U14s Triumph in tight encounter

A strong U14 turnout still smarting from the 3pt loss in the last league round arrived at Frant road to start the first in a run of home fixtures to close the competitive season and continue the progress they've made this term.

In perfect conditions for rugby and with a stand in referee kindly provided by Old Emmanuel the game kicked off. A strong kick put Streatham-Croydon on the backfoot receiving the ball deep into their own half. In attempting to play out and gain a foothold in the game both teams infringed early resulting in the scrum dominating the early encounters. Despite, a strong scrummage and winning the ball against the head Streatham-Croydon fell behind after Emmanuel crashed over following an optimistic kick behind and three phases of pick and drives. 0-5

After enduring more pressure following the restart and Emmanuel nearly scoring from a lineout only to knock on the ball at the last, Streatham began to assert themselves in what had been a very scrappy game up until that point. Jamal Ryan-Coker picked from number 8 offloading to Rimarni Richards to crash over, Conor Oresanya slotting the resulting conversion to place the home side in the lead at half time. 7-12

The game continued in its scrappy fashion despite words from both the coaches and referee to both teams with Streatham-Croydon going behind after a scrappy clearance following frequent penalties, knock-ons and repeated ruck infringements from both teams with possession swinging one way then the next. 7-12

A re-jiggle of the front row, suggested by the players led to the next try. Jordan Unokesan stepping up from the second to the front row so that Ethan Morris alongside Jamal Ryan-Coker could reinforce the second row, reasserted scrum dominance meaning that from a strong hook by Brayner Anrade, Rimarni Richards could pick and carve a path through the opposition defence offloading for John Olloh to score. Conor Oresanya adding the extras 14-12

After the resulting Emmanuel restart didn't reach the required 10m mark the team had the option for a scrum or retaken kick, but with encouragement from coaches, supporters and confidence in their scrum changed from accepting to a retake and demanded a scrum. From the resulting set piece Rimarni Richards picked, ducked the first tackle then beat two defenders allowing him to score. Conor Oresanya providing the additional points 21-12 .Old Emmanuel Lions were not finished in the game and from the restart burst through to narrow the home teams lead to two points at the close of play.

Well played to the entire team who came together and had to adapt to playing in unfamiliar positions and a swift recovery to those injured in the match.