20th November 2005

Bedford and Deepings at St. Ives

On a bright, freezing November morning St. Ives welcomed Bedford Blues and Deepings to Somersham Road. The day started full of hope for the 'tiddlers' of the St. Ives camp, as Deepings had promised to bring their own development team along. Sadly, this was not to be as Deepings eventually turned up with a squad of five! However, the tiddlers were not to be denied their 'frenzy in the frost'.

St. Ives Blues 7 v 8 Bedford (Under 7)

In a thrilling end to end game there were tries aplenty as St. Ives and Bedford played out a wonderful game of tag rugby. The match started with Bedford taking the lead, which was then followed with Tommy McCarthy equalising after good runs from Charlie Bowen and William Rolt. Some solid defence ensued with tagging aplenty from Charlie, William R and Tommy. William Rolt then equalised another Bedford try with a jinking run that saw him outstrip the defence. Bedford again took the lead despite good tagging Cullen Smy and Charlie had piercing runs to set up William Hirons to score the third St. Ives try. (HT: 3 - 3)

Oliver Naylor started the second half with a good run and pass for William Hirons to score again, following the fourth try for Bedford; William Rolt was on hand to finish off some good support play by rounding the defence. St. Ives couldn't quite shake off Bedford as they equalised. Cullen then made good run before being tagged, but found Tommy McCarthy in support to edge St. Ives ahead again. After the subsequent equaliser St. Ives had some constant pressure with good support and passing from the team in general, with new boy Jed featuring, unfortunately the team couldn't quite find the killer touch, and enabled Bedford to turn the ball over and score their seventh try. Tommy McCarthy then completed his hat-trick after another good run from William R. Unfortunately Bedford managed to sneak a winning try with the last play of the match.

St. Ives Browns and Tiddlers 4 v 5 Bedford (Under 7)

In a match designed for the Tiddlers when the teams fielded 10 players each, Bedford was gracious enough to play the game in the right spirit, and after Bedford had taken the lead, Megan Digby enjoyed a good run which led to Zac Ling stepping inside the last defender. Bedford soon scored again, this was followed by a searing run from Josh Smith unfortunately a knock-on led to Bedford scoring again. Not to be outdone Louis Cooke found Harry Spittle for him to outstrip the defence and score in the corner only for Bedford to bounce back and score again. Joseph Cox then had a marvelous run to bamboozle the Bedford team, unfortunately St. Ives couldn't capitalize and eventually Bedford turned the ball over to turn around three tries ahead. (HT: 2 - 5)

In a good second half for St. Ives they managed to prevent Bedford crossing the line, but couldn't claw back the deficit themselves. There was great defence from Harry, Josh, Ben, Sam Tuckwood and George Peacock. This was backed up with a second try for Harry Spittle, which rounded off a great team move, more good defence followed from the team, along with some good runs from Sam, Ben and Josh. The pressure eventually told when 'Tiddler' Andrew Jones went over in the corner.

St. Ives Blues and Tiddlers 6 v 7 Deepings (Under 7)

Deepings, having turned up with only five players 'borrowed' Sam Dibble and Oliver Naylor for the game, although both played well for Deepings, St. Ives were fortunate enough to prevent either player scoring against them. Despite a good run from William Hirons and good tagging from Charlie Bowen, Deepings quickly went into a two try lead, from which St. Ives never really recovered, although they defended bravely and ran like demons. Some good team play culminated with Cullen Smy scoring the first for St. Ives, as far as St. Ives were concerned now the match turned into the Tommy McCarthy show as he performed single handed heroics to keep the team in the match with two tries either side of half-time. (HT: 3 - 4).

Charlie Bowen and the two Williams contributed to the tagging. However, having drawn level, St. Ives couldn't manage to prevent Deepings scoring. William Rolt pounced on a loose ball, spotted a gap and burst through to bring the scores to six apiece. Deepings again took the lead, and then with the final play of the match Charlie Bowen made a great run only to be tagged just short of the line.

