Old Cats U14 vs Crawley

14 man Old Cats go down at Crawley.

On a lovely sunny day, the U14 team travelled to Crawley. Old Cats got the upper hand in a fixture earlier in the season, but this time around Old Cats were struggling for numbers in view of the Easter Break and a number of boys having other commitments.

Kick Off and Old Cats were not switched on, within the first move of the game Crawley went over the try line. No need to panic, the Old Cats team will switch on now and bring this back. Then came in a second Crawley try – all too easy. Is this the time to panic??

No! – Old Cats team huddled, it was down to everyone to nail their tackles, especially being a man down. Restart and now game on. The previous errors were put behind them. The Old Cats forwards who were reshuffled in view of low numbers, held their own and got the upper hand against a significantly larger Crawley pack. Never a truer saying, it is not the size that matters, it is about technique . . . . . . Securing the ball for our backs, with a move straight off the training field, got the ball to Seb and ball over the Crawley line in the corner. Then came in another Old Cats try again straight off the training field passed to Seb to finish off. (See Nick, they do listen . . . sometime)! With the end of first half looming, Old Cats were very unlucky not to finish off the possession they had for another try, but as it ended up it was 14-10 to Crawley coming into the break.

Second half commences and Crawley seem to come out stronger getting a couple more tries on the board. Then with the heat and no subs (or finishers) available, it was down to individuals to start stepping up. First Harrison powering over the line. Then with the score at 24-15 and a few minutes to go, Will making an unstoppable charge to make it 24-20. Old Cats retained possession and started to make the hard yards up the field. Crawley putting in the defensive shift, but alas Old Cats could not retain their possession and with the whole 14 strong team already given 110% in they could not stop the charge down the field lead by Crawley's biggest team member, which eventually led to the final try to make it 29-20 to Crawley.

Mixed emotions as Old Cats knew they could have overcome the odds to beat Crawley with a little more composure and getting on the better side of the 50/50 decisions. They knew the two soft tires at the beginning of the match put them on the back foot. However you need to hand it to Old Cats team members on the field. 14 Old Cat boys Vs Crawley 15 (plus subs). One of the hottest Sundays this year, at times some of the best rugby we have seen in a long time. The Old Cats team came off the field feeling disappointed but it shows the desire to win and team spirit Nick, Rocky & Ben have cultivated this year amongst the team.

There are quite a few call outs this time for individuals who put in a big shift.

Chris – pace all over the park. Breaking lines and making Crawley work.
Beau – up against Crawleys biggest lad in the scrum. More than matched him and kept him quite (at least in rugby terms where it matters).
Toby K – speed merchant and nailing his catches under high balls.
Seb – Great speed and power in finishing off the backs moves and getting a brace of tires.
JJ – Great effort! Put into hooker role and made sure Paddy had a clean ball coming out of scrums.
Josh D – Great full back, put in a number of try saving tackles in defence and breaking lines in attack.

Man of the match has to go to Harrison. Keen to get his tackles in all over the pitch. Fearless, aggressive and put in a huge shift. Left everything on the rugby field and rewarded with a great try. I am just so amazed how someone can go from being so aggressive on the rugby field to a polite and softly spoken lad off the field in seconds!