Match Report

Ionians Alligators v Driffield U12’s

27^th February 2011

The Alligators turned out in force today, with only a couple of key players missing. With a strong opposition to face, they knew that staying focused and playing with passion and an abundance of willpower would be the only way to claim victory over Driffield.

Driffield kicked-off and the ever vigilant Ellis Rimmington made light work of catching the ball and immediately began making his way forward before getting tackled. The return of Guy Whittaker proved to be a real asset as he wasted no time in getting stuck in, beginning with a great tackle and steal to send the ball straight out to the wing. Unfortunately, it went a little far and just into touch giving Driffield the first line-out.

An excellent scrum pass from George Boynton to Michael Walker and across to Guy Whittaker then James Millington who quickly off-loaded to Sam Howard was a brilliant array of ball passes that very nearly gave Sam the chance to bolt for the try line. Although Sam did well to keep hold of the ball, he was dragged into touch well into Driffields’ half.

Ian Shimmells showed no mercy as he too got stuck in and began wading his way through several opposing defenders to edge his team forward. Seeing Driffield closing in on the try line was enough to bring Ellis Rimmington and Sam Howard quickly to the rescue as they lunged at the Driffield player, sending him flying into touch and preventing a try against the Alligators.

Driffield, realising the Alligators were out to win at all costs, forced their way through a lapsed opening and very nearly gained a try but gave a little knock-on that saved the Alligators once again. The Alligator scrum gave George Boynton the chance to pass out to Michael Walker who kicked the ball deep into Driffields’ half, into touch and clear of danger. Driffield got the line-out and passed with equal precision to that of the Alligators. However, their long high kick was well caught by Jack Hatfield and passed out onto the wing.

Just when you thought Driffield was going to steal the first try with a sudden burst through another weak Alligator opening. Michael Walker came to the rescue with a fast sprint and a lovely soaring tackle to send the Driffield player flying into touch just shy of the try line.

The Alligator’s were also having a great kicking game and when George Boynton kicked deep into a Driffield defence, the ball was knocked-on, giving the Alligator’s a well placed scrum. After a second scrum restart, George once again got the ball out to Michael Walker for another long and accurate kick up field. After regaining possession, the Alligator’s didn’t waste the accurate kicks, chased well and with a neat little pass from Michael Walker to Guy Whittaker, the Alligator’s were now shining with confidence.

A long pass from George Boynton to Ethan Canet-Baldwin played out well for Ethan as he tried desperately to exert enough energy to elude his opposition with a dynamic dash down the wing. Fortunately, Ethan’s hard work didn’t go without its rewards as the Alligators soon gained a penalty to keep play concentrated in Driffield’s half until the half time whistle blew.

Going into half time with a 0-0 score was surely a first for both sides, and with everything to play for, the second half was going to be equally as exciting.

The Alligators got the second half under way and with a few short kicks back and forth it almost seemed like a game of, dare I say it, football for a minute. The Alligator’s quickly gained the upper hand and very nearly penetrated Driffield’s defence, but alas, Driffield were just too punishing for the brave little Alligator’s on this occasion. Eventually, the hard work paid off when a maul close to the try line saw a brilliant pass that started with Charlie Cartmell’s pass to Michael Walker who drew his man in perfectly with a neat little off-load to send Jack Green-Morgan, who was suitably positioned, to quickly charge over the try line and touch down the all important, superbly placed try.

The Alligators now had the edge they so deserved and weren’t about to let their rivals take it away from them. Some brilliant and accurate passing down the wing meant that Driffield would have to force the error to be in with any chance of reclaiming the game. Even the hardest of passes were being caught well by the Alligators, as Matty Gill’s pass from Michael Walker showed. Unfortunately, although Matty managed to keep hold of the ball, he was ultimately nudged into touch for his efforts.

Driffield maintained their strong defence and tackled fearsomely, trying desperately to outplay and outwit the Alligators. Their desperate measures very nearly gained them a late equaliser but the Alligators were just as fearsome and just as ruthless in defending their ground and quickly took their opponent into touch before he do any harm. The Alligator’s knew that keeping possession would be hard and with play concentrated mainly in their half, it was a real task to cling on to the ball and prevent Driffield from scoring.

Guy Whittaker gave a great performance and made a concentrated effort to barge his way through Driffield’s defence, but the strength of Driffield proved too much for Guy and he was taken into touch just over the half way line.

The Alligators, not exempt from desperation, made an unfortunate but slight forward pass in their attempt to secure another try. It was, however, quickly spotted and gave Driffield a glimmer of hope. Luckily for the Alligators, Driffield did very little with their last chance to turn the game around and now appeared to be accepting the inevitable. Driffield’s last kick of the game was effortlessly caught by Matty Gill, who knew all he had to do was keep hold of the ball.

A late penalty to the Alligators gave Michael Walker the chance to kick the ball deep into relative safety. Driffield, having gained possession, brought the ball back up field but was quickly forced into touch by several Alligator’s close to the home try line. When the final play of the game was announced, an Alligator line-out was won and the ball was passed out to Michael Walker who attempted a long kick into touch, but didn’t quite make it. It was caught by a Driffield attacker, who ran the ball back into a barrage of Alligator defenders, ultimately knocking-on and ending the game 7-0 to the Alligators.

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MAN OF THE MATCH: Sam Howard for his outstanding contribution in preventing Driffield from touching down a single try. When Sam is enthusiastically charged and ultimately focused he is without doubt a formidable force, relentlessly punishing the opposition at every opportunity. His efforts in tackling the opposition and preventing the inevitable try coupled with his ball skills was exemplary and most certainly played a significant part in today’s outcome.

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MATCH SUMMARY:

Results:

Alligators 7 - 0 Driffield

Try Scorers:

Jack Green-Morgan 1

Total Alligator Tries: 1

Conversions:

Jack Hatfield 1

Total Alligator Con’s: 1

Attendance: 17/22 - (77%)

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