U14s 300 (divided by 20)

It was like a scene from the film 300 this morning as a mere 15 players stood against what seemed to be hoards of Middlesbrough players. (For Dan's benefit 300/20 = 15);

National "rest a prop" day caught us by surprise with our usual candidates all being absent. Nathan Fraser wasn't happy playing front row all on his own so this resulted in a number of players being asked to play out of their usual positions and having to step up against a good Middlesbrough pack.

It goes to show that we have good strength in depth and versatile players.

The impressive back line were on fire today (not literally, although it would have warmed me up), scoring 5 of the 6 Ripon tries and defending well.

Oliver Williams was first on the scoresheet, finishing off some good team play with a scything run. Hamish Mainey added the conversion. (0-7)
Evan Rees was next to score, out pacing the defenders to run in from 40 meters. (0-12)

Cole Potts added a third with a lovely break from outside the Middlesbrough 22, and sprinted into the corner to score in front of his parents! (0-17)

The back line were working well together and Harry Fern coming back to the team after a few years out had some exciting breaks, one of which resulted in Titus Baker getting the opportunity with ball in hand and a bit of space, which he took well to notch up try number four. (0-22)

An abundance of penalties to the home side put Ripon in defensive mode on their own try line for a period of time. Oliver Williams, George Spink, Ben Rutter and skipper for the day Dylan Hudspeth all making huge tackles to deny the home team from crossing. However, some confusion and fumbling at the base of a ruck saw a try awarded. (5-22)

The back row of George Spink, Harry Allen and Ted Wainwright were causing mayhem with the pressure they were putting on the home side. Michael Sorby was unlucky to be held up over the line, after a powerful snipe but it was Ted Wainwright who closed the half with a try, brushing off a number of would be tacklers to dive into the corner. (5-27)

The second half started well with Harry Fern making a break from inside his own half and out pacing the defence to score under the posts, allowing Hamish Mainey to add the conversion. (5-34)

Things went a bit downhill for a while with two Ripon players yellow carded the remaining 13 dug deep and some excellent defence kept the home team out for that period.
Connor Stout and Oliver Rockey showed versatility swapping between wing and back row.

Two late tries from Middlesbrough sweetened the scoreline. (15-34)

A good team performance!

Tries:
Oliver Williams
Evan Rees
Cole Potts
Titus Baker
Ted Wainwright
Harry Fern

Conversions:
Hamish Mainey(2)