Under 11's V Waunarlwydd 27.09.09

27th September 2009

South Gower 12 - Waunarlwydd 7

Tries: Ethan Smith, Kieran Charles.
Conversions: Kieran Charles.

Right from the start we knew this would be a hard test as Waunarlwydd have a great team at this age and we have never beaten them before. The game started and there were some massive hits going in on both sides. Tackling was excellent and neither team could make the breakthrough. South Gower had a lineout just inside the Waun half when Jack Bates made a break. He was brought down a few metres from the try line but popped the ball up to Ethan Smith who dived over in the corner. Jack lined up the conversion but was told to wait whilst we attended to an injury. The ref then gave the go ahead and unfortunately Jack missed. Waun piled on the pressure and gained a penalty 5 metres out. Our boys lined up and as soon as the tap was made, we ploughed into the opposition with Jack Bates making a bone crunching tackle. The ball was then recycled to the Waun backs and this time Callum Carson made a bone cruncher to save a try. Forcing a knock on, we scrummed down and then cleared our lines.

Half Time:

South Gower 5 - Waunarlwydd 0

Waunarlwydd came out in the second half with renewed determination. We gave away a penalty just inside our half and did not spread out in defence and one of their players sprinted around and in at the corner. Waun then converted to make it 7-5 to them. We then applied pressure but could not find a way past their resolute defence, with Waun coming close to adding a second. With a minute remaining we had a lineout on the half way line which we secured. The forwards bound correctly providing clean ball to scrum half Tom Mogridge. Moggy then made a break. A 30 metre run was ended yards short of the line by Waun only for Moggy to pop the ball up to Kieran Charles who dived over for the winning try. Kieran picked himself up and nailed the conversion to finish the game.

Final Score:

South Gower 12 - Waunarlwydd 7

This was a massive performance from South Gower.
In my years as a coach of children's rugby, i have never witnessed such a physical and committed game from both sides. Everyone deserves a massive well done after such an intense game.

Players to mention:

Jack Bates - His tackling was immense. Absolutely fearless and puts his body on the line for the team.
Callum Carson - Again, massive defence, flawless tackles and good running.
Kieran Charles - Ran the game at stand off, made some massive tackles and popped up for the winner.
Tom Mogridge - Got up after suffering several blows, carried on and set up the winner. Great game Tom.
Paul Jones - Rucked like a machine, tackled like a demon and had a fantastic game.

Again, well done all, This Sunday we are having 2 games away. One team will travel to Bryncoch and one to Swansea Uplands. This is not the norm, especially for away games but it does ensure everyone has a full 40 minutes of rugby on the Sunday.

A special congratulations goes out to Ethan Smith, Kieran Charles, Callum Carson, Cameron Barker and Jack Bates who have all been selected for their respective district rugby teams. A fantastic achievement for them individually and for South Gower RFC. Well done boys.