Sunday 4th December 2011
Eastbourne vs Hastings (Friendly)
Final score: 10 - 10
Eastbourne U12s v Hastings & Bexhill U12s at Park Avenue, 4th December 2011
Match 1: Eastbourne 40 - 10 Hastings & Bexhill
Match 2: Eastbourne 10 - 10 Hastings & Bexhill
Week 14 in the Eastbourne U12's long and hard fought campaign, saw the hardened warriors resplendent in Blue and Gold come face to face with coastal rivals Hastings. Could the Eastbourne back line (well-drilled in field craft and the art of subterfuge) and the front line (intimidating and powerful with well-coordinated set piece maneuvers) combine their strengths to create a formidable attacking force? Only time would tell, so at 10:55 the battle with Hastings began...
With only seconds to go before the conflict commenced, the gold and blue battle cry could be heard rising above the cold winter wind swirling amongst the ranks. With emotions running high and battle plans drawn, the game began with Eastbourne firing the ball high into the opposition's territory. Right from the start though, Eastbourne's best laid plans faltered a little, with a slight unwillingness to secure loose ball and ruck out the opposition. The temptation to pick the ball from the floor at every opportunity, instead of creating phases of play was too great, and on most occasions the ball was run directly into a well-armed defense with loss of possession often the only frustrating outcome. As the team began to focus and find a better rhythm, several good passages of play were starting to form, and it wasn't long before Eastbourne's first try was scored by Fly Half Harvey Warren following an unstoppable twisting run through the last lines of the Hastings defense. A couple of minutes later, Hastings found themselves in a good attacking position and duly marched towards Eastbourne's try line seemingly unopposed. Several half-hearted and ineffective attempts to tackle the advancing attacker gifted the visitors an easy try. After some stern encouragement from the coaching team, Eastbourne settled back into the game, and continued to put Hastings under pressure. A loose ball was picked up by Outside Centre Angus Bingham who then embarked on one of his trademark squirming runs through a floundering defensive line who found his snaking hips too slippery to grab – Eastbourne had their second score. The Hastings tactic to drop kick the ball long from the restart put a rushed Eastbourne defense under pressure and after winning the ensuing ruck five metres from Eastbourne's try line, Hastings crashed the ball over the line to level the scores. At this stage of the game Eastbourne began to work better as a team, and some good work from the forwards saw Eastbourne advancing once again deep into Hastings territory. The ball appeared from the back of a well worked maul and was snatched by Number 8 Louis Wood who snarled aggressively through his gumshield and set-to in brushing the Hastings defense aside one by one like skittles. Despite huge effort and audible growling, the remaining Hastings defense pounced like hyenas and Louis was brought to ground a foot short of the try line. Despite the melee of players, a supporting Tight Head Prop Haydn Allport was at hand to make use of his superior stature to pick and place the ball over the line for Eastbourne to take a well earned lead at the end of the first half.
With Eastbourne now fully aware of their first half short-comings, the squad were ready to hammer home their advantage as early as possible. Almost immediately, Hastings found themselves under pressure deep into their own half, and from the line out, kicked up-field to ease the early pressure. The resulting in-field kick was claimed confidently on the run by fearsome Full Back Mason Dowle, who took the fight back to Hastings with a penetrating run towards an advancing Hastings defense. Realizing that he wouldn't make it through the gap in front of him, Mason cleverly threaded a precise grubber kick through the Hastings defensive line for an advancing Inside Centre Aaron 'Bullet Train' Brown to chase down. As he neared the Hastings try line, Aaron scooped up the floundering ball and confidently placed it over the line for a well-worked try. A little shell-shocked, Hastings restarted with another full length drop-kick which resulted in a line out just 10 metres from Eastbourne's try line. A well-rehearsed defensive move saw possession won decisively, with the ball being passed out quickly to the reliable boot of Fly Half Harvey Warren who, under pressure, launched a perfectly spiraling missile of a kick back deep into the Hastings half. A panicked Hastings defender was pounced on in ninja fashion by Aaron 'Bullet Train' Brown, and the resulting spilled ball was lapped up by Outside Centre Angus Bingham, who wafted unchallenged over the line. Eastbourne's superior scrummaging was paying dividends for the now highly charged and supremely confident three-quarters. With Hastings starting to feel the full force of Eastbourne's rucking forwards, the ball was once again released with the usual pin-point