St. Ives Browns 6 v 4 Bedford (Under 7)

In the final game of the day, St. Ives and Bedford again played out a marvellous game of rugby. Bedford started with the ball but were soon turned over, and Zac Ling made a strong run into the hear of the Bedford defence, good support followed, with the ball finally ending up in Zac Ling's hands for him to round the defence and step inside the last defender for a great try. Ben Fleming increased the lead when he was on hand to take the scoring pass from Chris Duma, this followed good runs from Josh Smith and Sam Tuckwood. Bedford pulled one back, only for Harry Spittle to reinstate the two try margin with a scintillating run to score in the corner. (HT: 3 - 1)

Bedford scored at the start of the second half, only for Zac to score his second of the game after jinking his way through the Bedford defence. Bedford scored again, only for that Tommy McCarthy to score yet another try. Good tagging from Zac and Josh prevented Bedford closing the gap, and then good runs from Ben and Harry with good team support led to Harry Spittle scoring again. Bedford completed the scoring but couldn't bridge the final two-try winning margin.

Squads:

Blues:
Charlie Bowen, Sam Dibble, William Hirons, Oliver Naylor, Tommy McCarthy, William Rolt, Freddie Smith, Cullen Smy, new boy Jed.

Browns:
Chris Duma, Ben Fleming, Flynn Kennedy, Zac Ling, George Peacock, Harry Spittle, Sam Tuckwood.

Tiddlers
Louis Cooke, Joseph Cox, Megan Digby, Andrew Jones, Joshua Smith.

St. Ives U8 15 - Bedford U8 20

St. Ives made a slow start, the visitors racing into a 15-0 lead; but once the hosts got into their stride they took the match to Bedford, pulling back two of these tries in quick succession. Bedford scored once more, to which
the hosts responded, but the final whistle came before they could score the equaliser.

St. Ives U8 30 - Deepings U8 15

A brighter start by the hosts, Max Darer opening the scoring after a good run to the corner straight from the start. The visitors equalised and then took the lead, only for Darer to level the score after another great run
from the restart. From this point on the hosts never looked back, with tries from James Digby, Reuben Patrick, Jake Bowen and Daniel Palmer. The visitors scored a late consolation try, but St. Ives ran out worthy winners.

St. Ives U8 15 - Bedford U8 25

A cracking match from start to finish, which was much more even than the score suggested and could easily have gone either way. The hosts took the lead thanks to a try by James Digby after a strong run straight from the whistle, but the visitors responded straight from the restart. Saints demonstrated good support play and could have regained the lead very quickly - Daniel Palmer overran after being caught in sight of the line, and Max Dare had a try disallowed for a technical offence - but the score remained 5-5 at half time.

The second half continued at the same pace, the visitors scoring straight from the restart, but Reuben Patrick passed to Ross Meagher who set up Jake Bowen to score the equaliser. Bedford again took the lead, and Saints had another try disallowed, this time by Patrick, but at the restart Jake Bowen took the ball over the line to score. Bedford came straight back and this time it was they who had a try disallowed, but from the restart they played the ball wide across the pitch, round the home defence and to the line; and they completed the scoring after a great run the entire length of the pitch.

St. Ives U9 5 - Deepings U9 20

A slow start cost Saints dear as they allowed the visitors 2 tries start during the first half. After turning round 10-0 down they put in a more determined display in the second half. An outstanding run to the line brought a deserved try for Sam Hirons but Deepings responded immediately with a further try before completing the victory with a final score just before the final whistle.

St. Ives U9 0 - Bedford U9 35

It was a similar story in the second match against a strong and well drilled Bedford side. St. Ives seemed half asleep in the first period as Bedford score 5 times to turn round 25-0 up. St. Ives came to life in the second
half and played their best rugby of the day with Lachlan Park outstanding in defence. However they spilled the ball at vital times and Bedford scored twice more to finish worthy winners.

