Harborough Under14s Vs Nottingham Corsairs

A very blustery start to a Sunday morning as the two teams turned out to christen Harborough's new pitch 6. Front row Theo Barre had to drop out at the last minute and so Ollie Hoare who had turned out to support made up the numbers, it always pays to have your kit bag with you.. Corsairs had proved themselves as a very competent opposition early last season so the U14s knew that they had a tough game ahead. After holding a minutes silence in honour of the victims of Fridays' terror attacks in Paris the players took their positions.
Harborough got off to a blinding start as Fly Half William Dawson took a neat interception of a Corsairs offload, the Harborough pack ploughed through in pursuit and Number 8 Ben Marshall handed off a lonely Corsairs defender to land the ball and put Harborough five points up in a matter of minutes. Despite the cross wind Dawson made a superb conversion and the home team were seven points up. Corsairs looked utterly stunned to be behind so early on as they returned for the restart. In such weather conditions it looked as though it would be a fairly forwards dominated game and Harborough's pack were to prove themselves time and again at the breakdowns. Back row Charlie Power created some cracking turnovers and tremendous rucking by the the rest of the pack James Watkins, William Henderson, Josh Guerriero and Matthew Robinson kept the Corsairs forwards wrapped up. Driven on by Captain and flanker Will Adams it was Hooker Thomas Melody who blasted through and over Corsair's try line to claim Harborough's second again nimbly converted by Dawson. Following the restart the backs were determined to get in on the action, a neat pass away from Scrum Half Alex McGregor went through the hands of Centre Ollie Hoare and across to Tom Wainwright who carved a path through the disorganised Corsairs backs to plant Harborough's third. This time the wind proved too much for Dawson and the conversion went wide. It was barely 15 minutes into the first half and Harborough had a comfortable 19 point lead. Corsairs finally found their pace and for a while the game started to even out some. Winger Geordan Bedford worked hard to snuff out Corsairs efforts out wide ably backed by Fullback Jack Rowlatt. This flurry of attacks only served to make Harborough more inventive. Rowlatt picked up a kick through, saw an opportunity and made a spectacular run from the Harborough half right through to claim a fourth try just ahead of the half time whistle, the conversion fell wide though.
Corsairs looked visibly shaken, this was the first time this season that they had not been in control of a game. As the second half started Left Wing Dan Hands swapped places with Scrum Half Alex McGregor and fresh forwards in the shape of Thomas Dyson and Max Halls stepped up. Harborough scrummaging had been pretty dominant in the first half and this form continued in the second half. A great drive allowed Hands to put quick distribution out through Dawson to Wainwright who’s pace proved way too much for any tackle and he strode home for his second try, Dawson, despite kicking into the wind, still managed to convert. Harborough's heads were up and flankers Will Adams and Sam Dexter created havoc around the breakdowns. Dexter's pace was a fearsome sight which had Corsairs putting in endless game saving tackles to keep Harborough at bay. A lack of concentration allowed Corsairs to take possession, some nimble passing and great footwork allowed them to finally find a crack in the defenders line to press home their first try of the game, a hard earned and worthy effort which gave them a little lift. The attempted conversion was nowhere near the posts and they had to settle for just the five points. More determined than ever Harborough piled on the pressure following the restart. As the forwards drove Corsairs back into their own half the backs gave a great display of distribution. Centre Hoare seized an opportunity and crashed through for what looked his first try but it was held up by a desperate defender. Falling back for the scrum it was Hooker Thomas Melody who claimed his second with an unstoppable drive over the try line. As the game neared the final whistle it was Harborough's backs who once displayed again their line speed. Expert passing through the hands of Dawson, Hands, Wainwright and Fullback Rowlatt had Corsairs all over the place as the defenders scrambled to put tackles in. In the end the fluid movement of the ball through the attackers hands proved too much and Rowlatt gained his second try. Dawson put in the conversion and the game ended with 43-5 score line.
Corsairs headed north licking their wounds having been beaten for the first time this season as Harborough celebrated a genuine triumph over what had been considered a probable defeat.