St Mary’s TC v SAW Y7 RL – 27/9/16
It was always going to be a close affair with the match being a replay of the cup final from last year. There was a steely determination from the Sirius West boys as they began their warm up in earnest.
The opening spell was a tough tackling defensive display from the West men, in particular Jordan Ayres and Harry Norton laying down early markers to St Mary’s that this was to be a physical contest from the off. After some excellent work it was Alfie Morgan who broke the deadlock with a darting run into the corner to take the lead and with the angle against the conversion, the score remained 0-4. The only real error of the first half gave the ascendency to St Mary’s who duly took the lead with a try and conversion, 6-4. The game continued to ebb and flow until it was captain fantastic Mason Palmer with some smart play to go over for 6-8. The very same Palmer kicked over to make it 6-10 to the West men, a score which was taken into half time.
The boys, perhaps, still had their minds on the half time oranges, drinks and rousing halftime speech as the second half began with St Mary’s stealing a march and taking a 12-8 lead after a converted try. Once again the West men would have to fight back from behind to gain anything from the match. St Mary’s looked to have gained a commanding lead at once again they found space in West’s previously impenetrable defensive line and took an 18-10 lead. It was fight or flight for West and fight they certainly did. With Mason Palmer breaking clear to score a hugely important try and Alfie Morgan kicking the conversion to make it 16-18. GAME ON!
With time quickly dwindling and St Mary’s applying agonising amounts of pressure onto West’s defensive line it looked like it was St Mary’s who would be the next team to score. UNTIL a sensational interception by the outstanding Jack Mortimer! His twinkle toes danced through a gap no bigger than a sixpence piece and once he was through, there wasn’t a prayer for St Mary’s to catch him. 1 conversion later and the West men were 22-18 up with time almost up.
There was to be one more sting in the tail as St Mary’s had one more chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. A chance they grabbed with both hands…22-22, there was a palpable tension in the air as the young St Mary’s kicker stepped up…WIDE! Not being one to celebrate others misfortune this interim remained poker faced.
Overall a fantastic game to watch and all the boys battled hard and in the end a draw was (probably) a fair result.
Team Sheet:
Tyler Leighton Spencer Bennett Tom McLellan Kieran Welburn
Kai Shaw Mason Palmer (C) Dylan Norrie Connor Pickering
Declan Longley Harry Norton Jack Mortinmer Alfie Morgan
Robbie Jones James Matchett Wesley Holmes Jordan Ayres
