Match Report: Sunday 25 April 2010	<<BACK
Reported by Garf'
FINAL SCORE: Doncaster RUFC 15 vs Heath RUFC 12
Heath Under 15s finished off a season of hard work with a trip across to West Park Leeds to take part in a Festival of Rugby, their contribution being as finalists in the Yorkshire Cup, for their age group. Heath kicked off and were immediately into a battle with a much bigger Doncaster side, notably so in the forwards. None the less, play was fairly even for the first ten minutes, but then it moved onto to a footing that would apply for the rest of the game. Doncaster’s forwards began to dominate in the set piece and set up several successful drives into the Heath 22. These forays of 9-man rugby were stopped or, at least, held in check by some immense tackling on the part of the Heath defence, with no one taking a backward step. Indeed, what little possession came Heath’s way saw the boys constantly looking to make sniping runs, with centre Sam Pollard and standoff Ezra Hinchcliffe being prominent. Then, with five minutes of the half still to go, Pollard set off on an elusive dash and, whilst it was against the run of play, he broke the defence and scored a well taken try out wide. The extras weren’t collected but Heath went into the break 5 – 0 up as a reward for their effort. Doncaster kicked off for the second half and immediately made good ground down the line, stopped only when brought back for a forward pass. Five minutes later they got their reward for the pressure as they picked up a penalty in front of the Heath posts. They took a quick tap and prop Josh Whelan used his size to barge over. Fullback Joe Shakespeare missed this conversion as scores tallied at 5 a piece. Five minutes on and Doncaster were on the attack again, this time courtesy of winger William Summer. A stray pass brought matters to a halt until the pressure resumed and opposite wingman Max Brook sprinted over to score. This time Shakespeare was good with the kick and added the extras for a 12 – 5 lead. From the restart Doncaster’s forwards took play back to the Heath 22, but the West Vale boys then worked some good possession from a scrum and the ball made its way to Pollard. He set off on a jinking run well into Doncaster territory, until a missed pass stemmed the attack. Pollard tried to restart matters but play eventually made its way back to the Heath 22 and only a try saving tackled prevented a score. From the break down Shakespeare attempted a drop kick, which didn’t produce any points, but his persistence was rewarded just a few minutes later when he picked up 3 from a penalty. 15 – 5 and Heath wondering what they could do to get back into contention. But get back they did as they painstaking worked their way to the Doncaster line where only a succession of infringements initially prevented a score. Undeterred, Heath carried on looking for a try that finally came their way when Pollard powered over the line. The conversion was missed, but there was now all to play for in the last few minutes, as Heath now only trailed by 15 – 12. With nothing to lose and all to play for, Heath were defending in their 22, when Pollard collected the ball just in front of the Heath line. He set off on a powerful, jinking run, evading would be tacklers and made his way to the halfway line. This brought the crowd to life, as they cheered him on, all hoping that he could make a few more yards and that support could perhaps capitalise. However, he didn’t stop there, he continued to drive forward and he put in an immense run, jinking the length of the field until the try line beckoned. Sadly, at this point, the Doncaster defence managed to close in and he was dragged down. The ball was adjudged lost forward and Doncaster were awarded the scrum. An injury to a defender brought proceedings to a halt for a minute or two and, on the restart, Doncaster had regrouped and looked to drive play away from their line. Turnover ball gave Heath one more brief glimpse of hope, but finally, possession was lost, Doncaster kicked out and the match came to an end. Heath did immensely well in containing their much bigger adversaries for much of the game. Add to that the fact that the North Dean boys were constantly looking to attack with whatever possession the got and were working for a winning score right up to the final whistle, then everyone of the squad can justifiably feel proud of their performance on the day and, infact, throughout the season. Check out the photos at http://s930.photobucket.com/albums/ad144/craigwhelan/Heath%20Under%2015s%20Final/?start=100 if prints are needed, see Garf', Giles or Sproggit.	Click on image to enlarge Click on image to enlarge Click on image to enlarge Click on image to enlarge Click on image to enlarge HEATH STATISTICS Tries 2 Penalty Tries 0 Conversions 1 Drop Goals 0 Penalty Goals 0 Attendance 750