MHRUFC U14s Vs Coalville

Thie first game of the season where a select team is fielded is always going to be hard for Players Coaches and Parents, there's a certain level of expectation and desire and after an early crash out of the County Cup last season there was a genuine sense of aprehnsion this morning. As the boys warmed up it was clear that the previous season's early departure was the elaphant in the room. Wet slippery ground was going to make the going tough and the bright sunlight that Harborough were facing in the first half wasn't helping any, and meant high kicks were off the menu. Captain Will Adams laid out straight what was at stake for the team and despite the nerves the boys took to the pitch looking confident.
Coalville kicked off and looked pretty threatening around the breakdowns. Harborough played tough keeping possession applying pressure to Coalville's solid looking pack, driving them back into their own half Harborough delivered a neat series of quick passes out fast and wide to centre Tom Wainwright who's speed proved too much for the opposition backs allowing him to rack up five points followed by a further two with a tidy conversion by Fly Half Will Dawson. With numbers on the board Harborough's nerve had settled. Coalville were straight back into it, and the kick off and chase saw them camped firmly in the Harborough 22. The defence was steady as the Harborough pack battled it out for a good five minutes holding Coalville back and as the work rate intensified front row James Watkins, Thomas Melody and Max Halls stole the ball back, a neat kick over from Dawson saw Coalville racing back to defend as the rest of the Harborough forwards Thomas Dyson, Josh Ford, Sam Dexter, Ben Marshall and Capt Will Adams powered after the ball. A ruck on the Coalville 5 metre presented a golden opportunity for Scrum Half Dan Hands who sniped around left bulldozing a Coalville prop aside to claim Harborough a second try and with a further conversion from Dawson Harborough were up to 14. Josh Ford came off injured and was replaced by Mathew Robinson. Coalville's pack were relentless in their efforts to claim something back and superb tackling from backs Geordan Bedford, Oliver Hoare and Josh Guerriero created all sorts of trouble, Coalville simply couldn't get through. Another overhead kick resulted in a scrum tight on the left just within the Coalville half. A great drive over allowed number eight Marshall to pick up and run, choosing the narrow blinside he was still able to punch through, drawing two defenders he still managed to do a textbook offload to Scrum Half Hands who was in hot pursuit and took the ball a good 20 metres around to score his second right under the posts. Dawson converted again and at half time Harborough were a comfrotable 21 points ahead.
A shoulder injury meant Inside Center Oli Hoare would have to sit the second half out. A quick reshuffle moved Hands out to 12 and Dexter out from the pack into the backs and Alex McGregor in for Scrum Half duites. Harborough gave away a number of penalties for hands in the ruck which allowed Coalville to get back into the game, the two teams looked pretty even in ruck and scrum but it was the better ball handling and tackling that would allow Harborough to retain their edge. Despite tremendous pressure Harborough stood firm and pushed Coalville back, Sam Dexter now playing on the wing scored bulldozing through the defenders more by brute force than his usual speed, a more awkward angle denied Dawson another conversion though. By now Harborough were starting to tire and fresh legs in the form of Theo Barre and William Henderson in the forwards and Elliot Coxon in the backs helped keep things on track. The final try came from a set piece penalty move allowing Dawson to run straight through and score which he rounded off with another conversion.
A stirling performance all round, great ball handling and rucking and superb tackling not only gave Harbrough their points but also denied Coalville any real opportunity to get any on the board. Fullback Jack Rowlatt was always in the thick of it but for once didn't need to put in one of his game saving tackles.
Final score MHRUFC 33 Coalville 0
The elephant has left the building