Leeds Festival
Ionians Alligators v Sandal, Otley, North Ribblesdale, & DInnington U12’s
31st October 2010
It was a new festival for the Alligators, one they had not encountered before, and one that was to test their resilience and ability to shine in the face of adversity.
G1 - Sandal: Sandal immediately hit through the Alligator defence line, after kicking off, to re-take the ball, make a few quick passes and clear the try line. Sandal soon regained possession and made the half way line but Jack Green-Morgan acted swiftly with a try-saving tackle.
Sandal quickly became a threat for the Alligators, who tried desperately to prevent another early try. Alas, they couldn’t stop Sandal’s biggest player barging through and crossing the line. Although Sandal managed to handle the ball quite comfortably, it didn’t prevent the Alligators fiercely entering mauls and forcing the advantage.
With an unfortunate third and fourth Sandal try in quick succession, the Alligators tried hopelessly to keep the ball out of their own half with several kicks. As Sandal thundered back, a valiant Matthew Gill saw his chance to pounce and brought his opponent firmly to the ground.
The second half got started with a kick deep into Sandal’s half, quickly brought back into Alligator territory. A forward pass by Sandal gave hope for the Alligators after a scrum allowed Michael Walker to force his way through, taking several Sandal players out before succumbing to their heroic tackling skills.
The Alligators could little to stop a quick Sandal pass and a full pitch sprint to cross the try line. A courageous tackle by George Boynton near the touch line surely prevented one try, but after a botched Alligator line out, Sandal re-took control and tipped over the try line for the sixth and final time to end the game 30-0 to Sandal.
G2 - Otley: Otley’s kick-off landed perfectly in the hands of Jack Green-Morgan, who tried desperately to hold on to the ball as he entered a maul. A scrum awarded to Otley gave them the chance for a quick pass down the line to comfortably score.
Otley took every opportunity to elude the Alligators, but a brilliant try-stopping tackle by Sam Howard thwarted an otherwise full length dart for the try line. In their hasty attempt to score, Otley dropped several balls close to scoring. Despite Oscar Cavills’ brave attempt to prevent another try against them, Otley managed to slip by and take the ball over the try line, only for the player to fall foul of the dead ball line before grounding the ball, thus saving the Alligators.
James Millington stepped up to the mark with his unique forceful approach to gain ground and safely get the ball out to George Boynton who made a terrific pass out wide for Michael Walker to receive, escape his pursuers, and bolt for the try line and score.
As the second half got under way, Otley’s attempt to weave through the Alligator’s was ultimately stopped as George Boynton managed an interception and kicked the ball back up field to Jack Green-Morgan, who despite being tackled, made good ground and escaped the grasp of several Otley players.
With full time approaching and the score level, it was the Alligators who had the hardest fight to prevent Otley from crossing the try line. With play concentrated only yards from the Alligators’ try line; it was Otley’s stamina that finally paid off as they managed to nail the winning try after the hooter sounded.
G3 - North Ribblesdale: A Ribblesdale start allowed Leon Caplin to grab the ball and clear good ground. A courageous effort was made by Charlie Cartmell to keep the ball within the oppositions half as he retained possession and fought through several players. A quick pass to Leon Caplin, as he approached the area of play, allowed him to high-tale it over the line to score.
From an Alligator scrum came a great opportunity for Matthew Gill to bolt down the touch line, with Ribblesdale in hot pursuit, and cross, what he thought was, the try line, which would have been a brilliant try, if only he had grounded it the right side of the line. Never mind Matthew, it was an applauded effort. As the Alligators regrouped, James Millington took charge and barged his way through the Ribblesdale defence line and scored. The Alligators were now playing with greater passion and when Oscar Cavill, clinging on to the ball with all his might, successfully off-loaded it to Charlie Cartmell, the game was intensifying.
A second half kick-off by the Alligators gave them a chance to lunge forwards, with Kyro Kelly putting his body on line once again. Although the ball was lost, the overall passing by the Alligators was improving in their quest to keep possession.
G4 - Dinnington: A kick-off by Dinnington, received well by Matthew Gill, was passed out wide to Ethan Canet-Baldwin and taken into touch just over the half-way line. Another attempt to steal the ball paid off for James Millington as he managed to grab it from the clutches of his opponent to secure his second try of the day.
A delightful piece of weaving by Matthew Gill to elude his pursuers paid off with a lovely pass to Charlie Cartmell, who managed to gain significant ground for the Alligators.
A deep drive in Dinnington’s half, with Dinnington in possession, meant they had little choice other than to volley the ball well into the Alligators’ half. Whilst on the run, Ethan Canet-Baldwin then masterfully scooped the ball from the ground and gave a light-speed sprint to cross the line and score the most spectacular try of the day.
The Alligators kept up pace with some sly double passing, including a neat little pass from George Boynton to Michael Walker and back again which very nearly gained George a try. Sadly he was brought down just a few yards from scoring. Another opportunity eluded the Alligators as Charlie Cartmell’s brave and gallant effort to cross the try line was ruled out for handing-off.
As the second half got under way, an unlucky knock-on prevented the Alligators from another try. Once again, the bold and confident James Millington got stuck in and giftedly stole the ball and delivered it deep within Dinnington territory.
Dinnington’s final attempt to make an impact was quickly thwarted as Kyro Kelly prevented an otherwise brilliant Dinnington pass, as he tackled his opponent and stopped them from scoring.
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MAN OF THE MATCH: Charlie Cartmell for his no-nonsense attitude and his positive approach in today’s games. His passion for the game is abundantly clear and his commitment beyond reproach. Charlie got stuck in and prevented many chances the opposition had to penetrate the Alligator defence. His contribution to the squad has quickly become a firm and valuable asset.
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MATCH SUMMARY:
Results:
Alligators 0 - 30 Sandal
Alligators 5 - 10 Otley
Alligators 10 - 0 North Ribblesdale
Alligators 10 - 0 Dinnington
Try Scorers:
James Millington 2
Michael Walker 1
Leon Caplin 1
Ethan Canet-Baldwin 1
Total Alligator Tries: 5
Conversions: - - Total Alligator Con’s: -
Attendance: 16/22 - (73%) Away
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