23rd April 2006
Under 8s
St. Ives Under 8s vs Burton on Trent RFC,
Saints Under 8s visited Burton on Trent on St. George’s Day, to take part in their first ever tour fixture. The vociferous and appreciative spectators were treated to an exhilarating display of running, passing and defending, by two teams as closely matched as the results suggested. All the visiting squad members played their part, everyone not mentioned on the scoresheet making a vital contribution to the team’s performances in terms of gaining territory and steadfast defending.
The visiting players and parent alike were made to feel very welcome by the hosts, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the occasion and the experience.
Burton 25, St. Ives 20
The hosts were quicker out of the blocks and quickly racked up a two-score lead before Saints had got into their stride. Jake Bowen pulled one back for the visitors after some sustained pressure, but Burton responded strongly with two more tries, and Peter Masters scored for Saints just before the break. The visitors enjoyed more of the play in the second half, however; Reuben Patrick scoring twice to the hosts’ once, but unfortunately there was not quite enough time to recoup the deficit and the hosts won by a single score.
Burton 25, St. Ives 20
This match was almost a carbon-copy of the first game, not only in terms of the final score but also in terms of the balance of play. Again the hosts took a two-try lead before Ross Meagher pulled one back for Saints. Burton restored their cushion, only for Reuben Patrick to halve the deficit after a great zigzagging run, but again the hosts replied with another try before the interval. After some encouragement at half-time, the visitors came back strongly, Reuben scoring twice more, but ultimately Saints were undone again by having let the opposition take an early lead.
Burton 10, St. Ives 15
The third match of the day was very tightly contested, as the two sides traded hard won tries. In contrast to the earlier games, the visitors took an early lead thanks to a good run to the line by Jake Bowen. The hosts responded, but shortly before the break Ross Meagher made a good run and put Jake through for his second. In the second half Burton came back to level the score at 10-10, but after some vigorous defending by Saints, Reuben Patrick made a great run to the line to clinch a worthy victory for the visitors.
Squad:
Jake Bowen, Peter Masters, Toby Cooke, Ross Meagher, Samuel Cox, Reuben Patrick, Nathan Flack, Niall Tutt, Joseph Hudson
Under 14s
St. Ives 19 - Oundle 5
A large crowd of both home and travelling support were treated to a highly entertaining game of rugby played out between two well-matched and committed teams. The home side were forced in to making some positional changes but still took the upper hand in the first period as players settled in to their game. The first score came when substitute fullback Matt Bligh joined the line and broke through to score after the forwards had won excellent ball from a 5m scrum. Bligh converted. This fired the visitors up and one or two basic errors from the hosts saw Oundle move the ball wide to score in the corner.
In the second period St. Ives came under stern pressure from the re-start and had to dig deep to keep the visitors at bay. However, with the forward pack taking control of the set-piece and driving hard up field, the ball again found its way to Bligh who broke through the centre and raced away to score under the posts. He again converted. This inspired the home side who looked to move the ball at every opportunity and were again rewarded when they broke from their own 22, with both forwards and backs being involved, Tino Zicchi received the ball in space and raced home from half-way. To their credit Oundle never gave up and continued to press until the final whistle.
This was a deserved win for Saints, to round off a very good season for both players coached and supporters.
Under 15s
Rushden & Higham 17 - St. Ives 14
Despite having been heavily defeated by R&H earlier in the season, a determined St Ives side started superbly. Man-of-the-match Dan Hyde led from the front with a series of surging runs and the forwards drove forward with fire. Unfortunately, the finishing was not there to match the effort and the match remained scoreless until the home side punted the ball downfield. The bounce of a rugby ball that can be so cruel sent the ball into the arms of the only attacking player near the action, who sprinted to score a converted try against the run of play. Immediately, St Ives went on the offensive again, but failure to deal with a long clearance kick cost dear as once again, the ball fell to R&H to gather and score. Halftime 12-0, with the referee heard muttering, "I can’t believe this scoreline".
St Ives passion continued in the second half and was finally rewarded when, after a series of drives by the forwards, James Wood was released to score under the posts, converted by Dan Breed. Straight from the kick off Saints regained the offensive. Forcing R&H into their own 22, rapid follow of a loose line out saw the ferocious Simon Dunn gather to score a deserved try. From far out on the right, Breed coolly converted for St Ives to lead. The hosts raised their game and a lack of sleep of the micro-touring St Ives became apparent. They found it difficult to leave their own 22. Finally, R&H broke through to score and clinch the match. All present acknowledged that misfortune had robbed St Ives of the victory the performance deserved.