St Ives U11 7 - Bedford U11 7

After meeting Bedford earlier this season and being soundly beaten, St Ives were out to even the score. The organised Bedford forward unit outperformed St Ives in the first half and gave their backs a number of chances to score, only to be stopped by determined St Ives defence. However, in the second half the Ives forwards met force with force resulting in Tom Mount diving over for a try. Bedford came back in the dying minutes and a series of penalties eventually gave them the equalising score.

St Ives U11 7 - Deepings U11 14

A large and solid Deepings team gave St Ives a bit of a surprise in the first few minutes with their forwards trundling over for two tries in quick succession. Once Ives had gathered their thoughts and realised they had a
fight on their hands, they gradually pulled themselves back into the game. In the second half a long kick forward by Innes Christison was followed up well and the spilled ball was picked up by Tom Mount who went over for his second try of the day. Unfortunately, despite continued pressure, St Ives could not quite grab the equaliser.

St Ives Under 12’s
St Ives 14 – Market Deepings 21

On a very cold Sunday Morning St Ives under 12’s started their first match against Market Deepings and got off to a good start, applying early pressure on the Deepings line. This pressure paid off with a well-worked try from Angus Hughes who picks the ball up from a ruck and drove over the line. St Ives kept the pressure on and within 5 minutes they had scored again. The second half saw Deepings turning the tables on St Ives and immediately replied with three quick tries. Deepings finally won by 21 – 14. St Ives tries scored by Angus Hughes and Nathan Dewar, conversions x 2 Jack Topham.

St Ives 28 – Bedford 12

After the disappointment of the last match St Ives were determined not to let this match slip away from them. Both Backs and Forwards combined well throughout the game to create a number of chances. Bedford fought hard but the pressure from St Ives eventually paid off with two tries in the first half to one from Bedford. The second half saw a few changes from both sides and the heavier Bedford pack started to take control, winning most of the scrums early on. This pressure paid off with a converted try. St Ives re-grouped and started to hold their own in the forwards which resulted in Bedford giving away a number of penalties, followed by two quick tries towards the end of the match. Tries scored by Harry Martin, James Hunter, Roger Shakespeare and Nathan Dewar. Conversions by Jack Topham x 3 and Dan Malem.

Under 15s
Oundle 5 - St. Ives 22

This was without doubt one of the best performances by St Ives. Built on an absolutely superb foundation up front, St Ives' guts and determination were evident throughout this hard fought match which was closer than the final score suggested. The first half was scoreless, with both forward packs fighting to gain ascendancy. Especially in the defensive duties, Ronan Delaney (ultimately named man of the match), Josh Bennett and the entire back row were outstanding for the visitors.

The second half also remained scoreless for some minutes, but finally Matt Nice broke the deadlock with a fine individual try after the forwards had won a good lineout. Nice himself converted. Saints forwards continued to play with real fire and pressure told as Oundle conceded a penalty, converted by Nice. Oundle then came back into the game through fine forward effort, but were continually stopped in their tracks by aggressive defence by both forwards and backs. Even while defending, however, St Ives thoughts did not stray from attack. A fine counter, putting the ball quickly through the hands gave Dan Bainbridge the ball. Still with five men to beat, he wove his way past all-comers to complete a try from his own half. Following this, he had to leave the field, along with Hyde and the momentary disruption gave the home side time to recover and after a good series of rucks, they spread the ball wide to score. However, the visitors were not finished and as Oundle attempted to spread the ball once more a thumping tackle by Nice on his opposite number, dislodged the ball which was scooped up by Dan Breed who sprinted round the defence to score. Nice converted to complete a fine match.

This was a monumental team effort and the boys celebrated well. In recognition of this superb all-round performance the squad is named in its entirety: Ronan Delaney, Matt Taylor, Calum Richardson, Dan Hyde, Tom Downing, Josh Bennett, Andrew Collins, Adam Buttigieg, Mark Dominy, Simon Dunn, David Baker, Dan Breed, James Wood, Matt Nice, Dan Bainbridge, Ali Geddes and Tom Brown all did the St Ives shirt proud.