St Albans Centurions Under 13's
U13's Head Coach - Craig Naylor
Email - [email protected] Mobile - 07734 567606. The U13's play in the London League. Training is held at The Colosseum, Toulmin Drive, St Albans every Saturday. Training is free and we welcome players from all local schools and all ability. If you've not played the game before why not come down to find out what it's all about. All our coaches are qualified and will ensure your full participation. Training will be held every Saturday (except on matchdays) from 10am to 12noon at Toulmin Drive. Anyone, at any level who wants to come along and join in is invited. |
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To See Current London League U13 North Table- CLICK HERE
FIXTURES & RESULTS
07.03.15 - Sussex Merlins 12 -v- 8 Cents (Final). Pre-Season Richmond Rugby 9's Festival - Cents Were Runners Up.
March
14.03.15 - Bye Week
21.03.15 - Cents 32-v-4 Hayes & Ealing Vikings
28.03.15 - Eastern Rhinos 0 -v- 40 Cents
April
04.04.15 - No Game - Training @ Toulmin Drive, 9am to 11am
11.04.15 - League Cup Preliminary Round - Cents Draw A 'Bye' - Training 10am to 12 noon.
18.04.15 - Cents 34 -v- 24 London Skolars
25.04.15 - League Cup Round1 = Brentwood Eels 24 -v- 14 Cents.
May
09.05.15 - Southend Spartans -v- Cents. (Cancelled by Southend) - Training 10am to 12 noon.
16.05.15 - Cents 26 -v- 18 Brentwood Eels 11am ko, followed by 'Cents A' -v- 'Brentwood A' @ 12 noon.
23.05.15 - Cents 58 -v- 14 Hemel Stags
30.05.15 - Half Term - No Game
June
06.06.15 - H&E Vikings 10 -v- 60 Cents
13.06.15 - Southens Spartans Rugby Festival - Bye Week
20.06.15 - Cents 60 -v- 24 Eastern Rhinos 11am k.o.
27.06.15 - London Skolars 24 -v- 34 Cents ko10.30am.
July
04.07.15 - Cents 24 -v- 0 Southend Spartans 11am ko
11.07.15 - Play Offs= 2nd place Brentwood (N) -v- 3rd place Invicta Panthers (S)
& 2nd place Rutlish (S) -v- 3rd place Skolars (N).
We have Semi Final Training At The Colosseum, 10am to 12 noon on 11th.
18.07.15 - Semi Final Play Offs Cents 32 -v- 34 Rutlish
25.07.15 - Grand Final
FIXTURES & RESULTS
07.03.15 - Sussex Merlins 12 -v- 8 Cents (Final). Pre-Season Richmond Rugby 9's Festival - Cents Were Runners Up.
March
14.03.15 - Bye Week
21.03.15 - Cents 32-v-4 Hayes & Ealing Vikings
28.03.15 - Eastern Rhinos 0 -v- 40 Cents
April
04.04.15 - No Game - Training @ Toulmin Drive, 9am to 11am
11.04.15 - League Cup Preliminary Round - Cents Draw A 'Bye' - Training 10am to 12 noon.
18.04.15 - Cents 34 -v- 24 London Skolars
25.04.15 - League Cup Round1 = Brentwood Eels 24 -v- 14 Cents.
May
09.05.15 - Southend Spartans -v- Cents. (Cancelled by Southend) - Training 10am to 12 noon.
16.05.15 - Cents 26 -v- 18 Brentwood Eels 11am ko, followed by 'Cents A' -v- 'Brentwood A' @ 12 noon.
23.05.15 - Cents 58 -v- 14 Hemel Stags
30.05.15 - Half Term - No Game
June
06.06.15 - H&E Vikings 10 -v- 60 Cents
13.06.15 - Southens Spartans Rugby Festival - Bye Week
20.06.15 - Cents 60 -v- 24 Eastern Rhinos 11am k.o.
27.06.15 - London Skolars 24 -v- 34 Cents ko10.30am.
