Sheppey Under 13s (5) v Dover Under 13s (15)
Played 20/01/2008
On Sunday 20th January, the team travelled to The Ditch on the Isle of Sheppey - home of Sheppey RFC. Having lost a closely matched game last week against Thanet the youthful Sharks were fired up and ready to make a difference.
An early run by Dover saw good defence by Sheppey and they won the ball. Some feisty high tackling by Dover’s Luke Rigden unfortunately gave an early penalty to Sheppey but they were unable to make advantage of it and lost the ball to a Dover lineout. Lineouts during the game for both sides were rarely straight due to the wind so often ending with scrum down. A Sheppey won scrum saw the Sheppey forwards making good progress into the Dover half. Rigden manages to kick ball away from the Dover try line. A penalty follows closely after with Shaun Fields driving the ball forward until it is lost to a Sheppey lineout, Hal Bryan wins the ball from the lineout which is taken away by Rigden. Sheppey then gain the ball but meet some good defence particularly from Oliver Latham. Ball remains in Dover half and with an inside pass the Islanders drive the ball to the Dover try line and keep the ball alive to score their first try but no subsequent conversion.
The young Sharks keep their heads up and are looking determined from the off. They drive into the Sheppey half and play remains there with a series of lineouts – first Dover then Sheppey – again all of which fail to be straight leading to a Dover scrum. Sheppey win the ball and charge into the Dover half only for the ball to be kicked into the possession of Jack Smith who manages to take the ball out of play. A Sheppey lineout sees Dover win the ball again followed by some excellent passing where Dover keep the ball alive. Dover keep the ball in the Sheppey half and shortly after James Hornsey get’s his maiden try. Tom Clarke takes the conversion but is unlucky.
It’s all to play for at half time with 5 points to each side.
A positive start to the second half saw Rigden running the ball into the Sheppey defence supported by Aidan Harper who took the ball even deeper. A pass back to Rigden but was taken out of play by some solid defence work by the Islanders. A Sheppey lineout followed but Dover gained the ball once more and some solid driving pressure by the Shark’s forwards working hard saw Rigden gain the ball once more to deliver Dover’s second try. Clarke worked hard to get the conversion but was again unlucky.
Sheppey not willing to concede yet, bring some pressure and even start to dominate in the Dover half with their number 8 keeping their hopes alive with some good play. A Sheppey scrum follows shortly after with Rigden taking the ball away after some good work by the Dover scrum half – Joe Bisset. A knock on after some Sheppey pressure sees Sheppey win their scrum but Harper and Smith both provide good defensive tackles only for Sheppey to win the ball again. A Sheppey scrum sees Rigden away with the ball again with Latham taking the ball deeper into Sheppey territory. A knock on results in a Sheppey scrum with them winning possession only to lose it with a break by Rigden and Harper working well together. Kicked away by Sheppey. The succession of lineouts ended with a Dover scrum with Harper winning possession passing to Latham and then Rigden taking forward to a knock on. A Sheppey scrum sees the Shark forwards driving the ball deeper and nearer the Islander try line. Rigden gets the ball and is away to get the try.
Dover keep the momentum up to the last with some good work by Latham and Sam Gibbs who get the ball to Robert Duffy who runs the ball down the line and almost gets the try but is beaten by the corner flag as the Islander’s defences swing in.
An excellent Dover away performance that shows exactly what these
young Sharks are capable of when they all work together as a team.
Under 13s : Luke Allen, Joe Bisset, Hal Bryan, Jordan Caldwell, Tom
Clark, Robert Duffy, Shaun Fields, Sam Gibbs, Issack Goeghegan, Aidan
Harper, Sam Harrison, Joe Killick-Baker, Oliver Latham, Luke Rigden,
Thomas Saunders, Jack Smith, Oliver Thomson, Joe Tonkin.
Coach: George Clark
Reported by Dave Allen
