Aylesford Bulls U16As 7 - 24 Sevenoaks Academy U16As
Sevenoaks travelled to Aylesford Bulls on Sunday 3 October for a double header at Under 16s As and Bs levels.
In the first match the Oaks As enjoyed a rapid start. Collecting the kick off well and recycling down the narrow channel set up field position for Fin Stables to romp through the Bulls cover for a trademark try that Ben Pearl converted. But that strong start did not open the floodgates; actually quite the opposite.
Bulls were tenacious up front and their riposte came in the form of the home side 10 waltzing through the Oaks defence a little too easily. He converted his own try and at 7-7 the game was on.
What followed were a series of disrupted exchanges as both sides sought the ascendency to no avail and they entered the half time break still locked at 7-7.
A few adjustments at the break saw Oaks emerge with a little more composure and patience which soon paid off.
Oli Ebsworth made the breakthrough for Oaks with an outstanding individual break from the half way line to show his turn of pace and with the extras Oaks were 14-7 to the good.
The game then got stuck in a similarly abrasive pattern to the first half until great play by Joe Sussmus in the loose presented Oaks outside half Ben Pearl with the opportunity to run a try in and put the game out of the home side’s reach.
In the final flourishes there was enough time for Oli to add the icing on the cake as he secured his second try to round off an outstanding all round Oaks performance.
Aylesford Bulls U16Bs 12-20 Sevenoaks Academy U16Bs
Having watched the U16A’s win through in a disjointed game, marred by some interesting refereeing, it was deja vu for the U16Bs!
Despite conceding an early try, the boys played with aggression and intent and responded with a well worked try and conversion for captain Thomas after some good offloading and collision wins However, the first half saw an unbelievable penalty count of 9-0 against Oaks culminating in a penalty try to Aylesford. To the legions of Oaks fans, however, it certainly wasn’t clear and obvious that a try would have been scored. We levelled the scores at 12-12 despite some of their A team coming on, which led to nervy last 5 mins.
Oaks then shunned a shot at goal much to the dismay of the away fans but were luckily rewarded with another penalty after excellent rucking in their 22. Thomas kicked the goal to make it 15-12. From the restart, Oaks won back possession and then an off load to Thomas led to a final deserved try, 40m and 7 defenders later. Result 20-12 to Sevenoaks…. Overall, an excellent performance from all 18 – all the basics were done extremely well and the lads handled a very frustrating match admirably.
Squad list: Nick McLean, Charlie Andrews, Jacob Bund, Fionn Daly, Max Gilbey, Conrad Sykes, Kam Sattretin, Liam Thomas (C), Alexander Blackmore, Will Francombe, Joe D'Alessio, Chris Barrett, Will Curtis, Sam Keenor, Alex Holden
Subs: Dan Featherstone, Sashan Chandrasekera, Jack Davies-O'Malley