Half The World Away

We have been trying to secure this fixture in the schedule for a while and the u15s were delighted to travel to Sixways for what was expected to be a challenging game.

Worcester started well. Their players were strong and quick, and varied their attack intelligently. Harborough were under pressure from the start, but the defence was up to the job, and some smart clearance kicks from Matty Stamp and Ross Primrose kept the home side at bay. Once they had withstood the early onslaught, Harborough were able to start exerting some pressure of their own, with a series of threatening attacks. Will Nijjer came close with a drive for the line following a quick tap penalty by Ed Duggan, but was forced in to touch.

James Melody, back after an injury lay off, started the move that lead to the first score, breaking and passing to Huw Davies who released Max Dalby for the try. Will Hallam converted and Harborough were 0 – 7 up.

Worcester were stronger in the scrum although Harborough managed to secure their own ball, even when they were pushed back. The home side spilled a bit of ball in the first half and Primrose pounced on one such error, making a fine solo break to score under the posts. Hallam again converted to take the score to 0 – 14.

Harborough were scrapping hard for the ball and it was good to have Melody back at his scavenging best. Worcester did force a score through their powerful forwards before half time, to make it 5 – 14 at the break. It was clear where they were on top.

The second half saw a change in fortunes. Worcester scored two tries quite quickly, with possession coughed up cheaply by Harborough. The home side had clearly decided to run it through their more powerful forwards, where they had the upper hand. They now had their tails up and stretched the lead to 20 – 14.

Harborough were still an attacking threat and came close to scoring, but the defensive effort was bound to cause to some late tiredness. The last score a minute from time made the result of 25 – 14 seem a little harsh on the visitors. This was a well contested game between two very committed sides, played with passion and in a good spirit. Next time, perhaps…