MHRUFC Panthers – U12’s 25-11-2018

Not only a murky foggy morning with limited visibility greeted the panthers on this Sunday morning but
there was also a very physically large Oadby Wiggs (OW) team.
At the warm up the OW were well drilled and practiced continuously and as the mist lifted, visibility improved and so did the Panthers focus. There were 3 quick games of 10 mins each way. Kick off started and OW took control, scoring quickly and MH Panthers struggled to get form. During the latter part of the first half MH showed some true grit, it was like watching an old sport car finally warm up, the choke was pushed back in, the accelerator pressed down hard and the Panthers pulled things back 1-1. After a good team talk from the head coach Dan Bailey the Panthers came out for the second half fully ready. A truly gripping game commenced with all the parents and supporters on full tip toes watching a much closer game, where two further try’s by each teams finished the game a draw 3-3. Sadly, a try by Harry Fleet was disallowed, otherwise it would have been a win for MH.

Game two started & MH jetted off, the team raced across the pitch, drifting past the opposition, a few hand brake type turns and some smashing blows on this big side. An early try followed by a quick second by Harry Fleet & Louis Small. OW followed up with a late first half score. The second half was much closer even though OW changed their side for their strongest and biggest lads. Dylan Small scored his second try of the day and OW matched our efforts in this gripping game to finish MH winning 2-3.

In the final game OW threw everything they had against a mentally and physically exhausted MH side. In the first half of this final game OW were ahead 3-0. In the second half OW scored a further try and MH pulled two try’s back with Jude Smith scoring his second of the day. The final game ended 4-2 to OW.

A truly thrilling day with great team effort! Special mention to Jude Smith for a great effort today and Harry Fleet with his great pace and really magnificent inch perfect kicking should both be noted.