Oswestry Vs Wilmslow U12’s - Sunday 03/Apr
Wilmslow U12s went into their last game of the season off the back of a decent performance at the Wilmslow Festival a week earlier where they came up against some strong opposition and a number of touring sides. This final Sunday offered up Oswestry who we hadn’t played this season. Conditions were good, no wind but with some overnight rain the surface was a little greasy, but Wilmslow were up for playing some running rugby. Go the Wolves!
Oswestry started brightly straight from the kick off and some excellent ball retention allowed them to get within 5m of the Wilmslow try line by taking the direct root despite some fierce Wolves tackling. The first Oswestry try was scored 2 minutes into the game following a series of close pick-and-go’s. One-Nil
Wilmlsow choose to receive, the kick off was well fielded by Harry H who drifted across the pitch and found Finlay on a short ball allowing him to make a promising break down the right touchline before being bundled into touch just metres short of the try line, but it was Oswestry who were again on the score board moments later following a midfield scrum. Good hands from the Oswestry backline allowed their winger to power inside the chasing Wilmslow defence to score. Two-Nil
Still hungry for the ball the Wolves chose to receive, this time the high ball bouncing off a Wilmslow player’s chest and into the arms of a chasing Oswestry player. Jonah did well to recover and stop what would have been a certain try, however he couldn’t prevent Oswestry quickly recycling the ball at the ruck and them sneaking in for another close-range score with just seven minutes played. Three-Nil
With Wilmslow again receiving, the ball was fielded cleanly, Seth feeding Ruben who made an incisive break well into Oswestry territory, but after a series of rucks the ball was spilled and Oswestry were able to relieve the pressure and work their way back into the Wilmslow half. After further sustained pressure Wilmslow were caught over-committing to the ruck and a quick popped ball to their first receiver on the short line made if Four-Nil and it looked like it was going to be a long afternoon for the travelling Wilmslow fans
Wilmslow however, were still looking for their first score. Finlay did well to feed Louis early who in turn looked to set loose the Wilmslow Flyer, throwing a long floated pass into the wide channel, but it wasn’t to be this time and Tommy was stopped just short, but Wilmslow had the momentum. Harry S was first to the breakdown and the try looked on following a quick pick-and-go while Oswestry were still organising their defence but the Ref deemed that Harry S had been held up over the line and awarded Oswestry a goal line drop out
Wilmslow were soon back on the attack, a scrum 10m out saw Fin stepping into the scrum half position for the day with Joshua unavailable. The Ref allowed a somewhat dubious feed to go unpunished and Fin fed Seth at first receiver and after a powerful drive towards the line the ball was recycled to Harry S who moved the ball quickly to Louis who did well to squeeze in at the corner and score Wilmslow’s first points of the day. Four-One
Unfortunately, it was Oswestry who were next on the score board following a scrum midfield were the Oswestry player showed great turn of pace in beating Harry H on the outside to dot down. Five-One
LJ finally got his hands on the ball and showed some good strength riding a few tackles before smuggling the ball to Tommy while under pressure, although the ball went to ground Harry H did well to recover and keep the momentum going working the ball back into midfield where Will was on hand to smash a hole in the defensive line and pop a short ball to Alex who showed great hands under pressure to feed Seth who carried two players over the line with him to score Wilmslow's second. Five-Two
Wilmslow were growing in confidence, Alex expertly executing a 2v1 to put Harry H into space, Harry H offloading the ball out of the tackle to Harry D and into a promising 4v1 scenario. Unfortunately, an over excited pass put the ball way behind Jonah who had looked destined to stroll in for a score and the travelling faithful rued a try gone begging and brought to an end the first 20 minutes
Some insightful feedback from the coaches at half time saw Wilmslow hunting for the next score, Toby showing some nimble footwork in midfield to create a gap for himself in the defensive line and after some excellent handling by Alex and Jack, Harry S was left with a clear run to the line, and he cantered in unopposed. Five-Three
Oswestry chose to kick, Ruben did well to take it on the full without breaking stride and expertly drew the on-rushing defender into a 2v1 putting Tommy into enough space to allow him to make a huge arcing run outside of the chasing defenders to score. Five-Four
Wilmslow were soon back in possession following the kick off. Tommy making a turnover in the wide channel and the ball being moved into midfield to Wilmslow’s Raging Bull who threw a clear forward pass to Harry S with the try line beckoning and a promising opportunity came to nothing. Wilmslow continued to apply the pressure though, Harry S being brought down just short of the line following some good approach work from Jack. The ball was recycled quickly allowing LJ to hit Louis on the short pass and made a spectacular offload in the tackle, but unfortunately the ball was spilled forward by the supporting Wilmslow player
