Old Cats U15 17- 29 Chobham U15

Cats come second to talented Chobham outfit :Old Cats 17- 29 Chobham

On a cold morning in Queens Pk both sides served up a match to warm the hearts as both sides looked to play with pace and width. In the end Chobham through the excellent Sam Riley and overall better game management run out deserved winners.

Cats started confidently playing against the wind and spreading the ball wide. Max M looked threatening in the centres whilst Harry H playing his first game at 10 looked very assured. After coming close to opening the scoring through Owen and Lewis who were both held up, good hands from Dobbo and Owen saw Tom Reynolds scoot over for his third try in as many matches. Alex expertly converted. Disappointingly, on the restart the ball was knocked forward to allow Chobham into the game and with a quick tap they were able to send over their pacey winger for a converted score. Once again Cats started to exert pressure which saw Will B take an excellent ball from Harry to scoot over the line. It looked as though the boys were gaining the upper hand but further errors allowed Chobham to slot a penalty to make the score 12-10. Incredibly, from a precise Harry re-start, Bow claimed the ball and with typical aplomb beat a 3 defenders for a great score just before half time, meaning a 17-10 lead.

In the second half Chobham stepped up the pace, Riley started punchy holes and we started losing a bit of shape particularly in defence. Composure also started to disappear as three penalty kicks to touch were missed one of which lead to a Chobham score from their pacy winger. A brilliant cover tackle from Alex prevented a certain score and he even caused a knock on but from the ensuing scrum Chobham won one against the head to see their scrum half score in the corner. Cats gamely tried to come back but from another turn over, Chobham scored the try of the match going three quarters of the length of the field through various pairs of hands to go in under the posts and denying the boys a deserved bonus point.

We have two games left and still sit top of the league. Our next match is a visit to Guildfordians who will be battling for everything so we need to learn from this defeat and come out stronger for the challenges ahead.

My thanks to Chobham who played some great rugby and contributed massively to a terrific game of youth rugby. Thanks to Mark Dockery for reffing and Grant for doing the food.

Ed