Windsor U16's v Bracknell - LEAGUE
29th January 2006by Dr FT Bosh
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Centre Sam Turner breaks the gain line again.
Windsor’s second league match was played this Sunday against old rivals Bracknell. There was a palpable sense of tension in the air as the two teams came out on to the field. The much-improved Bracknell side are going through a period of transition and can now boast five County players in their ranks, the extra frisson in the atmosphere may have been enhanced by the fact that, until recently, three of the Bracknell ranks used to play for Windsor.
Bracknell won the toss and chose to play with the breeze and sun at their backs. Fly half Jonny Whitehead’s beautifully lofted kick off, gave prop Tom Birch just enough time to get to full speed before crash tackling the Bracknell receiver as he caught the ball. From the inevitable knock on, the Windsor pack gave secure ball for the three-quarters. Scrum half Andy Pedder fed the ball out and centre Sam Turner crashed through the Bracknell primary defences, eventually tackled, the ball was recycled and a period of frenetic play began. Such was the desire, of both teams, to demolish the other, that neither team settled into “joined up” rugby. Jonny Whitehead’s early attempt to jink his way through the Bracknell line put him on the end of a strong “dump” tackle from his opposite number. When Bracknell got the ball they consistently kicked possession away in an attempt to pressure the Windsor fullback Laurence Chetwynd. However, with the exception of one early knock on, this was a strategy that yielded very little, as Chetwynd was secure at the back.
The first break came for Windsor. As Windsor kicked ahead from their own 22, they failed to find touch. The Bracknell fullback retrieved the ball and attempted to counter attack up the wing channel. Hit hard by winger Peter Lewis, the breakdown was joined by Turner and flanker Rehmen Grewal. Grewal stripped the ball away and sprinted the remaining 35 yards to score Windsor’s first.
Windsor now started to settle into their game and began the slow, but inevitable dominance of the game. Hooker Harvey Payne struck against the head and the Windsor pack looked solid. Breaking away from a maul, second row Jamie Curtis powered his way upfield, a good tackle in the centre brought him down, but the offload went into the fired up Rehmen Grewal’s hands. Grewal made it to 5 yards out and then slipped the ball to supporting flanker Joe Baker, who drove through the final Bracknell defence to score a converted try and tighten the screw.
In the second half, Windsor had the breeze and the momentum. The Windsor pack began the half with a 25 yard drive that saw Bracknell eventually forced to bring the maul down. The backs began to punch holes in the Bracknell defence. Turner consistently broke the gain line and, when linking with Richie Eccles at inside centre, looked particularly dangerous. Bracknell, however, tackled well, but were caught out when a miss pass from Whitehead, combined with a dummy run from Eccles, caught their centre flat footed. Winger Bradley Lema caught the ball at full pace and broke the fullback’s tackle to score a superb winger’s try.
Windsor were now rampant, the forwards, notably Casper Hughes and Baldeep Sahota, ripped it up and were soon down in the Bracknell 22 again, following another storming run from Turner. Bracknell probably expected to clear their lines from the line out, but the throw in was not straight. At the five-yard scrum, the ball fired out, was picked up cleanly by Tom Birch and he was unstoppable so close to the line.
Birch was soon in the thick of it again, when on Windsor’s next possession, he smashed through two tackles and headed for the Bracknell try line. Again the Bracknell centre slowed up Windsor’s progress, but the ball was recycled and Eccles set Turner loose again. Brought down 5 yards out, Andy Pedder was quick to get to the ruck and his blindside break was so low and quick that the Bracknell defence couldn’t stop his score.
A series of penalties against Windsor saw Bracknell make some ground, taken quickly, they moved 30 yards up field, but were unable to convert the possession into points. When Harvey Payne struck against the head on a Bracknell scrum, 5 yards in from the touchline, watchful Number 8 Jamie Fleming had spotted that Bracknell had taken their blindside winger round to bolster the centre. Picking up before Bracknell could re-adjust to the lost ball, he charged 40 yards up the blindside. As the Bracknell fullback came across to tackle, a heavy collision looked inevitable, but Fleming rode the tackle, with out breaking stride and powered into take an “Andy Ripley-esque” score, that was superbly converted by Andy Pedder.
Bracknell returned the ball to Windsor from their next possession, when a poor clearance kick went straight to Lewis, drawing his man he popped the ball back inside to Turner. Once again Turner got over the gain line and took the ball into the Bracknell 22. From the resultant maul it was the mighty Baldeep Sahota who peeled away and used his strength to force his way over the line to score, a just reward for all his work in the loose.
Bracknell continued to compete, but never really looked like scoring. Their full back came into the line at pace, but Chetwynd had stepped up to cover the player, his strong tackle stopped the move and Windsor recovered the ball. Pedder fed the ball to Whitehead, who angled his run towards the centres. His dummy and step inside caught the defence unawares and he straightened his line and ran in 40 yards to score under the posts, giving James Barth an easy first conversion.
This was the last play of the game and the two sides were sincere in their mutual applause as they left the field. Baldeep Sahota was awarded Man of the Match “for his stupendous performance” and Windsor can now prepare for the rest of their league fixtures.
Result
Windsor 46 Bracknell 0
Scorers:
Trys: Grewal, Baker, Lema, Birch, Pedder, Fleming, Sahota, Whitehead.
Conversions: Whitehead, Pedder, Barth