Sevenoaks Academy welcomed Cranbrook to the Paddock for the 4th of their 6 Kent League fixtures. Having won comfortably at Thanet before losses to very strong Canterbury and Blackheath sides, Oaks were looking to bounce back with a win this time out.
At the behest of Cranbrook, Oaks rested the majority of their U18s (and several U17s) to keep a supposed 'mismatch' from getting out of hand. Indeed, only two U18s were in the squad at all, with the entire starting XV being comprised of U17s.
It became apparent within 5 minutes of play that Cranbrook were considerably stronger than had been communicated. They were physical in the carry and an absolute nuisance at the breakdown. Playing into the wind and on the smaller 2nd XV pitch, Oaks struggled to get beyond their own 10m line for much of the 1st half. Cranbrook, clearly enthused by their edging of the physical battle, went over from close range after a 5m lineout roughly 10 minutes before half time. Their fly half slotted the extras and despite some promising attack just before the whistle which nearly resulted in a try, Oaks went in at half time 0-7 down.
Strong words were said in the half time team talk and U18s Barnaby Thomas and Zac Shirtcliff were let off their leashes. This clearly had the desired impact, as the young Oaks started the 2nd half like a runaway train. Number 8 Henry Thompson went over twice in quick succession - his first try coming after he hit a beautiful line to split the Cranbrook defence just inside the 22. Shirtcliff converted one of the two tries to give Oaks a 12-7 lead.
If these two tries were the result of Oaks making better use of their kicking game, their 3rd was an advert for having the courage to run from deep. Two quick rucks after a kick-off receipt led to the ball finding Barnaby Thomas in the midfield. He smashed through the visiting defence before arcing left and threatening to burn off the opposition fullback. Just before he was about to be tackled into touch, he executed a superb grubber kick which bounced over the try line and held up in the dead ball area. Thomas won the race to his own kick and dotted down out wide to a hysterical reaction from the Oaks supporters. Shirtcliff made the wide conversion look easy and Oaks led 19-7.
To their credit, Cranbrook fought hard to regain some territory and spent the last 10 minutes of the game firmly camped inside the Oaks 22. Time and time again they battered away at the Oaks line. Time and time again, a massive Oaks shot or jackal would kill the attack at the crucial moment. The game ended ultimately ended 19-7.
This was far from a vintage performance from Oaks. Yet the manner of their victory left a lot to be positive about. The coaching staff had taken the decision in good faith to 'even up the contest' by resting multiple players at the request of the opposition. This decision could very easily have cost the players a result in a game they would otherwise expect to win. The resilience of the playing group to literally dig themselves out of a hole at half time was potentially a turning point for the group's self-belief.
Ben McClinton stood out in a fine performance in the row. Oli Langley put in tackles beyond count. Henry Hartley was massive in defence when he came on and captain for the day James Kerton led by example with relentless tackling and carrying on top of his usual stellar lineout work.
Oaks have next weekend off before travelling to TJs for what will surely be a massive test in their penultimate league game on March 20th.
Squad: Drew Mercer, Dom Stangroome, Oli Langley, Ben McClinton, Tom Moseley, James Kerton (C), Alby Butt, Henry Thompson, Harvey Galloway, Louis Bouverie, Juan Barnard, Ruben Le Roux, Jon Odeyimi, Oli May, Finn Good
Subs: Henry Hartley, Barnaby Thomas, Tom Hunt, Adam Davies, Zac Shirtcliff