Oaks Academy U16s played their first fixture as an 'A' squad on Sunday, producing a physical and clinical performance to down a very physically imposing Romford side.
Having gone out of county to find bigger and sterner challenges, there was admittedly a small amount of apprehension from the coaching staff when it became apparent that Oaks would be without several front-line players due to injury and availability. Romford's arrival at the Paddock - where Head Coach Dawson mistook several of the Essex outfit to be opposition for our later U18s game - did nothing to alleviate this.
As it turned out, this apprehension was wildly misplaced.
Oaks shot out of the blocks. They turned Romford over almost immediately from the kick-off and quickly won a penalty in phase play. This was followed by several lineout drives, each resulting in another penalty. Finally, a driving maul stopped legally a couple of metres out was capitalised on by strong pick and go play, resulting in talismanic number 8 Frank Kitchen powering over from close range. The width of the try made the conversion incredibly difficult, so Oaks had to settle for an early 5-0 lead.
Oaks 16s succeeded where the older academy groups have thus far failed this season with a superbly effective exit straight from the kick-off. The Oaks defence applied pressure from the Romford lineout and won a turnover on the floor which was followed very quickly by a penalty for hands in the ruck. Oaks once again went for the corner and another strong lineout drive enabled prop Jack Wilson to break off and surprise Romford's guard defence for a second score. The conversion from wide out went unconverted, but Oaks were 10-0 and dominant.
At this stage, fly half Angus Hall's kicking game really took over. Romford simply couldn't get out of their own half. Another turnover on the floor just inside the Romford 22 was followed by a sweeping wide strike move that resulted in impressive winger Alfie Stratton going over in the corner for Oaks' third try. Sadly for Hall, his magnificent kicking from hand was being undermined by his teammates seemingly having a 'who can score closest to the touchline' competition. Another impossible conversion was duly missed and Oaks found themselves 15-0 up instead of a much more commanding 21-0.
Romford to this point had struggled to really build any phases. Their extremely direct attacking style was coming up short against very powerful Oaks defence and this was leading to frequent turnovers. However, it was clear to anyone watching their warmup that they had players out wide who were one weak tackle away from scoring an incredible try at any point. This looked as if it might happen when Romford forced a turnover of their own and immediately shifted the ball wide to their left winger. Oaks were set up to attack, leaving right winger Oli Ebsworth with a huge amount of space to cover on the scramble. Fortunately, Ebsworth proved to be every bit as lighting fast as the Romford winger and bundled him to touch some 30m further down the pitch. Oaks had received their first real warning.
Encouraged by their line break, Romford started to push the ball wider in their phase play and once again caught the Oaks midfield a little too narrow. This time it was Alfie Stratton's turn to prove his defensive worth by shutting down the Romford right winger with another outstanding scramble tackle. Romford were showing signs of promise, but Oaks went in to half time 15-0 up and deservedly so.
Oaks knew that despite their dominance, their lead was by no means unassailable and they began the 2nd half with fantastic energy and urgency. Their increasingly impressive ruck defence forced a knock on in line with the posts around Romford's 22. From the ensuing scrum, number 9 Ben Pearl ghosted blind and used clever decoy lines from his outside backs to open up a hole for himself. He glided through for Oaks' 4th try. With fly half Hall off with a hip injury, Pearl had to convert his own try to take Oaks into a 22-0 lead.
Changes for both sides at half time did affect the fluidity of the game and much of the remainder of the match was spent in the middle third of the pitch. On one occasion where Romford were able to force their way up into Oaks territory, powerful defence from the likes of Rui Beaufoy, Ryan Dixon and the immense Frank Kitchen stopped their big runners in their tracks. On the other side of the ball, centre Raphi Simmonds-Dancer was beginning to influence the increasingly scrappy game more and more. Powerful carries close to the ruck got Oaks back up into Romford territory. There they remained until centre Sam Sherwood, who had been growing more and more into the game, found fullback Max Avery running a fantastic line to scythe through the Romford midfield and go over for Oaks' 5th and final try. Pearl added the extras for a 29-0 win.
This was an impressive performance from the young Oaks. It was their first 'A' fixture since joining the Academy and they executed their new patterns and plays extremely well. This combined with a ferocious defence and some excellent game-sense made them too much for a very physically impressive Romford to handle. Romford for their part were incredibly combative and lacked no threat in the wide areas of the pitch. Indeed one can easily see them putting some big scores on other opposition throughout this season.
Next up for the Oaks U16s is a double header at Aylesford Bulls 16As and Bs next weekend.
Squad list: Peter LaTrobe, Andrich Skein, Jack Wilson, Arthur Hansen, Rui Beaufoy, Ryan Dixon, Tom Hewitt, Frank Kitchen, Ben Pearl, Angus Hall, Alfie Stratton, Sam Sherwood, Raphi Simmonds-Dancer, Oli Ebsworth, Max Avery
Subs: Fin Thomas, Mac Raymond, Liam Thomas, Will Francombe, Alex Holden
