We had a hard weekend this week as we played two tough fixtures at Hemel and Fullerians, both clubs have strong U10 sides and the plan of getting rugby for all the players in the squad, went out the window with the squad being set by injury, non availability and illness. To say our squad was stretched was an understatement, we had to mix our teams up and we still only had 11 players for each fixture…… It was always going to be a tough playing both these teams on the same morning and although all the players gave their all and at times we played some good rugby, the stronger Hemel and Fullerians teams came out on top.
Fullerians match reports below – thanks Jono
Hitchin Jaguars v Fullerians ‘B’ Won 15-10
On a cold morning with still some frost in the ground Andy put the Jags through the customary warm up. The team had been selected from a mixture of the squad and therefore players had the opportunity to play with other team members in a match situation. Fullerians had their full squad training and were keen to get a game for as many players as possible. The game started with Fullers taking the ball into contact through their large forwards .Morgan stepped in and made some first up tackles followed by Harry G and Alfie. The ball stayed fairly tight in the first exchanges as each team tested out each other’s strengths. The Jags started to get a little momentum as the forwards ventured into Fullers territory. Morgan pushed on and managed to disrupt the Fullers forwards however in the exchanges the ball was knocked on. From the resultant scrum the Jags forwards exerted some pressure which slowed the Fullers ball down. Sam H nipped in and half snagged their scrum half. Connor was soon on had to assist closely followed by the forwards. The ball was won back and Sam passed to Connor who spotted a gap. Connor made good ground before being caught however Ethan L was on his shoulder to take the pass. He still had a bit to do and powered through a very good Fullers defence to score the first 5-0. The teams were well balanced with each side having a fair share of possession. Alfie and Harry G worked hard in the close exchanges and Morgan was all over the park making tackles .Connor worked like an extra forward to ensure we had the edge in the breakdowns and his hard work paid off. The Jags won a scrum and Harry G hooked and excellent clean ball for Connor to collect who showed good determination to cross the line for the Jags second 10-0. Oskar, Tom and Ben had a quiet half in attack however all of them contributed well in defence. The second half Fullers made some changes in an effort to get the upper hand in the forwards. Rory Daniel and Lawrence came on for their first taste of action. The new set of Fullers forwards got stuck in and Rory was soon called into action to halt their advance however from good interplay between their forwards and backs they managed to get a score 10-5. The Jags came back and put together a few good attacks with some good cover and off loading by Ben and some direct running by Connor Daniel and Ethan L. The Fullers defence was very good and the Jags found it difficult to break the line. A number of times the Jags could not quite get their hands on the ball and the powerful Fullers forwards poured through to set up the counter attacks. The Jags defence however was excellent Oskar put in a fabulous tackle sprinting 20 m to snag his man .Lawrence and Tom started to get involved with some tough work on the flanks. The Jags were on the back foot as another wave of attacks was halted 5m from the Jags line. The Jags managed to fight their way out of defence with Sam H, Connor and Ethan L running the ball out despite some heavy attention from the opposition. Fullers were blown for offside and from the resultant penalty a France ball was called. Ethan L took the ball at pace and smashed through the covering defence before hitting top speed to score and outstanding try 15-5. The Fullers pressure eventually told and they scored, but the Jags held on to win 15-10.
Hitchin Jaguars v Fullerians ‘A’ Lost 10-30
The second game started with Fullers putting on some experienced fire power with some huge forwards and some fast hard hitting backs. The Jags struggled with the initial opening encounters. Rory, Morgan and Alfie did well to compete but not only were the Fullers forwards huge; they were well drilled as well. Sam H, Connor and Oskar worked hard in defence to try to stop their big runners from hitting their stride. Ethan L tried to batter his way through and showed good strength in the close quarter exchanges to hold onto the ball. Lawrence and Tom worked hard although did not have much opportunity for attack did very well in defence. However, the quality of the opposition told and before long the Jags were 4 scores down and blowing hard. Half time came just in time, as we went in 0-20 down. This gave the Jags a chance to catch their breath and regroup. A few words form Andy and the Jags rallied for the second half. The Jags had put the first half behind them and came out with vigour. The initial Fullers attacks were nullified by some excellent defence from Rory and Morgan. This enabled Connor to get some cleaner ball to start mounting some attacks. Daniel had a few runs as did Tom who now found a little more space to operate. It was not long before the Jags broke the defence with a pick up and run form Connor who drew his man before passing to Ethan L who scored 5-20. Fullers came back with one of their own despite some brave defence by Lawrence, though the Jags were soon back in Fullers territory and following a good rock form the forwards Ethan L picked up and scored 10-25. The Jags could have had a third however Tom having collected a pass from Connor overshot the try line. Fullers scored with the final move of the game to secure the win, but the second half performance was very encouraging considering the team we were playing.
