Bees U14s 41pts vs Cleckheaton 20pts

The Bees ultimately prevailed in a game which was very close up until the last ten minutes. The boys, as seems to be their want, began the game slowly and quickly found themselves 10-0 down after conceding two tries to the tall and talented Cleckheaton inside centre, although the lack of attempts to tackle him was worrying. At that stage the Bees had enjoyed very little possession. A real positive was that heads did not drop.

The game began to turn when Joe Jagger managed to strip the ball from a Cleckheaton player and then promptly brushed aside a couple of attempted tackles to go 30 metres to score under the posts. Louis Wilkinson converted to bring the score back to 10-7.

The Bees were now enjoying some possession and went ahead for the first time when Harry Lynch sprinted onto a Louis Wilkinson kick to gather the ball, draw the full back and feed Ryan McNicholl to score the first of his four tries. Louis Wilkinson again converted for a 14-10 lead.

The next Bees score again came from a Louis Wilkinson kick. On this occasion debutant outside centre Tom Shaw collected the bouncing ball, shrugged off a tackle and scored an excellent try.

Cleckheaton, to their credit, did not give up and began to apply pressure on the Bees try line. The team, however, seemed to have woken up and realised that the Cleckheaton number 12 was not untouchable and could not run if tackled round his legs. Rishi Anand set his team mates a fine example in that regard. The Bees defended their try line very well, and had seemed to have averted danger when they held up a maul and were awarded a scrum. However, from the resulting scrum Rishi Anand was caught by his opposite number and Cleckheaton grounded the loose ball to bring the score back to 19-15, which was how the half ended.

The Bees began the second half very positively with the two second row members, Joe Boardman and Dominic Lewis setting a strong example with their tackling and ball carrying. The back row, with James Ball and Mark Atkinson were also prominent, both with and without the ball.

Unfortunately, a relapse in tackling technique allowed Cleckheaton to break from within their own half and their inside centre went 70 metres to score an unconverted try to put them back in the lead 20-19.

Yet again the Bees players did not let their heads drop and they finished the match the stronger side. The scrum became ever more dominant with props Joe Jagger and Myles Evans giving their opposite numbers a torrid time. Reluctant hooker, Owen Cooper, made sure that possession was retained whenever the Bees were awarded a scrum, and he also managed to win a couple of strikes against the head.

Talismanic centre, Ryan McNicholl scored his second try to put the side ahead 24-20. Then came the try of the game when quick thinking by Mark Atkinson allowed Ryan McNicholl to make a break. For once he was well supported and as he was tackled he fed Alexander Leadbeater who drew the last defender and offloaded out of the tackle to the supporting Luke Duffy who scored.

The Bees had to endure another spell of Cleckheaton pressure but the defending by all of the team had vastly improved and the ball got turned over. The Bees then worked their way up the pitch and Ryan McNicholl again broke tackles to score under the posts. Louis Wilkinson converted.

The last play of the game saw the Bees right winger make a scintillating 50 metre break round the outside of the Cleckheaton defence. He looked a certain scorer, but his decision to try to get nearer the posts allowed a Cleckheaton defender to get back and tackle him. All was not lost as he realised he had support in Ryan McNicholl who scored.

All in all this was a very encouraging result and performance. The fifteen players on the pitch played more as a team rather than a set of individuals, both in attack and in defence. If the level of performance seen for the majority of the match can be replicated for a full fifty minutes, and potentially improved, then this could be a memorable season for the players and supporters.

Any player not mentioned in this report should not be disheartened as all the players contributed to the team’s victory, and no one should be concerned about their contribution and performance.

The Bees team was as follows:
15. Jacob Wheeler, 14. Harry Lynch, 13. Tom Shaw, 12. Ryan McNicholl, 11. Alexander Leadbeater, 10. Louis Wilkinson, 9. Rishi Anand,
1. Joe Jagger, 2. Owen Cooper, 3. Myles Evans, 4. Joe Boardman,
5. Dominic Lewis, 6. Luke Duffy, 7. Mark Atkinson, 8. James Ball