Match Report
Sir Thomas Rich's School Boys-U14A vs  Katharine Lady Berkeley's School
On: Monday, 11 Sep 2023
Venue: at Home

Match Analysis vs KLB County Cup

The road to Kingsholm started early this season and we faced a tough draw in the preliminary round of this seasons EDF U14 County Cup, with KLB set to visit the fortress.

KLB got the game underway and both sides looked a little nervy in the opening exchanges. Tommies soon settled down and some excellent work at the breakdown saw Ferchow seal an early turnover. Tommies were able to advance into KLB territory and had a dangerous set piece position with a midfield scrum. Harper carried powerfully off the back of the scrum and bulldozed his way into the KLB twenty-two. Good support play enabled Tommies to recycle the ball and Carvajal carried strongly towards the line. He fell just short, but Yemm was on hand to quickly snipe, scoring the first try, giving his side the perfect start. Fenton added the extras and Tommies led by 7.

That early score seemed to send Tommies to another level. Whitelock tapped a free kick in midfield and found Andrews flying onto the ball at pace. The Tommies outside centre burst through the KLB defence and stepped the KLB fullback to double his sides lead. Moments later Andrews was under the posts again, this time running onto a cleverly floated O’Neill pass. Fenton added both conversions and Tommies led 21-0. The onslaught continued and the free-flowing rugby was glorious to watch. Leney and Cockbill fought hard upfront, sucking in KLB defenders. Fenton spotted space on the short side and jinked blind with wingers Ashton and Ferchow. Both wingers offloaded smartly before Captain Byron burst onto the final past and sprinted away for a fourth 7-point score.

Tommies had made the dream start, but credit to KLB they responded well and fought back with a try of their own, meaning the scoreline read 28-7 at half time. Tommies were fast out the traps in the first half but started the second half poorly. Slow line speed at a KLB set piece proved costly and a powerful ball carry sauntered through to bring KLB back to within 14 points. Tommies responded well and carried hard around the fringes of the breakdown. Haq cut some sharp lines off Whitelock, whilst halftime substitute Harley was everywhere in defence.

A cagey 10 minutes followed, and Tommies eventually found themselves with a lineout just outside the KLB twenty-two. A strong maul was set up by the Tommies pack, but KLB defended well and halted the Blue Army’s progress. Tommies flanker Yemm spotted space down the short side and broke quickly. He shot down the touchline and smashed his way over the last line of KLB defence. A big score in the game!

Yet again, KLB responded well and scored a well worked try but Tommies were able to see out the final few minutes and secure themselves a place in this seasons Cup competition. A hard-fought victory, with both sides displaying plenty of promise for the campaign ahead.

Harper and Yemm had excellent games in the pack but Man of the Match this week goes to winger Fenchow. The Tommies wide man was a constant threat in attack and beat numerous defenders. Some excellent offloads led to tries and his work at the breakdown and in defence was also of high quality.

Roll on Bromsgrove this weekend!

Areas to Improve

Layers in attack – We have done some of this at training. Watch the below clip and you will see Japan using a “Blue” with the “fizz” option on the first phase. If we can create more layers, we will have more options to our attack

Basic Attack Shapes - Pod - YouTube

Skills/Inspiration – Sonny Bill Williams

Look out for running lines, his protection of the ball in contact and most importantly the skills!!

Sonny Bill Williams | One of Rugby's Greatest | Making The Impossible Look Easy - YouTube