Old Cats Under 14 vs Crawley

Old Cats under 14 pulled together to provide a great 20 man performance and beat Crawley 44-12.

Crawley turned up with some injuries which meant they only had a 13 man squad. No problems thought Nick and it provided the perfect opportunity to shuffle things around and experiment with the squad. Some team members were lent to the opposition team to bolster their squad to ensure a competitive fixture was had.

Crawley took full advantage of the Old Cats team being challenged by playing outside of their comfort zone in different positions. Kick off and with Crawley downhill, Old Cats failed to learn the lessons of the assault course in the previous week of communicating and team work to deliver the results. Old Cats failed to clear the ball from their half and a number of quick and skilful plays from Crawley meant the ball was soon dotted down over the line. Crawley was 7-0 up and only a few minutes on the board. To be honest though, it was the wakeup call Old Cats needed. Kick off and Old Cats started to talk to each other, stepping up the intensity. The backs move which they have drilling over the last few months finally started to get implemented in a competitive situation. When it works, it looks beautiful! Seb constantly breaking the lines and gaining the valuable yards and putting Crawley on the back foot. Old Cats got a try back.

The exchanges continued Crawley was using the down hill to their full advantage getting a try back, but Old Cats soon answered back. Half time and the score was 15-12 to Old Cats.

Half time and now Nick started to put the first half lessons into practice. Some boys still playing out of their normal position, whilst others remained. Everyone stepped up to the mark. Talked to each other, backed each other up to put in a sterling team effort. The one thing that Old Cats could not easily deal with in the first half was Crawley's huge lad. It was up to Beau to step up to the mark and fearlessly put his body on the line for the team. Constantly making the big challenges on Crawley's most powerful weapon in their armoury and removed the threat. With the threat contained and Old Cats working well as a team, in came 6 unanswered tries which were a combination of individual brilliance and teams dogged performance. Full-time and 44-12 to Old Cats.

Still areas to improve, but a full 20 man team performance which is truly heartening and enjoyable to see.

Some people to pull out for exceptional performances are:
Harrison, Will, Josh D, Alex A, Luke & JJ. Willingly going onto the Crawley team to fill the numbers and play out of their ‘skins’ to ensure it was a truly competitive match. Crawley's parents and coaches commented on their passion and being part of the team.

Paddys individual try of blistering pace and hitting the after burners at the right time to get over the try line.

Jonathan – first game for Old Cats & played the full duration. Slotted in well to our pack and was not phased by some of Crawley's bigger lads.

Man of the match has to go to Beau though. Coped really well in moving around different positions together with his brave & fearless tackles on Crawleys biggest lad.

Tries from Leo, Drew, Josh, Paddy, Will, Harrison, Charlie, Ross (eight different people – which just shows the team effort)!
Conversions x 2 from Ross

Extra special thanks goes to Mike D for his delicious jacket potato with Chilli and the newly promoted Vice President of ‘Kitchen Staff’ Eva together with Director of ‘Serving’ Kirstie!

Frankie – Drew’s sister for help cleaning up the mess on the pitch after the game.

Shows that a team performance extends beyond the players!