Worcester Wild Ones U11 lose out to Pontypridd
Feb
The Wild Ones always knew that playing Ponty would be a benchmark as to
how far they have progressed this season. Ponty are a magnificent team,
who have remained unbeaten for over three years, and last year they
routed the Wild Ones.However, this Worcester team have progressed, and
Ponty had to work extremely hard for both of their victories. The
Worcester boys had to adapt to different laws in Wales, ten a side,
rather than twelve, passive scrummaging, and no kicking outside the 22,
but they applied themselves very well. The games were played in
atrocious conditions , very wet, with 6 inches of mud , all over the
pitch. However, the Rugby played, on both sides, was of the highest
quality. The contest up front was fascinating, the Ponty boys were
physically bigger,and well drilled, but the Wild Ones were aggressive in
the tackle, and played with tremendous heart. Pontys strengths was their
ability to put players into space, and off load in the tackle to
supporting players. Even though the Wild Ones tackled to a standstill,
eventually the constant pressure told. In the first game Ponty scored
three tries in the first half, but once the Wild Ones had settled down
they only conceded one in the second half. In the second game, The Wild
Ones got off to a flyer, with Oli Lycett crashing over from two yards,
and then a fine jinxing run from Will Tibbetts saw him touch down. As
expected from such a quality team, Ponty came back, and their fine
exapnsive close supporting play saw them take the lead and eventually
win the game. The Wild Ones can take a lot of positives from this
performance, their heads never went down, they tackled themselves to a
standstill, and for extended periods of the game, won lots of
possession, but did not have the killer edge to score. Ponty remarked
that it had been one of their toughest challenges of the season, and
Worcester are confident of closing the gap even further, on Pontys
return visit to Worcester next year.