precision from Scrum Half Oliver Ashdown, to Fly Half Harvey Warren who proceeded to dance his way through and around a beleaguered Hastings defense. With one defender left, Harvey sold the helpless on-comer an outrageous dummy to touch the ball down for Eastbourne's sixth try of the game. At this stage, Hastings were under immense and relentless pressure from the well-oiled Eastbourne scoring machine, and it wasn't long before the ball was firing down the three-quarter line once again. This time though, the ball traveled the full width of the pitch to Left Wing Zane Verna who scorched a blazing trail along the wing. Zane was too hot to handle and no one could stop the Italian ace from scoring his first try of the season. Almost immediately from the Hastings restart Eastbourne were crunching their way through the battle weary opposition, hungry for one last score. With the clock running down, and with a scrum just 10 metres from the peppered Hastings try line, Eastbourne were all set to pull-off an audacious move that would settle the contest once and for all. The scrum was blitzed by the forward pack and the ball was fired-out by Scrum Half Oliver Ashdown to Fly Half Harvey Warren, the dummy pass back inside connected to a charging Full Back Mason Dowle who had started his run from deep the moment the ball emerged from the scrum. This surprise change of direction and the sheer pace that Mason was traveling took the Hastings defensive line by complete surprise and the eighth and final try was the last action of a comprehensive victory. The Blue and White invaders were eventually out-gunned by the Blue and Gold try-scoring machine. Result: Eastbourne 40 - 10 Hastings & Bexhill
The second match saw both coaching teams agree to field any new or inexperienced players, with all other regular players forced to play 'out of position'. The resulting line up for the Eastbourne aces would be a real test for the whole team, and as the game got underway, a few hesitant moments in mid-field made for a slightly stuttering start. As players began to settle-in to their new roles, Eastbourne started to play with more confidence and better shape, which led to several promising skirmishes into the opposition's territory. A tiger-like performance from newly installed Scrum Half Billy Cockell kept the Hastings Scrum Half under immense pressure each time they stood shoulder to shoulder at the scrum. One such encounter saw Billy ping the ball to Fly Half Zane Verna, who drew the oncoming defender before unleashing Left Wing Oliver Ashdown, with the resulting charge along the left wing leading to Eastbourne's first try. From the restart, Hastings began to string some passes together, pushing ever closer towards the elusive Eastbourne try line. With momentum swinging their way the visitors found themselves rucking just five metres out, and with no counter ruck from Eastbourne, the ball was gratefully picked up and unceremoniously dumped over the line to equal the scores. Despite numerous excursions into opposition territory, Hastings were taking full advantage of the temporary shift in momentum, and it wasn't long before another five points were added to their tally to take a slim lead at the end of an interesting first half.
With only minor changes to the line-up, the second half saw an expectant Eastbourne crowd witness the best possible start. From the Hastings drop kick start, the ball was caught on the fly by Inside Centre Mason Dowle, who spotted a huge gap on the right wing and duly set about exploiting this gifted opportunity. Mason's greyhound-like speed took him clean around the outside of a defense struggling to match his superior pace. In the blink of an eye Mason had planted the ball over the try line to equal the scores at two tries a piece. For the remainder of the second half, the balance of play ebbed and flowed with some great work from the Eastbourne forwards to thwart any advances from the Hastings horde. With the game poised to finish in a draw, the ball was suddenly launched along the length of the pitch in a defensive clearance by Left Wing Oliver Ashdown. With the sole aim of keeping his players on-side, Oliver ran at rocket speed along the side line and found himself outpacing all around him. As the ball got ever closer to the try line Oliver just managed to place his hands on the ball first, but was adjudged to have just been in touch before adding pressure to the ball. Without the benefit of TMO, the volunteer linesman's word was taken as fair and true, denying Oliver a second try and victory for the Blue and Golds. This was to essentially be the last play of the match, with a hard-fought final score of two tries a piece. Result: Eastbourne 10 - 10 Hastings & Bexhill
Man of the match is voted for by fellow team players via www.teamer.net. The result of the vote will be published on the U12s webpage at www.eastbournerugby.com. A big THANK YOU to all the coaches, team manager, parents and team sponsors, and a huge WELL DONE to all the players.
MOM (via teamer.net): Zane Verna/100% of vote (Left Wing)
