Two hotly contested U11's games v. Paviors at Kelham Road

Written by Ian Gooden & Richard Marshall
Checked by Alan Staines

Paviors decision to select delineated A and Development teams was always going to result in two very different matches for Newark's two mixed ability squads. All in all an excellent morning of rugby at Kelham road.

WHITE SQUAD

Coaches; Ian & Jason
Team; Josh, Teddy, Calum, Kye, Jack, Finn, Elliott, Matthew G, Matthew W, Freddie, Thomas, Monty & Joe R

Games 1 - The White's opening game against Paviors Development was always in danger of being one-sided and so it turned out. From the outset Newark were simply the more physical side and put Paviors under constant pressure at the breakdown. Some excellent rucking resulted in good quality ball that our backs used to great effect. Freddie, Elliot and Tomas all made excellent ground and much of the first half was played in the opposition half of the pitch.

No doubt to try and relieve the pressure, Paviors tested Newark with several deep high kicks that our backs dealt with admirably. Playing as a full back Matthew G ran one such kick straight back - taking the ball inside the 22 and scoring at the other end.

Before the game we worked hard on our scrum technique with props Teddy and Josh and alternating hookers Calum and Jack. They took that into the game to such effect that Newark secured all their own balls and made several strikes against the head, a big improvement on last week against Stamford.

If anything Newark upped their game in the second half with Monty, Matthew W and Joe R all playing a big part in building a highly impressive score. It might have been easy to lose concentration but instead the team remained focused and finished without conceding a single try.

Without doubt Kye and Josh had their best games to date in a Newark shirt.

Game 2 - The second game was always going to be tougher. Paviors A team bringing a combination of speed and skill that really tested the Whites. The pressure resulted in Newark losing both their shape and focus. And that brought out some of the weaknesses we have seen against better sides this season.

At the ruck the first priority is to protect the ball. Unfortunately we saw too many examples of players holding back - wanting to be the one to pick up the ball or be the first receiver rather drive in and get over the ball. That hesitation allowed a strong Paviors team to repeatedly win what should have been a Newark ball. The desire to run with the ball is understandable - but to do that you've got to win it first!

We also had too many examples of players running with the ball without support. Once isolated and tackled the outcome was inevitable - losing the ball and putting us back under defensive pressure.

We will be working hard on this in training - as well as eliminating the tendency to run the ball back in to trouble rather than passing it into space.

The constant pressure also saw us lose our defensive shape - creating spaces for Paviors to exploit with their pace. That said, there were excellent individual examples of tackling. Tomas and Monty deserve special mention for their technique and consistency.

The main upside of this game was the consistency of the scrum. Carrying on from the first game we consistently won our own ball and took a good amount of Paviors ball too.

No doubt the Whites will come away from today with mixed feelings. When they establish early dominance as they did in the first game they are an impressive unit. What they now have to work on is how they respond against tough, physical sides who break their rhythm and apply consistent pressure. Not giving away the ball easily is the key next step up. You cannot fault the individual effort but against stronger sides we must play and defend as a team!

BLUE SQUAD

Coaches; Richard & Vince

Team; Joshi, Alex G, Alexander, Noah, Tom, Tommy, Harley, Harvey, Henry B, Henry M, Joe D, Dom, James, Lewis & Oscar

Game1 - The boys started off well, against the stronger Paviors team, with an initial drive leading to a try. From then on the 1st half was played in our half, with Paviors stronger and much more competitive in the ruck, something we have been practicing a lot. Our tackling, sometimes high, kept the score down to 2 tries for Paviors. 2nd half we started well and our tackling improved, but rucking was still ineffective. When we did get the ball the structure improved and we managed to score a try in the corner after a prolonged period of pressure.

Lesson from game 1: when tackling we need to tackle the player not try and rip the ball. Also when rucking we need to show more aggression and work in units. Overall a fair even result against a strong Paviors A team.

Game 2 - Having had a long chat, with the boys, regarding high tackles / rucking and giving the simple pass, the boys improved in game 2. We started well, but against a much weaker Paviors Development team, some bad habits entered in to our game. We started to carry the ball too much, instead of the simple pass and also trying to steal the ball rather than of tackling low. Once we gained a little more composure we started running a few try's in and started to show some great tackles (especially from Joshi). Our best move of the game showed a lovely scrum, great pick up from Harley, a nice carry from James who straightened up fantastically drew the last defender and passed to Noah in space, who accelerated down the wing to score in the corner.

Lesson game 2: to play the simple game - you score tries when you pass to hands and set up correctly

Thanks to Rushie and Nigel for referring, particularly difficult with such a competitive and physical contest which unfortunately wasn't aided by an over excited visiting Paviors coach! Paviors only just managed to select two teams; if they can keep some of the Development lads then I'm sure we will have many more hotly contested games in years to come.

Man of the match awarded to Tommy and Alexander (for showing sportsmanship by electing to play for Paviors) and Man of Steel awarded to Alex G who led from the front in tackling and rucking.

Training next week for those who are not on half term holiday in preparation for Kesteven who visit Kelham road the week after.