July
04.07.15 - Cents 24 -v- 0 Southend Spartans 11am ko
11.07.15 - Play Offs= 2nd place Brentwood (N) -v- 3rd place Invicta Panthers (S)
& 2nd place Rutlish (S) -v- 3rd place Skolars (N).
We have Semi Final Training At The Colosseum, 10am to 12 noon on 11th.
18.07.15 - Semi Final Play Offs Cents 32 -v- 34 Rutlish
25.07.15 - Grand Final
Coach's Match Reports
St Albans
Centurions U13’s 24 –v- 0 Southend Spartans U13’s
St Albans Centurions U13 rugby league team have been crowned League Champions of the London Junior Rugby League (North) after going the whole season without losing one league game. It all came down to Saturday when they found themselves one point behind the league leaders, Brentwood Eels, but with a game in hand. The visitors to Toulmin Drive were Southend Spartans. At the end of the game, with their victory making them the champions, coach Craig Naylor said “This is a great day for the team, the club and St Albans. This team is made up of local boys from in and around St Albans who play during the winter months for various rugby union teams, but in summer they all come together at Cents to play league. We have over thirty boys turning out regularly for us, so many that usually after we play a league game, we usually have enough to play the other clubs in a friendly match as well. They are a great bunch of lads, willing to listen and learn, then putting it into practice. If anyone deserves to be champions, it’s this team.”
St Albans Centurions chairman Brian Parker was at the game and said “Well done the under 13’s. To win the league by going unbeaten all season is a great achievement. They have done so well. Over the last few seasons I’ve seen the U13’s get bigger and bigger as more young lads join up to play rugby league in summer, next season we might have to run two teams at under 14 level. It also helps to have a great coach like Craig Naylor. I’ve never seen him get frustrated or upset when the boys are present, he leads by encouraging and enthusiasm, great traits for a great coach.”
Although the league is finished, Cents now enter the play off stages, where the top six teams from North and South London compete for the grand Final. Details about the play offs can be found above, on the fixture list.
St Albans Centurions U13 rugby league team have been crowned League Champions of the London Junior Rugby League (North) after going the whole season without losing one league game. It all came down to Saturday when they found themselves one point behind the league leaders, Brentwood Eels, but with a game in hand. The visitors to Toulmin Drive were Southend Spartans. At the end of the game, with their victory making them the champions, coach Craig Naylor said “This is a great day for the team, the club and St Albans. This team is made up of local boys from in and around St Albans who play during the winter months for various rugby union teams, but in summer they all come together at Cents to play league. We have over thirty boys turning out regularly for us, so many that usually after we play a league game, we usually have enough to play the other clubs in a friendly match as well. They are a great bunch of lads, willing to listen and learn, then putting it into practice. If anyone deserves to be champions, it’s this team.”
St Albans Centurions chairman Brian Parker was at the game and said “Well done the under 13’s. To win the league by going unbeaten all season is a great achievement. They have done so well. Over the last few seasons I’ve seen the U13’s get bigger and bigger as more young lads join up to play rugby league in summer, next season we might have to run two teams at under 14 level. It also helps to have a great coach like Craig Naylor. I’ve never seen him get frustrated or upset when the boys are present, he leads by encouraging and enthusiasm, great traits for a great coach.”
Although the league is finished, Cents now enter the play off stages, where the top six teams from North and South London compete for the grand Final. Details about the play offs can be found above, on the fixture list.
