U15
Matches
Sun 14 Oct 2018
Southwell
5
10
Chesterfield Panthers
U15
Dogged Determination Leads To Chesterfield Win

Dogged Determination Leads To Chesterfield Win

Jim Wright14 Oct 2018 - 15:49
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Wet! Wet! Wet!!!

On a day more suited to synchronised swimming rather than rugby a depleted Chesterfield Panthers squad made the journey to Southwell for the second time in a 4 weeks.

Having narrowly won the NLD fixture between these two sides last month Chesterfield knew that only a top draw performance would be good enough today. Appalling weather conditions meant that both sides had to keep things tight and the game soon developed into a war of attrition. Early Southwell pressure was absorbed well by Chesterfield , especially around the fringes of the ruck, and also at scrum time by the back row trio of Joe Hipkiss, Lucas Bushby and Captain, Harvey Sturman.

Chesterfield barely entered the opposition half during the first ten minutes of the game but then a penalty infringement by Southwell inside their 10 metre line led to a first real attacking opportunity. A miscued touch kick from Ed Bygrave, playing today at Centre, came down within the Southwell dead ball area. Although the Southwell right Wing was well positioned he unfortunately failed to catch cleanly and knocked on. The ensuing advantage saw Panther's left Wing, Elliot Davenport, collect the ball and dot it down for the first score.

An excellent conversion kick from such a wide position by Fly Half, Will Bygrave, slipped agonisingly wide leaving the score at 5 - 0.
The remaining 20 minutes of the first half saw more of the same with neither side being able to gain the upper hand or turn possession into any real pressure.

From the off, Southwell started the second half with a noticeable increase in tempo, taking every opportunity to keep the ball alive and in hand. Helped by a litany of penalties from Panthers they camped firmly in the red zone for nearly 15 minutes but were unable to turn any of the pressure into points. Dogged defence, good organisation and ferocious tackling from Panthers as a whole saw Southwell come away empty handed, despite crossing the whitewash on three occasions, all of which were held up .

As the game entered the final quarter further pressure then had to be absorbed by Panthers when they found themselves down to 14 men for 6 minutes following an uncharacteristic act of foul play from tight head Prop, Sam Wass.

A change in tactic from Southwell at this time, which saw them kick out of hand without any real depth or conviction, was dealt with well by Panther's back three of Will Pollard, Elliot Davenport and Jake Wright (playing out of position at fullback rather than his usual Number 8 role),
all fielding the high ball cleanly and returned it with interest. Indeed Jake Wright caught the ball midfield on the Southwell ten metre line and set off on an arcing run out towards the left touchline, easily breaking the gain line before Southwell could get near him, fending off two defenders as he entered the 22, escaping a tap tackle and again using his physicality to bounce off another tackle and slide over in the corner for his second try in as many weeks. The resulting conversion was missed, leaving the score at 10 - 0 with a little over 5 minutes to go.

Southwell then really showed there mettle as the game headed towards the death. From a lineout they managed to string several phases of play together, moving the ball down the three quarters and getting over the gain line with each attack, Finally they found an overlap out on Panther's left flank to score a well deserved try but were unable to then add the extra two points.

Panthers then held on for the final two minutes to register their second win in three outings so far this season.

A competent tight 5 performance at lineout and scrum time throughout the game from Todd Bradley, Aaron Blair, Sam Wass, Saul Whitehead and George from Southwell gave Panthers plenty of front foot ball. Another faultless and pacey performance from centre Ben Carley and a first full 60 minute outing for developing scrum half Connor Rimington topped off a complete full 15 team Man of the Match performance.

Overall, a fantastic game of physical rugby from both sides, played in good spirit. Final score Southwell 5, Chesterfield Panthers 10

Match details

Match date

Sun 14 Oct 2018

Kickoff

11:00
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