Results and Reports 21st October 2007
St Ives under-17 69 points, Thorney 3
St Ives were happy to put recent reverses behind them and put in an excellent performance to stun Thorney. The pack, knowing that they were missing regulars, worked tirelessly to secure quick possession throughout the match. The platform given to Ali Geddes at scrum half enabled him to continually feed the eager back line.
From the kick off, the back row of Simon Dunn, returning after injury, David Baker and Mark Dominy tore into the opposition so that even when primary possession was lost, St Ives gained the upper hand.
From an early foray, the backs moved the ball sweetly through the hands, releasing Dan Bainbridge to score the first of his hattrick of tries. His second followed almost identically, with excellent forward work coughing up the ball for the backs to use.
Having been volunteered into the second row, James Wood took out his frustration on the Thorney defence with a powerful run and fine solo try, converted by the ever impressive Dan Breed.
Operating the usual rotation to give all match time the wingers swapped and Ben Carter made an immediate impact, finishing a fine flowing move with a converted try from his first touch of the game. As with Bainbridge, the momentum was with St Ives and Carter scored again almost immediately.
Praise must be given to Thorney as, whilst the team was obviously shell-shocked, the players continued to work hard for each other. There followed an even period, until, with one of the best pieces of continuity in the match, Adam Buttigieg was left with nobody to beat, placing down for another good team try.
There was just enough time left in the half for Thorney to kick off, but Breed once again released Matt Nice who with good support alongside, sold a dummy and cantered in under the posts. Half time 43-0.
Thorney tightened up the game in the second half and began to make progress through their forwards. But, St Ives were happy to run from deep and after one such attack, great support by James Wood ended with him barging over in the corner for his second.
Once again, Thorney responded well, but turnover ball allowed St Ives to shift the ball quickly to the ultimate man of the match, Ben Carter. He ducked and weaved through a tiring Thorney defence to score his hattrick try under the posts.
Thorney then had their best spell of the match and kept St Ives pinned in their own 22 for most of the half. Unfortunately, they could not gain a deserved try, but smart play by the stand off gave them three points from a well taken drop goal.
From the kick off, Thorney once again had St Ives under pressure, but spotting that they were up against forwards, the St Ives backs spun the ball to Steve Hehir, who ran most of the field's length to score.
With time running out, Bainbridge put the icing on the cake with another finish to a great team effort, which resulted in Breed's seventh conversion.