Results and Reports 5th November 2006
Under 10's
St. Ives 0 Peterborough 30
St. Ives fought bravely throughout the match but were brushed aside by a clinical display from Peterborough. In the first half the front row of Daniel McManus, Nick Abbott and Sam Kennedy drove strongly to create possession for half backs Tyler Elstub and Sam Hirons but Peterborough missed very few tackles although Toby Naylon and Chris Radbone both went close. Unfortunately St. Ives lost concentration at key moments and despite good defence from Elstub, Malcolm MacLean and Jack Fleming, missed tackles allowed Peterborough to score 3 good tries before half time. Both teams made changes for the 2nd half but the story remained the same. Harry Leyden, Lachlan Park and Tim Dale drove hard but were held up by strong Peterborough tackling. Bradley White and Max Davies tackled hard but Peterborough again made better use of the ball and scored a further 3 tries in the second half.
St. Ives 25 Bourne 0
A hat-trick from Tyler Elstub and a brace of tries from Sam Hirons took the headlines but St. Ives' win against Bourne was based on a tremendous squad performance. In a strong first half display, props Daniel McManus and Sam Kennedy punched holes in the Bourn defence and strong scrummaging technique allowed hooker Nick Abbott to take an astonishing 5 scrums against the head. Ironically, Tyler Elstub opened the scoring from a scrum won by Bourne when he robbed the scrum-half in the tackle and dived over the line for the opening try. With the Bourne defence on the back foot Sam Hirons was able to ghost through the opposition back line to sprint clear and score the second. Before half time Toby Naylon was stopped just short and Jack Fleming also went close but the teams turned round with St. Ives 10-0 ahead. St. Ives made a number of changes at half time but there was no let up for Bourn as the pack of Harry Leyden, Lachlan Park and Tim Dale kept the pressure on up front. Malcolm Maclean and Chris Radbone made inroads in the centre and were well supported by Max Davies and Bradley White. The extra space created by this pressure was exploited well by the half backs with Elstub scoring a further 2 tries either side of a long range effort from Hirons to complete a comprehensive win.
Under 13's
Wellingborough 5 v St Ives 5
There were no fireworks from St Ives as they made hard work of this draw with Wellingborough putting pressure on St Ives from the start. Good use of the wind pinned St Ives on their own 22 for most of the match. Eventually the pressure paid off with a try just before the break. In the second half the wind was in St Ives favour and soon St Ives were on the break. With early pressure put onto Wellingborough's line soon resulted in St Ives scoring from a quickly taken penalty from Nathan Dewar. The rest of the game was closely fought with some brave tackling from both sides. Try Scored Nathan Dewar.
Under 15s
St. Ives 26 - St. Neots 5
Another bright Sunday morning saw St. Ives play host to near neighbours St. Neots, in what was certainly a "game of two halves".
The home side started strongly with the forward pack dominating the scrummage and providing good ball to the backs. With St. Neots under pressure inside their own 22, scrum-half Andy Cox dived over for the opening score; Andrew Howard was successful with the conversion. St. Ives used the elements well, continuing to contain the visitors in their own half of the field. From a penalty infringement Cox quickly moved the ball for Howard to crash over. He then added the extras. To their credit, St. Neots did not give up the fight and only some committed defence kept them at bay. However, with the home forwards creating possession and the backs challenging it was only a matter of time before another score came, with Liam Cook joining the line to score in the corner. The final score of the first period came from another tap-penalty move, with captain Matt Willis driving over the line. Once again Howard added the conversion.
With the elements now in their favour, St. Neots attacked their hosts but again were held at bay on a number of occasions. At the same time the hosts pressurised but couldn't find their way over the visitor's line. St. Neots rallied and with the home side in disarray scored a well-worked try in the corner before the end.
The home side was happy to come away with a win but recognised that they need to maintain their focus throughout to ensure a more comfortable result in future contests.
Under 16's
Wellingborough 20 points, St Ives 12 points
St Ives high hopes of a further victory were dashed as enthusiasm was tempered with basic errors. Admittedly, the fast and light St Ives pack faced a huge height and weight disadvantage. However, the usually sound first up tackling deserted the team for the entire match, which was too prove costly. Excellent cover defence kept St Ives in the game in the first half, until the pressure finally told. Picking up from the base of the scrum, the Wellingborough scrum half darted unmarked to the line.
Worse was to follow when James Wood gained the dubious honour of becoming the first St Ives player to be sin-binned, for a high tackle. That he recovered well enough from the ignomy to play well enough on his return to also gain the man of the match award, showed strength of character.
While he was absent, however, the Wellingborough full back took the opportunity to sprint down the touch line, avoiding many tackle attempts to score in the corner.
Despite playing with the wind, St Ives rarely threatened the Wellingborough line. The normally slick handling of the backs was lost to a series of dropped passes and missed overlaps.
Playing against the wind in the second half, St Ives began to work their way back into the match. Welingborough's systematic slowing of the ball at the breakdown was finally penalised with a "yellow", followed swiftly by another for stamping. At this point, St Ives ran a penalty from their own 22, simple passing left Steve Hehir still facing three defenders, but he stepped between them and sprinted to the posts. The try was converted by Dan Breed.
There followed a period of intense pressure by St Ives, but again, the lack of precision in the passing let Wellingboroug off the hook. As soon as they had returned to a full complement, a pair of missed tackles allowed the centre through to score. Wellingborough's pack then carried well, eventually mauling a score to make the match safe.
The last word went to St Ives, however. In a glimpse of their usual style, another uncomplicated move of the ball through the hands, created the overlap and released Tom Brown to score on the final whistle.
The disappointed side was left to rue the undeniable fact that errors had gifted the game away. All are determined to ensure the tem bounces back for the next tough assignment with Shelford.