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Sun 14 Oct 2012
West park Leeds
U17’s
50
10
Tries: L Brook, R Wilson
Great Spirit from Under 17s
Michele Wilson6 Nov 2012 - 16:50
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In the end, West Park ran out comfortable winners in this hastily arranged friendly encounter, although even the home supporters commented that the final points difference did not do justice to the endeavour shown by Bees.
Usain Bolt would have been impressed by the speed that Bees came out of the blocks on Sunday. From the West Park kick off, Bees won an immediate penalty as some over- eager home forwards strayed offside. Nick Gore’s high penalty kick worked well so early in the game and a great chase and charge down by Will Rix had West Park looking a bit disorganised as Bees were awarded another penalty. Quick thinking by Sam Jeffrey gained Bees a further 10m as West Park illegally blocked Sam’s run. Another swift move from Sam and Lewis Brook burst onto the ball at pace, his momentum carrying him over to open Bees account, 0-5. It was a great start against a team that were a division higher than Bees and had already won their first two league games.
Pete Booth claimed the restart and, once again, West Park’s forwards were penalised for coming in from the wrong side. Nick Gore kicked to touch for a Bees line out inside the opponent’s half. A good take by Bees and a dummy run from Andy Nicz allowed Ryan Wilson to cut inside from the wing and break the gain line. But West Park managed to turn possession over and it was time for their backs to sling it wide. They progressed to the Bees 22 before conceding yet another penalty, which was reversed after we tried to wrestle the ball from the retreating West Park player. West Park took full advantage of that somewhat fortuitous decision, scoring a converted try for a 7-5 lead. That try was just what the home side needed to settle their early nerves and they started to take control of things. From the restart, they were back in Bees territory but our defence was holding. Sam had the right idea but unfortunately his box kick went straight to the West Park full back, who ran back at us with some ferocity and despite a fine tackle just short of the line, a neat offload saw West Park cross for the second time in as many minutes, taking the score to 12-5. But Bees were not beaten yet. From the restart, we kept things in the opponents half and a good move involving new recruit Elliot drew in the defenders leaving just enough space for Ryan Wilson to cross in the corner, score 12-10. We continued to match our higher ranked opponents with some good scrapping in the forwards and decent breaks by the backs. We tried all manner of moves to break through again – rampages by the big men Ex and Soddy (and even some of the littler men, Pete and Rixy), good interchanges in the backs involving Sam, Matt and Jack and even a chip and chase from Elliot which was just a touch too deep and ran harmlessly dead. But the home side held on to their slim lead until a blind side run from a West Park scrum caught us unawares giving them a 9 point cushion with a converted try in the corner. More West Park pressure from the kick off and it was a matter of hanging on for the half-time whistle. It was all a bit frantic until one of the Bees forwards tried to relieve the pressure with a hack upfield. Somewhat predictably, the kick landed nicely for the West Park full back, who made us pay with another converted try on the half-time whistle making it 26-10.
Bees continued to toil in the second half but it was becoming increasingly difficult as we tired against a side that were growing in confidence. Our fate was pretty much sealed when the referee awarded a penalty try for a high tackle in the corner – nothing malicious just a clumsy challenge. A further 3 tries from West Park took the final score to 50-10.
No question that West Park were the better side; they had many fine individual players (particularly in the backs) and as a team they were well drilled and organised. But Bees by no means disgraced themselves as we matched West Park for good portions of the game. We started the game at 100 miles an hour and it was this and the speed of our recycling that got us the early try. But perhaps that intensity of play also played a part in our eventual downfall as we flagged later in the game– not only physically but we became mentally ponderous taking too long to make decisions as the game wore on. Maybe we need to look for spells of containment in our play as well as spells of all out offence. Had we been able to slow things down a little after that first try and frustrate the opposition for a bit longer, things might have turned out differently. As it was, we gave away our early lead a little too easily with the reversed penalty and three more of West Park’s tries came from kicks that weren’t really deep enough and went straight down their full-back’s throat. Some learning points for us and areas we can improve but, as ever, great credit is due to the lads for persevering against tough opposition; perseverance epitomised by man of the match Dom Walker.
by Dave Butterworth
Pete Booth claimed the restart and, once again, West Park’s forwards were penalised for coming in from the wrong side. Nick Gore kicked to touch for a Bees line out inside the opponent’s half. A good take by Bees and a dummy run from Andy Nicz allowed Ryan Wilson to cut inside from the wing and break the gain line. But West Park managed to turn possession over and it was time for their backs to sling it wide. They progressed to the Bees 22 before conceding yet another penalty, which was reversed after we tried to wrestle the ball from the retreating West Park player. West Park took full advantage of that somewhat fortuitous decision, scoring a converted try for a 7-5 lead. That try was just what the home side needed to settle their early nerves and they started to take control of things. From the restart, they were back in Bees territory but our defence was holding. Sam had the right idea but unfortunately his box kick went straight to the West Park full back, who ran back at us with some ferocity and despite a fine tackle just short of the line, a neat offload saw West Park cross for the second time in as many minutes, taking the score to 12-5. But Bees were not beaten yet. From the restart, we kept things in the opponents half and a good move involving new recruit Elliot drew in the defenders leaving just enough space for Ryan Wilson to cross in the corner, score 12-10. We continued to match our higher ranked opponents with some good scrapping in the forwards and decent breaks by the backs. We tried all manner of moves to break through again – rampages by the big men Ex and Soddy (and even some of the littler men, Pete and Rixy), good interchanges in the backs involving Sam, Matt and Jack and even a chip and chase from Elliot which was just a touch too deep and ran harmlessly dead. But the home side held on to their slim lead until a blind side run from a West Park scrum caught us unawares giving them a 9 point cushion with a converted try in the corner. More West Park pressure from the kick off and it was a matter of hanging on for the half-time whistle. It was all a bit frantic until one of the Bees forwards tried to relieve the pressure with a hack upfield. Somewhat predictably, the kick landed nicely for the West Park full back, who made us pay with another converted try on the half-time whistle making it 26-10.
Bees continued to toil in the second half but it was becoming increasingly difficult as we tired against a side that were growing in confidence. Our fate was pretty much sealed when the referee awarded a penalty try for a high tackle in the corner – nothing malicious just a clumsy challenge. A further 3 tries from West Park took the final score to 50-10.
No question that West Park were the better side; they had many fine individual players (particularly in the backs) and as a team they were well drilled and organised. But Bees by no means disgraced themselves as we matched West Park for good portions of the game. We started the game at 100 miles an hour and it was this and the speed of our recycling that got us the early try. But perhaps that intensity of play also played a part in our eventual downfall as we flagged later in the game– not only physically but we became mentally ponderous taking too long to make decisions as the game wore on. Maybe we need to look for spells of containment in our play as well as spells of all out offence. Had we been able to slow things down a little after that first try and frustrate the opposition for a bit longer, things might have turned out differently. As it was, we gave away our early lead a little too easily with the reversed penalty and three more of West Park’s tries came from kicks that weren’t really deep enough and went straight down their full-back’s throat. Some learning points for us and areas we can improve but, as ever, great credit is due to the lads for persevering against tough opposition; perseverance epitomised by man of the match Dom Walker.
by Dave Butterworth
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