U16's Triumph over Aldwinians

Hello reader, or hello readers if there are now two of you. I recollect only a small amount of feedback concerning my previous match report, something along the lines of it having been considered a long report. Not a criticism, just an observation. Fortunately there isn’t much to write about from this weekend’s action. We came, we saw, we conquered.

But does that tell the whole story? Not at all. The fixture against Trafford MV had been a cup semi-final and with it Didsbury Barbarians had earned their rightful place in the Lancashire Cup Final. Today at Aldwinians was the first stage of our preparations to lift that trophy, and a barometer for our readiness. We had played Aldwinians earlier in the season, an October meeting that went to Aldwinians but could have been anybody’s. I don’t recall ever having beaten this club, but doing so had never seemed out of reach.

Sometimes you get a feeling of how things will go just by careful observation of the referee pre-match. This referee inspected every players studs. And he was wearing pink socks – refer back to previous reports to understand what that means. Yikes!

The match got underway, and the Barbarians showed promise with the ball in hand. Characterised by strong running and safe handling, the ball was recycled well. Against the run of play, Aldwinians won some ball in the midfield area from a set piece. They played in their full back, who ran from behind the lines like a slippery eel – quite a large eel but deceptively fleet of foot … or fin. Coach John Robb could not have been more vocal instructing players to make a tackle, while every attempt had players failing to get hold of this lads his scaly exterior. Eventually someone snagged his jersey to end the movement, but the writing was on the wall. A couple of phases later, same player from a similar position got the ball again and this time wriggled through the gaps in our defence and scored, giving the home team an early 7-0 lead.

Didsbury regained their composure. Defences tightened up, tackles got stronger then more dominant. Full back Saul Hockenhull traded kicks with his opposite number, with Didsbury eventually finding better field position to launch a drive for the line. The first effort was judged to be held up, but Didsbury stuck to what they knew best and what was eventually a winning formula. Superb line out jumping from Tom Eatough captured a ball within their 22. Hard rucking and a few broken tackles and the outcome was Jack Tabor crossing the line for his first try of the morning.

Didsbury’s second try followed swiftly after. I’d say we capitalised on some loose play in the Aldwinians back line, and from the resultant melee, Max Blackburn ended up with the ball and a gap in front of him. He still had a bit of work to do and dodged elusively through the Aldwinians scramble defence to get round them and under the posts.
We scored again in that half, Jack Tabor finishing off a move that demonstrated what amazing things you can achieve with the right amount of skill, attitude and great coaching. Not to mention the other amazing support provided by travelling fan base and self-appointed water carrier Kevin Aquarius Connor. Aldwinians pulled back one try before half to leave us with a narrow 19-14 lead at the break.

We got off to a faster start in the second half. With a good kick off, disruptive defence in the opponents 22 and faster reflexes gave us possession in a dangerous position. It wasn’t long before the route number 1 direct ball sucked in Aldwinians defence and left the gap for centre Cameron to score and stretch the lead to 24-14.

Later that half, Didsbury ended up rather harshly I think on the end of a series of penalty decisions. After not retreating 10 meters twice in quick succession, we were yellow carded. Subsequently with a man down and a huge gap at the back their full back kicked through and was fastest into the space to win the ball and slide over to score, bringing the score to 21-24.
Another penalty? Yes. Awarded to Aldwinians? Yes. I was starting to think the pink sock factor was going to jeopardise our chances of a fair game. This time they elected to kick it and it was 24-24, “squeaky bum time”.
If there was ever a time to get a grip on a match, this was it. We kicked long and worked hard to keep the ball in the Aldwinians half. There was a huge sense of togetherness and belief with the players on the field and their reserves, that we could win this. We dominated three scrums in a row and took the ball into a maul, from which we know what to do. Tabor was at the back and it was him who secured the ball and the fifth try for us following the pushover and grounding.

Not quite finished, there was time for Max Blackburn to finish off one more move for his second try. Didsbury Barbarians finally creating a victory that they thoroughly deserved over opposition that held out respectfully to the end. Final Score Aldwinians 24-34 Didsbury Barbarians.

Just a few more observations...
... we are introducing a written exam paper for all GCSE players on what is offside, how far back is 10m, and how quickly do you have to get there.
... brilliant support from parents and our injured 'veteran' Miles Brown , helped everybody play well. But if you want to score a hat-trick you need to get your grandparents in the crowd too.
... and don't worry if the ref wears pink socks. Angry policemen with scotch accents are far more frightening.