Hitchin Jaguars v Fullerians ‘A&B’ Lost 15-20
Although there were a few tired bodies the Jags mustered for the final match of the morning. The match started brightly with the Jags making some good attacks with Sam H moving the ball smartly to Connor and Daniel who started to exploit some gaps in midfield. Tom had a chance and ran a few good lines. The forwards worked well with Harry G, Rory and Morgan mauling well gaining some slight advantage in the loose. It was not long before the Jags were deep in Fullers territory. Fullers won the ball but Connor ever alert popped up to collect a loose ball and score 5-0. Fullers came back and some great defending by Oskar and the team put the Fullers attack in touch 5m from the Jags line. A taped down line out saw Sam H bravely collect the loose ball before being smashed by the largest Fullers forward!!!. Luckily he managed to somehow get his pass away to Connor who ran it out of danger. Two or three passes later Connor was on hand to score in the opposite corner for a great try 10-0. Fullers grabbed a try just on half time, so we went in 10-5 up. The second half was slightly different. Fullers made a few changes and brought some fresh players on and the game swung in their favour. The Jags were getting tired and this led to a few gaps appearing in defence. Fullers put 3 quick scores on the board without a response. Morgan, Harry H and Rory continued to contest well in the loose and it was Morgan who scored a well deserved try from the back of a maul to make it 15-20. The Jags very nearly got the levelling score, but it wasn’t to be and the battered and bruised players finished with a narrow defeat.
Special note for Tour. Andy F’s pitch invasion during the game, Sari’s impression of “dancing on ice” on the bank ( I hope you are OK) and Helen’s header from a ball kicked by a certain Master Dudley!!! As you know I am not one to grass!!!!!!!!!!!even if the facts are incorrect.
There was no official match reporter at Hemel as Martin was having a week off!!!! Thanks to Jez and Pete for keeping a note of the games & scores, full reports will go on the website next week once I decipher the notes.
Hitchin Cougars v Hemel ‘A’ Lost 0-20
Hitchin Cougars v Hemel ‘B’ Lost 10-15
Hitchin Cougars v Hemel ‘A’ Lost 0-20
I have spoken to Rob and Brian and their summary of the morning was that we competed well up front, but Hemel had a big, large, fast back which terrorised the backs all morning and ran in a number of scores for Hemel. In both the games against Hemel ‘A’ we struggled and found it tough going, although at times we had good field position and had a few chances to score. The second game was more balanced match and a game we could of and should have one, but we missed a number of chances to score with the final pass not going to hand. So a long, tough, tiring morning at Hemel, but all the players continued giving everything and their heads never dropped, which was good to hear.
Tries: Connor (3), Ethan L (4), Morgan, Alex & Harry H
Player of the Week
The ‘Player of the Week’ award was given out for the Jaguars on Sunday. Morgan had another very strong week making a lot of tackles and getting through a lot of work upfront, Connor had a strong physical game playing like another forward and Oskar had a very good morning, making some strong runs and some excellent tackling. However the award went to Ethan Lavialle for his outstanding performance in both attack and defence. Ethan put in probably his best performance of the season, he was always in the game, very aggressive and physical throughout putting in some huge tackles. He made some great runs, scored some fine individual tries and was always a threat when he got the ball. The one thing I was really impressed with was that he was always looking for work, wanting to be involved whether in defence or attack and was always near the ball. A fine performance Ethan, exactly what we want from you every week – well done.
Tackler of the Week
The ‘Tackler of the Week’ award went to Alex Baber-Norris for his performance for the Cougars at Hemel. Alex was his usual aggressive, physical self making tackle after tackle and working tirelessly throughout all three games. He competed hard in the contact areas, won some good ball and also scored an excellent individual try. It was hard work for him this week with a number of Cougar players missing, but he stuck to his task and kept tackling and knocking players over. A special mention for Max also who had another very good week, he put in a strong performance against Luton last week and continued his good form, putting in some strong tackles throughout, making some good runs and working hard all morning.
Sunday 6 February
This Sunday 6 February we have training at the club, usual time 10-12.00. All players to meet at the club at 9.45am.
Sunday 13 February
On Sunday 13 February we have two fixtures, the Jaguars will go to Cheshunt with the rest of the minis and I have arranged an extra fixture for the Cougars at Old Albanians. The teams will be selected and posted on the website next week.