Wilmslow were now moving the ball from touchline to touchline in attack. James, Will, Ruben, Seth, Harry H, Tommy all involved, but unfortunately the last pass was just too far in front of Finlay for what would have been the try of the season. A few moments later Louis put Seth into space by offloading before contact and although Seth was running cross-field he did enough to attract three defenders and create a gap on the outside for Tommy to exploit and race in for a score. Five-Five
Oswestry chose to receive, Harry H sending the ball deep into the Oswestry half. Harry D was fantastic on the kick chase tackling the Oswestry player 3m from his own try line. Jack and Ruben followed this up forcing back their big ball carriers backwards in the tackle but Oswestry somehow managed to exit under extreme pressure from the Wolves
Toby was involved in the next promising Wilmslow attack, picking a wild pass up off his boot laces and deftly lifting the ball to Harry H who linked well again with James who made good ground before being stopped about 10m short of the Oswestry try line. LJ and Will were quickest to the breakdown allowing Louis to move the ball away to Seth at first receiver. A Four Vs One was on, Jonah again expecting to go in for an easy score but the pass from Seth was poor and again the ball ended up behind Jonah when a try looked a nailed-on certainty
Oswestry had their own opportunities in the remaining minutes of this half in what was turning out to be a very evenly contested game. Harry D and James both making important tackles when Oswestry looked like scoring and Louis making a couple of crucial turnovers on the Wilmslow line to keep the game Five-Five going into the final 20 mins
Refreshed after the break and with the instruction of "Leave the breakdown alone when we’ve lost the ball" ringing in their ears the Wolves were going all out in the final 20 minutes of the season. After some initial pressure by Oswestry Harry H was able to clear his lines with a fine kick half of the length of the pitch, as the Oswestry fullback regathered he looked up to see an onrushing Wolves defence and chose to return the kick but only as far as a very tired looking Harry D in the Wilmslow backfield. The ball must have been charged with electricity as Harry D sprung to life immediately re-energised and set off on a powerful run down the middle of the pitch to within 5m of the Oswestry try line before making a well-timed offload to Jonah who – third time lucky – went in for a well-deserved try. Five-Six
Wilmslow had their tails up and their next try came following some great handling by Jack allowing Finlay to dot down in the corner. Five-Seven
Again Wilmslow were moving the ball across the pitch with some real skill, threatening to score on several occasions but the Oswestry defence held firm and their determination paid off when the Oswestry ‘3’ made a fine break down the touchline, and in doing so bumping off several would be Wilmslow tacklers before offloading to the Oswestry ‘10’ who brought the score back to Six-Seven
With the clock running down Oswestry now had the bit between their teeth and scored another quick try after a scrum on the halfway line and some neat footwork by the Oswestry ‘19’ put them within touching distance of the Wilmslow try line. Oswestry reverted to their tight ball carriers which had served them so well in the opening minutes and after a series of quick rucks close the Wilmslow line the Oswestry ‘16’ was able to stretch out a long arm to score taking the score to Seven-Seven with less than 5 minutes to play
Oswestry were again on the score board minutes later following several quick pick-and-go’s the Oswestry ‘16’ crashed over for an important score with less than 2 minutes to play and now leading Eight-Seven
Needing possession Wilmslow chose to recieve but were unable to make much headway out of thier own 22 due to some outstanding Oswestry defence, the Ref calling ‘last play’ with the ball just 3m out from the Wilmslow try line. Louis spotted half a gap and sent out a fine wide pass to Seth who hit a great line and was able to break through the Oswestry defence and get deep into the Oswestry half. The ball was recycled a couple of times before Oswestry finally regained possession but in their desperation to end the game, they simply threw the ball into touch and were about to celebrate before the Ref called them back for a Wilmslow free pass (You can’t just throw the ball into touch!) – Oh, the drama!
Unfortunately, from the next phases of play Wilmslow were unable to get the score they were looking for and the game ended Eight-Seven to Oswestry, both teams playing some great rugby and Wilmslow playing some of their best rugby we’ve seen all year. Great work by those players in the middle of the pitch, winning the turnovers and moving the ball quickly away from the breakdown area. On another day Jonah could have been in for a hat trick!
With 40% of the squad being new to rugby this year it’s been a massive learning curve for the team but there is real promise throughout the squad and each of the players have been given something to work on over the summer. With that, it’s a final thankyou to all the parents and coaches who get the lads to training and games each week and special congratulations to those players who won awards this season, all very much well deserved
Best Newcomer 2023: Ruben
Best Defensive Wolf 2023: Harry D
Parents Player of the Year 2023: Seth
Players Player of the Year 2023: Tommy
Your roving reporter is off to put his feet up for a couple of months. Enjoy the break, and we will see you all towards the back end of July for some pre-season training
#WWIMH
