U14s v Silhillians

The going was good to yielding and the rain stayed away. The mood was good and the MH U14’s were focussed and really up for the challenge. Following a strong leadership performance last week Jake Dowling took on the role as captain, we wanted to continue on with the strong team spirit from our game last week at Rushden.
We were welcoming Will Leebrook and Max Gent back from injury which lifted the spirits, and it didn’t take long for both of them to pick up from where they left off, both hitting tackles and rucks like men possessed.
SILS however were a well drilled team with more than a handful of very useful players. It did not take long for them to find some space out wide and we found ourselves a try down after 2 minutes. We responded well with some good line speed putting the SILS line under pressure and Elliott Powell pounced on a loose ball to run in a well-deserved try. Game on!

We didn’t manage to contain the strong SILS attack and some loose marking around the rucks allowed the SILS ‘pick & go’ game to deliver a few tries. We also leaked a few out wide as we narrowed our defence to try and attack their pick & go. Our guys responded really well and their heads never dropped, some of the tackling was super strong, with Charlie Jones and Will Leebrook showing off their ability to stop a rolling train!
We will let Seb Russell off a fine for wearing red socks, only because he put in a strong and resilient performance, putting his body on the line to hold up two tries.
Fergus Gilligan read the game well and created a number of opportunities as he spotted the space and Harrison channelled his aggression and energy to ensure that we shut down his outside channel for a long section of the game.
In the second half SILS ran at us hard, using the strong wind to exploit a kick and chase game. They gained 30 yards with each kick. It was difficult to defend against however the MH team stuck to the task. SILS moved the ball well and scored some good tries, the better team won the game, however in our post game catch up huddle the MH boys analysed the game well and were surprisingly upbeat.
In summary, a tough yet enjoyable game of rugby….