Evesham under 12s v Alcester Rugby - 25th October 2015

It has been a while since we have had a Sunday morning trip to Alcester.
Fortunately the weather was kind to us and we arrived to a bright sunny morning.

11:45 kick-off
Fresh on the heels of a Bredon victory, the Evesham boys were strong from the start and immediately put the Alcester team under pressure. Just 2 minutes into the game, the pressure became too much and Joel managed to burst through the Alcester defence and went over for the first try (11:47) This early try built confidence in the Evesham ranks and we spent most of the next 5 minutes camped in the Alcester half. It wasn't long before we were over again, this time big Tom Merrell was barging his way through the Alcester defence (11:55). Evesham substitutions, George, Jack, Will (Swing) Lowe and Fin at 11:56. Evesham were now getting into their stride and were showing some good handling skills as they passed the ball down the line. Soon Tom Stone, having collected the ball from a high kick ran almost the full length of the pitch to score our 3rd try of the game (11:58). Evesham were competing well at the breakdown and continued to play attacking rugby. Soon JSD, having won the ball at the ruck, was marching powerfully towards the line and made it over for Evesham's 4th (11:59). The next few minutes saw a more determined effort from the Alcester team who finally went over the line, but the try was disallowed for a forward pass in the build-up. Disappointed to have not got the score, they were soon attacking the Evesham defence again and this time they made sure with a well deserved try at 11:04. Not content to sit back on a 4 try lead, the Evesham boys were immediately back in the game with a brilliant charge down from Olly Wycherley, followed by a determined run from Ben Smith who drove over in the dying seconds of the first half.

Half time - Evesham 5 / Alcester 1

11:10 - second half
Subs - Ben Smith, Jake, Will Mullen
The second half started just where the left off with some attacking rugby right from the whistle. After just a minute JSD won the ball at the ruck and ran from the half way line to score the first try of the second half (11:11). This was soon followed by Olly Wycherley collecting the loose ball at the breakdown and charging up the field to score his first try of the game (11:13). Evesham were again dominating the play and continued to put pressure on the Alcester team. Another promising run from Olly was unfortunately halted by a knock-on in the tackle. Olly and Matt were substituted at 11:18 and replaced by Ben and Jake. More attacking rugby from the Evesham team and a turnover ball at the breakdown nearly resulted in another try from big Tom, if it wasn't for some brave defence from the Alcester boys. Will M came on at 11:23 to take over the scrum half duties. Will Lowe showed some impressive ball carrying skills and was able to offload to Big Tom in the tackle, who went over for his hatrick (11:24) Evesham's domination in the second half started to result in a few frustrations within the Alcester ranks. Fortunately this didn't put our boys off and we still had plenty left in the tank, particularly our forwards. Soon JSD was on the drive yet again and was ploughing his way through the Alcester defence for his hatrick (11:26). This was quickly followed by another great charge from the front row, this time Jake picking up the loose ball at the breakdown and running it home (11:27). Confidence in the Evesham team was high and they were moving the ball effectively down attacking lines. In the final play of the game, JSD, not content with a mere hatrick, got the bit between teeth again and bludgeoned his way through for his fourth (11:29).

Final score - Evesham 11 - Alcester 1

Man of the Match: Will (Swing) Lowe for determined ball carrying, offloading and direct running lines.

Tackle(r) of the Match: Matthew (Ears) Pearce, for fixing his man in a 1 on 1 in defence, and making the tackle.

Rob