London Skolars 24 -v- 34 St Albans Centurions U13's
Cents U13's took another step towards an unbeaten league season, and winning the league with this victory in North London against third place Skolars. If you were going to set up to win, you could not have planned better than Skolars did last Saturday. After a friendly welcome and exchange of pleasantries the battle lines were drawn for all clearly to see. It was very apt that Christian Hill, dressed in full Roman Centurion costume was present because we were going to be under siege.A pitch that was 110m in length had been narrowed in my fair judgement by 20 meters, gave early indication this was going to be a bruising encounter. With a large partisan home crowd and a substitutes bench that boasted a second full team, the lions were being turned against us. Skolars could not have complemented us more on what a fantastic advert for U13’s RL it had been and marked a number of our players out for their performance which I will come on to shortly. But, having reflected on the game perhaps this format forced on us into a situation that resulted in many of our players stepping up and being truly counted. Skolars are one of the London’s elite clubs and therefore know a thing or two about the game and by creating a constrained pitch, we had to go head to head with the opposition, making each run and tackle count. This really did bring another level of play, control and yes aggression into our game which, we may not have seen under different circumstances.
Reviewing the pictures John Cannon took during the course of the match illustrates perfectly our commitment to the tackle, in technique and execution. Our passing on occasions was sensational, drawing and feeding players in, creating the finest of gaps to exploit. Yes, we did start a little RU like but quickly worked out that if we were going to move the ball effectively forward we needed to run straight. Our play the ball (on what was a very hard and dry surface) was clean and precise as was our carry and handling. Our only failing was the organisation of our defensive line and group tackling but I’m being incredibly picky, particularly as we began to organise and strengthen our resolve as the game went on.
Finally, we had to cope in the last 20 minutes of the match with a sending off and a referee who was steadily losing control. I am still perplexed as to why this happened, a sin-bin perhaps or a warning and explanation at best. But none the less, it left us a man down with a growing injury list, against a rejuvenated Skolars…..but hey, we won through and boy did we do it in style. What a bunch of superstars and hero’s!!!
The detail…. Knowing that Skolars were only going to play one way and that was down the middle, the tone of the match was set. They had some sizeable players and a number of new editions to the team including a very tough number 11. We’d set up to counter this but we needed to be on our metal and early carries from Harry, Harvey, Matt Cannon and Hamish met with significant resistance. In return, we gave Skolars as good as we got and I think at this point everyone knew they were in for a game. After realising the wings were near redundant and that carrying into contact was going to be the only way forwards we got our first break through Tom Liddelow, who playing as Loose Head carried the ball over Skolars line. That gave us momentum and when Tom Wilton converted we were soon back in their faces. Harvey Smith led the way with some crunching tackles and Harry Dean was wrapping up the runs and ball carrier to prevent skolars progressing in to our own quarter.
Ball possession remained very much in the middle of the field until our next try which, in my opinion was probably the best executed of the game if not this season. This saw us on the fourth play and 30 meters out from the Skolars line with the ball in hand fed out from Barry Heath who had yet again a terrific match, into Tom Wilton who as Scrum Half ran forwards at pace down the middle of the pitch to drawn and feed in Tom Liddelow who did the same for Harvey Smith resulting in him making the final well timed pass to Harry Dean, who needed merely sight of the line, to place the ball down for our second very well worked try on the right hand side. That quietened the crowd and when Harvey converted from an acute angle at some considerable distance from goal, you knew our adrenaline levels were up. Skolars though fought back and scored their first try just before the first quarter ended which meant that as we stopped for water and refreshments our players had time to review their own and Skolars performance. We needed to retain the ball and play out our set of 6, we also needed Skolars to work hard on every occasion to stop our run. Our fitness levels have without questions improved throughout the season and I believe, had this been a full 25 minute game, we would have taken even greater control. As it was, the breaks gave both sides time to collect thought, recoup, cool-down and importantly hydrate.
The second quarter played out very much as the first although bizarrely (and we need to work this out) we failed to score two further tries. The first a clumsy kick that was both ill-timed and high-risk resulted in the ball bounding back from the post when a grubber would have done the job and the second, failure to take responsibility to ground the ball when we were over Skolars goal line?? These two incidents helped swing momentum back to Skolars. However, in response outstanding and robust tackling from us saw them incur several injuries which resulted in players being taken off. I say saw, because we seemed to be the only side that did and despite our best efforts to stop the game both the referee and coaches played on!
