Fixture

Oakdale RFC | Under 8s 10 - 8 RTB (Ebbw Vale) RFC | Under 8s
Harri Williams
Try 4
Josh Bowen
Try 1
Joshua Johnson
Try 1
Oliver Morris
Try 1
Brody Baker
Try 3

Match Report
27 November 2017 / Team News

Bro-dee, A Message to You Bro-dee

I know that’s not how you spell his name but Baker Street was such a poor choice some wordplay had to be done to celebrate our player of the match this Sunday when the Crazy Eights entertained both RTB Ebbw Vale & Newport High School Old Boys.

With Kian suffering with a bard belly, Poppy full up with a cold, Olly Bish not wanting to get injured as he had his sister’s party in the afternoon and Griff suffering from hungover parents the squad still looked good with two strong sides ready to do battle. With both away teams unexpectedly turning up for a 10am kick-off a quick shuffling of the morning’s format had to take place before the Apples took to the field to play NHSOBs.

Having Amie Locke back in the side certainly made a difference and she started the game in trademark fashion running straight and gaining the hard yards. But the visitors from Caerleon were a capable bunch and actually had the temerity to take the lead. That lead though didn’t last long as Olly Morris finished off a mazy run with a try in the corner. It was though try-for-try time as no side could exert any dominance over the other in what was an entertaining ten minutes.

Brody Baker was back to his side-stepping self and this got him two tries before Max Baldwin added another. The Apples though could have ended the period in second place had it not been for good runs from Kingsley Parry-Lewis and Alfie Short which set up Olly Morris for his second which brought the period to an end at 5-5

Fresh from turning the Christmas Lights on in Tredegar the previous weekend Harri Williams was chomping at the bit to get on the field and do some damage and that is exactly what he did with his first run which ended with a try in the corner. Although as he ran back he did whisper to me that he had been kicked in the back by one of the opposition.

That player then decided to test Josh Bowen’s resolve with another attack but Josh told him he ate bigger things for breakfast and back the lad went not wanting to make JB angry. Two more tries for Harri made it a hat-trick within six minutes but RTB stayed in the game with tries of their own. The Hot Head from Hilltop was at it again when he went for Max Baldwin but Baldwin’s impression of a swinging helicopter ensured that the lad knew not to mess with the Dale. That lad though didn’t have another chance to mis-behave as he was sent from the field.

Elliot Hall was tagging well and running straight just like he did with his player of the match performance the week before and Hannah Benger was showing good lines of running and great defensive ability. Harri added a further try before Josh Bowen crashed over but as hard as they tried they could not get away from the visitors and the period also finished at 5-5.

Back on came the Apples and RTB stayed on the field. Hoping they might be a little tired the Dale started off at 100mph and it certainly paid off as they dived on the floor to collect loose balls which helped them to an early 2-0 lead with tries from Josh Johnson and another from Brody Baker. The Apples were looking the stronger side with great runs and even better support play, with JJ everywhere on the pitch. Shay Edwards nearly doubled his season’s tally of tries but was tagged just short of the line but that gave Olly Morris the opportunity for another try of his own. That try kept the Dale just in the lead but Brody was there again with his fifth of the morning to get the Apples the victory at 5-3 for the period and 10-8 overall.

It was left to the Bananas to get the tries and get the second win of the day when NHSOB came back onto the field. They really did have some good runners in their side but Albie Wynn was having none of it as he opened his account for the morning with his first try of the day. That man Shay Edwards certainly wasn’t going to let his best buddy get all the limelight and he tried with all his might to bag himself his second try of the season and when he got the ball in his hand no-one was going to stop him crossing the line. The chest puffed out, the smiled beamed as he sprinted back to the halfway line.

NHSOB were keeping in touch and they were certainly a difficult side to play against but the try machines, Harri Williams and Brody Baker got their fifth and sixth tries respectively and were suitablly supported with a great run to finish off the match and another try by Albie Wynn and when the referee (who was excellent on the morning) blew his final whistle the Bananas were victorious with a period score of 5-4 and an overall score of 10-9.

Teams are getting better, score lines are getting narrower but somehow this team keeps on producing performance which warm the cockles and cold Sunday mornings. It was good to see the players fronting up after learning from their experiences up at Abertillery. There is work to be done with our tagging and we will be working on that after the video analysis session on Thursday night before a tough session on the weights.

The Player of the Match was someone who the coaches felt had a difficult couple of weeks previously and wasn’t playing to his full potential. That smile came back and so did the tries and the award was presented to ‘El Blondie’, Brody Baker. The picture says it all, watch out Caerleon, He’s back!!!

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