skill levels. Jack having made the move from second row to centre recently, showed some sweet ball handling meaning Seb, Joel, Josh F, Felix and Finn could keep doing what they do best and stretch Camberley wide forcing them to defend the touchlines.  Ahaan came on in the second row to keep the scrum honest and he and Finley made sure we lost none of the go forward we needed to keep giving our backs quality ball.

More of this joined up play meant the boys were soon in attack mode again and a series of well timed passes with some nice looping play gave Seb the opportunity to weave his way through traffic for a lovely score to put us 15-5 ahead.  Throughout the game our improvement across the pitch was so notable.  Johnny’s kicking game was on song today and some probing kicks and determined kick chases from the boys meant that Camberley fumbled a number of catches under pressure.

A further score from Camberley got them to 10-15, but with a bit of indiscipline creeping in to their ranks, more quick ruck ball and lovely handling from us saw Finn come off his wing and take a terrific pass from Seb to crash through the defence from 20m to score and seal the win for Cranleigh at 20-10.

This was Finley’s last game for Cranleigh. He had another superb game today, with his trademark bullocking runs and dominant tackles.  His contribution to this team cannot be overstated.  We will miss you Finley and wish you all the very best on your new adventure.

This was a fabulous team performance today from everybody. We should all be so proud of the boys for their effort, guts and determination. We can’t wait to have the guys missing today back playing in the New Year to carry on contributing to the team.

A special mention to Arlo for running the line today and team doc Sophie for being “on call” even though Jake was unwell.

Man of the match as nominated by Camberley was Johnny.

Man of the match as nominated by Cranleigh was Charlie (Camberley skipper and 2nd row).