A third combination of Oaks Academy players in as many weeks made the journey to Well Hall to take on a largely U17s Blackheath side bolstered by a smattering of U18s (much like their Oaks counterparts).
A game for the future then, as well as for the present.
Blackheath gained the early possession and attacked with width and purpose. To their credit, Oaks' defence was far better organised and more abrasive than in previous weeks. They were somewhat let down by poor discipline however and two offsides led to two kickable penalties. Blackheath were only too happy to convert for a 6-0 lead.
Sevenoaks' first try came in odd circumstances. Good pressure from Oaks' defence led to Blackheath being offside from a clearing kick deep within their 22. Barney Stone promptly fielded the kick before sprinting back to the mark - some 50m away - to take the quick tap and catch Blackheath off guard. Zac Shirtcliff got on his bike and picked up the inside pass from Stone to register Oaks' first try and a fitting reward for an energetic, if imperfect, start. Shirty was unsuccessful with the wide conversion attempt. 6-5.
Oaks were now fully into the game and growing in confidence. They managed to put together their first meaningful attack from a lineout around the Blackheath 10m line. The improved discipline in attacking shape that captain Josh Kemp had demanded pre-game was evident. The Blackheath defence was punched through the middle before a late rewind call from Shirtcliff exploited space down the shortside. Barney Stone, enjoying his best performance in an Oaks jersey to date, received the ball wide before selling the dummy and beating the fullback to score under the sticks. Shirtcliff promptly added the conversion to give Oaks a 6-12 lead.
The remainder of the first half saw Blackheath pushing hard for their next score, with some fantastic Oaks defence preventing them from crossing the whitewash. Half time score 6-12.
Blackheath started the 2nd half strongly and despite more dogged Oaks defence, discipline proved to be an issue again as piggy back penalties gave Blackheath a sustained period of territory and possession. With the quality of players at their disposal, Club were inevitably going to score. They did exactly that, working the ball neatly out the back to get to the outside edge of the Oaks defence before converting the 2v1 into a score. The wide conversion was missed and Oaks held onto their lead, 11-12.
The score that decided the game was a bit of a heart-breaker for Sevenoaks. Having responded brilliantly to the Blackheath score, Oaks spent pretty much the rest of the game camped in Blackheath territory as Club had some discipline issues of their own. Unfortunately, an offload from Josh Kemp that came within millimetres of sticking and putting Luke Walter in for a try ended up on the floor. Blackheath reacted rapidly to spread the ball to their left winger who had just a bit too much of a head start on Jamie Munday. To his credit, Munday chased back over 70m to attempt to prevent the score. Blackheath nailed the conversion to take an 18-12 lead.
Oaks continued their territorial dominance and applied massive pressure to the Blackheath defence for the remainder of the game. To their credit, every time they looked like they were about to concede, Blackheath would come up with a vital turnover and relieve the pressure. In the end, this proved to be the difference as they saw the game out, 18-12.
A tough loss to take for Oaks, having led for so much of the game, but tonnes of positives to take from proceedings. The energy levels were in a different universe to the previous two weeks, as were the physicality and clarity in attack. Will Murphy was completely dominant at lineout time, being aided by some fantastic darts from Elliot Peters. U17 out-half Patrick Spice had his best outing in an Oaks jersey - even more impressive given that an injury during a particularly ferocious tackle on the oppo 8 led to him leaving the field 15 minutes after coming on! Props Alex Colesmith and Tristan Deamer plus lock Toby Sweeting got their first game minutes of the season under their belts - the props eventually being replaced by Alby Butt and Gregor Pauling (both U16s)! Butt was like a whirling dervish around the breakdown and Pauling carried for a frankly ridiculous number of metres given that all of his carries were into heavy Blackheath traffic.
Next Sunday (23rd) every available player from our Academy U16s as well as our Academy 1s/2s squad will feature across two pre-season style games at our neighbours Tonbridge Juddians. Regardless of final scorelines, 80 odd youngsters playing high quality rugby in back-to-back games will be an amazing thing to be involved in, especially given the events of the past 12-14 months.
Sevenoaks Academy Squad: James Orpin, Jamie Munday, Max Moore, Zac Shirtcliff, Joe Ryder, Josh Kemp, Pip Hodson, Alex Colesmith, Elliot Peters, Tristan Deamer, Harvey Venables, Toby Sweeting, Justin Adesina, Barney Stone, Will Murphy
Substitutes: Alby Butt (U16), Gregor Pauling (U16), Luke Walter, Rory Baillie, Patrick Spice