After a further respite, we then proceeded to power in a third try, making amends for the earlier misses. Harvey Smith this time was not going to be stopped and running over on the left side of the field he placed what should have been a big blow to Skolars resolve. At 3 – 1 up we could afford to make some changes and after providing Hamish with a much needed and well deserved break we ran out the first half as clear winners. We discussed during the break our game plan and whilst there was still considerable frustration to the shape of the pitch, it was essential that we continued to keep cool and work at our game plan. Tempers were up, virtue of the situation and manner in which the game was being run and the referee did, in trying to address this, speak to both teams requesting for greater levels of control ….and whilst there was a definitive no to resizing of the pitch, our metal maturity changed significantly and for the better.
After the restart, Harry Dean once again found himself with an overlap and space to run and, whilst I would not encourage this level of creative play, he decided to take advantage of the situation by kicking and chasing through. It has to be said a very fortunate bounce ensured that despite some vain covering by Skolars to field the ball, he collected and grounded it, leaving coaching staff gazing on incredulous?! Having given it all, it was time to make some changes and after replacing several players and switching positions there then came a titanic onslaught from Skolars. Realising quickly where the mismatches were, they took full advantage, as their own loose head weaved his way through our defensive line. A few ‘plays’ later they were over, leaving our players to question individual and team commitment. It was at this point that a number of Cents not only started to raise their game but we saw new levels of leadership filtering through. Calming but probing words from Isaak Nathan questioned the mental state of the team and how we should best react. Tom Liddelow took great personal responsibility and recognising he was going to get little change from the referee, channelled his feelings through clear word and encouragement. What was said, clearly worked!!
Despite our players starting to hurt, Luke Latschrauner refused to come off, Freddie Meredith & Gethin Martin who had worked so hard for the team on the wings were now starting to feel the strain. Yet the Team continued to support one another and rise to their own personal challenge. Moving Abner Wallace to Hooker, Barry stepped outside, Sam Jackson-Hale who after returning from an unrelated injury had put in a wonderful performance continued to battle away although, was clearly beginning to feel the pressure. Alex Edwards who I know inside was feeling the intensity of the match, demonstrated yet again that despite size, execution of core skills, mental determination and game awareness could be equally damaging as brawn alone!
I could easily run out of words here for what I saw and heard from so many of our players. They earned my absolute admiration for the way in which they dealt with this game and yet there is still more to come……
Despite all of this; continued offensive pressure from Skolars saw them once again break through our line and with players including their number 11 returning from injury, the pressure was well and truly taking its toll. This was not before a great Cents defensive display which, started to see the likes of Tom Ivory, Matt Naylor, Sam Ellis and Gethin Martin join the frontline and make a huge difference to the final stages of the game. With the third quarter closing out and a refreshed Harvey Smith returning to the field, he found himself soon afterward red carded for kicking a grounded ball clear of his goal line. Considered dangerous play, we were left with 12 players, a resurgent Skolars and a referee who was now refusing to speak with our Captain.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man and boy oh boy, did our players truly produce a momentous display. They were not to be moved and after some very aggressive running from our ‘big game’ players including Hamish Tinker who had put his heart and soul into carrying the ball forwards and moving Barry back to Hooker, Tom Wilton soon found himself again on the ball and able to shape Harry Dean into the clear. Harry by this time was fired up and ready to shift whatever was in front of him and in so doing, cleared a path through to the Skolars goal line to deliver two more tries. For the remaining 10 minutes it was simply grit and fight as Isaak Nathan proved once again what a force he’s to be reckoned with. Taking on some of Skolars largest players he put his body on the line to stop them and after a brush down and ice-packing off, he took to the field once again slightly more bruised but certainly better respected for what he had achieved.
Matthew Cannon who remained on the field throughout as Prop tackled liked he’d never get the chance again and carried as if his life depended upon it. Every single tackle executed precisely and without injury, he ensured we kept on the front foot even when one of their coaches berated him for an overly aggressive tackling….err, let me just think about this for a moment please…Am I allowed to mention size of pitch again?!
