Tale of two halves

Turning up with 13 players always makes a game tough, but thanks to the kindness of Warlingham RFC and the dedication of the boys to the club a league game was played on a frosty but beautiful day at the Limpsfield road club.

A sluggish start meant that SCRFC were soon under the cosh with fluid attack from Warlingham exploiting space on the wings allowing the home side in to score uncontested tries. Starved off the ball and failing to land tackles heads dropped all round as the home side racked up a scoreline that saw the game end as a competitive fixture before half time.

However, the momentum of the game shifted swiftly from this point with SCRFC determined to restore their pride. Strong tackling led by some of the smaller players on the pitch and a solid set piece led to territorial possession and attacks that were blunted only by the home sides rugged defense. Following the half time interval and with an alteration in the attacking plan SCRFC began to win the second half. Strong running from Ethan Morris and Ben Crewe gave the away side the momentum and tries soon flowed with straight lines of running and moves from the back of line-outs resulting in at least four tries for the away side and a clean sheet in the second half but unfortunately it was not enough to level the scoreline.

A strong second half from the U15s was let down by their first half performance. Heading forward into the season as the boys learn to play together these inconsistencies will hopefully be less obvious and a full performance will be produced that reflects the spirit and work the boys put into their game.