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U13s in freezing friendly

U13s in freezing friendly

Peter Barron28 Jan 2018 - 16:58
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Report by Bob Lockyer

Given the atrocious weather conditions and the limited number of players Lewes had available, forcing many to play out of position, this was a commendable team effort by everyone in the Lewes squad
- Coach Bob Lockyer

Horsham U13s 35-Lewes U13s 30

Lewes RFC U13s were away to Horsham RFC for a 'friendly' fixture, with the temperature struggling to get above two degrees and with persistent sleet/snow it made our trip to Bognor before Christmas seem almost tropical.

Various sicknesses and injuries meant that Lewes only manged to field a squad of 15 players whereas opponents Horsham had a squad almost twice that number. It had previously been decided that they would play 3 x 20 sections with rolling subs which at least meant the players could have a couple of breaks to catch their breath.

The first 20 minute section saw both teams quite evenly matched and even the re-jigged Lewes scrum appeared to be holding its own. A try by Lewes winger, Jack Plamer, after six minutes gave them cause for hope, however Horsham reverted to channel one ball via their largest ball carrier and responded with two tries of their own. The session ended 2:1 to Horsham but Lewes had held their own admirably.

The second 20 minute session saw a refreshed Horsham side against Lewes who had used their only two replacements. However Lewes began with pace and enthusiasm with Henry Mitchell scoring in the first minute. This was quickly followed by another from William Wallis and then Jack Palmer scotched down the right wing to score his second and Lewes' fourth. they had to wait another five minutes before Tom Dobney got on the end of a good team effort to score their fifth. Horsham showing that they were not to be outdone upped the tempo and ran in two of their own in quick succession. The session ended with the cumulative score now standing at 6:4 and Lewes feeling rightly satisfied with their performance so far.

The third and last section saw further fresh legs for Horsham and the two subs from Lewes come back on as injury replacements for players who were now showing the strain of 50 minutes cold/wet rugby. Horsham were first to score in this section as cold hands and slow reflexes seemed to infect the Lewes side. There was a momentary ray of light when Elliott Newman scored a try showing that scoring was not the sole preserve of his fellow right wing. However Horsham kept up the pressure and despite Lewes best efforts the line speed and tackles were not as crisp as in the first 20 minutes and Horsham scored twice more. The final score was 35:30 to Horsham which was overall a fair reflection of play.

Coach Bob Lockyer said. "Given the atrocious weather conditions and the limited number of players Lewes had available, forcing many to play out of position, this was a commendable team effort by everyone in the Lewes squad."

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