A Convincing Win for Alton U14s

Alton U14s were proud to welcome Winchester to Anstey Park on Sunday 1st October.

Strong, skillful and well coached, Winchester had given us a run for run for our money in last year’s Hampshire Cup semi-final and we were expecting much the same from this encounter. During the opening minutes of the game both teams were equally matched with good contests taking place in all compartments of the game.

Considering, for many players, this was the first game of the season, the fact that Alton took a little while to settle to their task was perhaps no surprise. However, once the remaining rust was shaken off, the team settled in to playing the high tempo, expansive brand of rugby for which they have become known.

Taking the newly introduced facets of the game and law variations in their stride, a strong physical performances up front saw us winning the majority of scrums, even when, through injury, we were reduced to playing 7 vs 8. The speed to the breakdown increased as the game progressed, putting Winchester under increasing pressure and allowing us to spread the ball to the backs whose strong direct running and clever tactical kicking proved devastating. A conversion rate of 5 out of 7 from some difficult kicking positions highlights the benefit of the skills development work done by individual players in their own time.

The players really pride themselves on their defence. Before the game they agreed they would be unhappy if Winchester scored, so despite their overall domination, at the end of the match, having conceded a try in the last few minutes, there was a slight air of frustration and disappointment. It’s important that rather than seeing this as a negative, the fact that they were prepared to own such a tough ambition, and only just fall short, should be seen as courageous, it provides something to work on and a further opportunity to improve our overall game.

Overall it was a really enjoyable game of rugby played in a great spirit between two teams of skillful and committed players.

Tries from Hall, Hendren, Salisbury 3, Richardson, Maddock
Conversions Carter 2, Maddock 2, Law 1