Ionians Alligators v Bridlington U12’s
7th November 2010
It was a disappointing start to the day, three pitch changes, one 24 minute game, a ‘tag size’ pitch, and to cap it all off, no meal vouchers.
After a late start, Bridlington got the game underway with a short kick and a slow start. With an immediate taking by George Boynton, he got the ball back near Bridlington’s try line but was tackled and prevented from crossing the line. The Alligators, not feeling remotely threatened, kept up the pressure with a great effort by Charlie Cartmell to cross the line and ground the ball. Unfortunately it was ruled out for being held up, a ruling that seemed to crop up several times.
The game appeared to have an extraordinary amount of scrum restarts, enabling the Alligators to keep possession and concentrate play well within Bridlington’s half. A challenging attempt by Harry Wells to get the ball out to Jack Green-Morgan and across for Michael Walker to chase down the touch line and over the try line was thwarted at the last hurdle for giving a forward pass. Soon after, the newly charged Ethan Canet-Baldwin, waiting on the wing, grabbed a high pass and made his way down the touch line to successfully ground the ball in the top corner for the Alligators first try.
A skilfully placed dummy pass executed by George Boynton to Jack Green-Morgan, ending with an unfortunate knock-on, was a great attempt to gain distance, not that the pitch had much distance, a few strides and the full length was covered.
A no-nonsense James Millington came to the rescue of team mate Joseph Bradley when Bridlington’s largest player cast Joseph aside as he tried to stop him. James, protecting his team mate, bravely and spectacularly bulldozed his way through and took several players out with him. Amid a constant onslaught of Alligators, it was only a matter of time before their tactical ball skills came to fruition, with an effortless surge ahead by Oscar Cavil to cross the line for the Alligators’ second try.
Starting the second half 15-0 up was quite reassuring for the Alligators as Michael Walker got the game started with a good kick into Bridlington’s half. A quick chase and snatch by Oscar Cavill ensured another easy and rapid try for the Alligators.
Newcomer Matthew Gill once again gave a stunning display as he weaved his way past several unsuspecting Bridlington players to gain ground before passing out wide for James Millington to quickly off-load to Oscar Cavill, who delighted us all with a well deserved hat-trick.
A centre-pitch wrestle kept the ball relatively dormant for a while, with neither side really taking charge. Once again, Oscar Cavill made a daring attempt to get yet another try. Sadly, he was brought down just shy of the try line. With the pressure on, Matthew Gill off-loaded brilliantly to George Boynton, who crossed the try line, but another ‘held-up’ ruling prevented the try from counting. Undeterred by the disallowed try, George re-grouped and came back with a vengeance and an even more spectacular try as he intercepted a loose ball and slid graciously over the line.
Now well into the second half, the Alligator’s won the first line-out of the game. With a brilliant tap from James Millington, the ball went skilfully out to Sam Howard who passed out wide to Jack Green-Morgan who then made a ‘full pitch’ sprint before off-loading to Oscar Cavill to touch down his fourth try of the day and making it six for the Alligators.
Although the Alligators’ game against Bridlington was an overwhelming success, it was a short game, played on a short pitch, didn’t really give the Alligators the challenge they came for, and seldom caused them to break a sweat.
The Alligators went on to play a second game, against the Ionians U11’s, which proved to be a more exhilarating game and played with greater passion. It is fair to say that the U11’s excelled in all aspects of the game and certainly gave the Alligators a run for their money. Their tackling was executed daringly and courageously and very often with positive results. Although the Alligators won the game, it was a tough and compelling game and very pleasurable to watch.
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MAN OF THE MATCH: Oscar Cavill for an outstanding performance. Oscar kept up the pressure, constantly forcing his way through Bridlington’s defence. His quest to notch up the try’s didn’t prevent him from maintaining his positional play and using his skills to outwit the opposition on several occasions. His try count is testament to Oscars’ unique ability to outshine his adversary with considerable ease.
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MATCH SUMMARY:
Results:
Alligators 30 - 0 Bridlington
Alligators 25 - 0 Ionians U11’s
Try Scorers:
Oscar Cavill 4
George Boynton 2
James Millington 2
Ethan Canet-Baldwin 1
Kyro Kelly 1
Michael Walker 1
Total Alligator Tries: 11
Conversions: - - Total Alligator Con’s: -
Attendance: 15/22 - (68%) Away
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