Senior Boys' Rugby Match Reports (Week 10 - Autumn Term '23)

Traditionally this weekend's block fixtures against Norwich have been competitive from U14Bs upwards, unfortunately, they cancelled the U14Bs and U16s matches late on which left these teams without any competitive fixtures. With the cancellation of these matches, we were able to draft up some players from the U14Bs to play in the As and two U16s, Charlie M and Tom N, both made their 2nd XV debuts.
 

1st XV v Norwich (18.11)
5-31 (L)
When we look back at this match we could say it was a step too far for the boys who had already left everything out on the pitch up at Gresham's on Tuesday, but in true Felsted spirit they boarded the coach for another road trip. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Norwich, we had only 15 minutes pre-match to warmup and throughout the match it showed that we hadn’t managed to shake the journey from our legs. To give Norwich credit they are a good team led well by their scrumhalf and full back and I am sure if we had the opportunity to play again the result would be different.

2nd XV v Norwich (18.11)
5-33 (L) 
The team made the journey to Norwich somewhat depleted by injuries but put in a committed performance, the opposition eventually running out 33-5 winners. We were a few scores down by half time. Will P went closest during a strong spell in the first half, only to be denied when reaching out for the try line. Norwich scored again a few times at the start of the second half. Felsted showed good determination and came back with a well worked try from Edoardo R. A final score for Norwich finished the game off as they ran out deserved winners.

U15A XV v RHS (11.11 - Week 9)
29-14 (W) 
Coming off the back of a 2 week break, I wasn’t sure how well the team would gel in their first game back. Luckily it took the boys all of 90 seconds to put my worries behind me, instantly playing with a stunningly fluid attacking structure, carry after carry battering the RHS defence, before the backs were able to zip the ball wide to Phoenix I-S to open the scoring. The teams went into half time with the score remaining 5-0, with Felsted unlucky to add more points, losing the ball over the line and getting held up. However the half time score was a testament to the team’s monstrous defensive efforts, with a special mention for Nikolai V, who must have forgotten to eat breakfast and instead decided to absolutely munch the RHS players in his tackles!! 

The second half saw the playmakers amongst the team begin to dip into their bag of tricks, sticking kicks into the empty RHS backfield helping to build relentless pressure resulting in 2 more tries. An excellent pack try from an unstoppable rolling maul saw Nihaal S dot down, followed by him catching the proceeding kick off, freeing Noah L-C to gallop down the wing before executing a simple 2-on-1 to put Max S over in the corner. 

Player of the Match was difficult as everyone probably had one of their best games of the year, however this week it goes to Harrison R for his excellent game management strategies. 

It’s so so good to see the boys begin to play as a team and understand the game on deeper levels week on week. Their efforts in training have stepped up significantly and it feels like we’re beginning to build something very strong with this team.

U15A XV v Norwich (18.11)
33-0 (W) Tries: Nihaal S (2), Ralph P, Sean C, Harry R Cons: Leo S (2), Ralph P (2)

Following on from their impressive display against RHS last weekend, the U15As continue to improve and impress. We were expecting a closely matched fixture with Norwich after losing by 1 point last year, and having very similar results this season. However, as has been the trend recently with this squad, in not the nicest of conditions, we were able to control the territory, tempo, and play the game the way we wanted to play it, special mention to Ralph P and Harry R putting their massive boots to great use. 

The opening 10 minutes of the match saw both teams wrestle to get the upper hand in the collisions, with big carries and big tackles coming in as both sides looked to run the ball from anywhere. Eventually our game controllers decided to pile on the territory pressure and our kicking game kept Norwich on the back foot. This pressure was rewarded with Nihaal S’s first try, with a bulldozing No.8 pick and go from 20 metres out. 

The second try was a thing of beauty, Leo S wrapping round to the blind side, looking to take the ball to the line before delivering a sumptuously well weighted chip, bouncing into the grateful arms of Ralph P who dove over to the disbelieving screams of players, spectators and coach alike. 

Try number 3 stemmed from a rolling maul, taking us from the 22 to within inches of the line before getting pulled up for an injury assessment. The game was restarted with a 5m scrum to Felsted, and it came as no surprise that Nihaal S picked from the base to dart over for his second score.

Try 4 was perhaps the best try I have ever seen scored by a second rower. A 45m individual effort from Sean C, perfectly implementing some training points we had been working on for the past two weeks. After spotting a gap in the defence, Sean ran a line and cut back in on the angle to blast between two defenders, doing well to hold his balance and motoring on to get 1-on-1 with the opposition full back. Like a giraffe bred with a gazelle, he leaped into the air, threw in a filthy goose step before doubling back, bamboozling the full back and leaving Sean the space to run in the last 25m to finish the half 28-0. 

The only score in the second half belonged to Harry R, with a commendable effort to put his face in front of the Norwich box kick, then regathering himself to pick up his own charge down, just about held his balance and stumbled over the line to score. Whilst the rest of the game remained scoreless, the second half saw the team massively up their efforts in defence, with much better organisation, communication and dominance in the tackle area. This team spirit to not concede was exemplified no better than Nihaal S’s last ditch effort, as he dove and reached out to slap the ball out of the Norwich player’s hand as they were reaching for the try line. 

All round, an excellent display of rugby. Forwards showing dominance in the maul, scrum and contact zone, backs kicking game improving with regards to both understanding when to kick and the kick execution itself, and all round the team spirit is exponentially better. These last few weeks since half term have seriously sharpened up the boys’ skills and knowledge and should make for a very exciting house rugby competition.

U15B XV v Norwich (18.11)
32-17 (W) Tries: George E (3), Miller B (2), Adel L
A strong start saw Felsted race to a 17-0 lead with three excellent tries from Miller, George and Adel. Norwich then came storming back with two tries of their own leaving the game tantalisingly poised at 17-10 at half time. 

The second half saw a series of quick Norwich injuries meaning that a few notable Felstedians had to flip shirts and play for the opposition (many thanks to them for their sportsmanship) but with Felsted in the ascendancy, three more tries (two more for George and one for Man of the Match Miller) saw them comfortably home 32-17.

U14A XV v Norwich (18.11)
31-7 (W) Tries: Alfie H, Stefan S, Freddie D, Toby C, Archie M  Con: Round (3)
An excellent all round display from the team that having conceded early on dominated the game in terms of possession and scoring. The phase play that has been developing week on week was evident again and the team who have lost a couple of close ones recently certainly deserved the victory.