With this resolve and the kitchen sink now well and truly being thrown at us, Skolars, to their full credit, gave it their all. There was to be no let up and whatever it was, everyone had a willingness to battle for the Cents cause. We saw Tom Ivory fired-up and angry pile into a Skolars forward who 15 meters out, was stopped still. Matt Naylor backed this up seconds later as he tackled a Skolars forward meters from his goal line saving a try. Sam Ellis muscled his way in combining with Abner Wallace and wherever the action was they aimed to be there slowed down and disrupting play. No matter where you looked in fact, everyone was playing their part brilliantly. Centurions were not going to be defeated after all the work they’d put in and so it was!
I’ve been waiting to see this spark in some of our players who I know have yet to realise their own potential and yet in these final few minutes, there was a dawning of realisation that everything was possible and could be achieved. I hope all of them carry this belief forward and for those players who were not able to make this match please know your value and place in this team. We work hard on the training ground to enable you to perform to the best of your ability and when we see it, it makes it all very, very worth-while. It was the defence that won it but take nothing away from our attack. In recent weeks when we have been working on our collective game, certain players have been generous in their execution of this but today, we needed some individual brilliance to combine with an outstanding team performance and that we certainly got in bucket loads. Steady mind and well channelled self-control was amply demonstrated by all three Tom’s and it needs to be recognised and rewarded. Great mutual support and teamwork are essential components in achieving success and our players are creating a very strong value system which is having a wonderful impact on everyone around them.
Well done Centurions and outstanding collective team performance and one that should not be forgotten.
Man of the Match – Tom Ivory accepted on behalf of the whole team, following his powering tackles!
THE TEAM ABNER WALLACE – HOOKER ALEX EDWARDS – HALF BACK BARRY HEATH – HOOKER FREDIE MEREDITH – WING GETHIN MARTIN – WING HAMISH TINKER – 2nd ROW HARRY DEAN – CENTRE, 4 x Tries HARRY TALLINTIRE – WING HARVEY SMITH – CENTRE 1 x Tries, 1 x Conversion ISAAK NATHAN – FULL BACK 1 x Conversion LUKE LATSCHRAUNER – PROP MATT CANNON – PROP MATT NAYLOR – 2nd ROW SAM ELLIS – HALF BACK SAM HALE-JACKSON – 2nd ROW THOMAS IVORY – 2nd ROW TOM LIDDELOW – LOOSE HEAD 1 x Tries TOM WILTON – SCRUM HALF 2 x Conversions
With one game in hand, if the Cents defeat Southend Spartans next Saturday, they will not only win the league but be the only team in both the North and South London U13's leagues to go the whole season without losing a league game.
Cents U13's took another step towards an unbeaten league season, and winning the league with this victory in North London against third place Skolars. If you were going to set up to win, you could not have planned better than Skolars did last Saturday. After a friendly welcome and exchange of pleasantries the battle lines were drawn for all clearly to see. It was very apt that Christian Hill, dressed in full Roman Centurion costume was present because we were going to be under siege.A pitch that was 110m in length had been narrowed in my fair judgement by 20 meters, gave early indication this was going to be a bruising encounter. With a large partisan home crowd and a substitutes bench that boasted a second full team, the lions were being turned against us. Skolars could not have complemented us more on what a fantastic advert for U13’s RL it had been and marked a number of our players out for their performance which I will come on to shortly. But, having reflected on the game perhaps this format forced on us into a situation that resulted in many of our players stepping up and being truly counted. Skolars are one of the London’s elite clubs and therefore know a thing or two about the game and by creating a constrained pitch, we had to go head to head with the opposition, making each run and tackle count. This really did bring another level of play, control and yes aggression into our game which, we may not have seen under different circumstances.
Reviewing the pictures John Cannon took during the course of the match illustrates perfectly our commitment to the tackle, in technique and execution. Our passing on occasions was sensational, drawing and feeding players in, creating the finest of gaps to exploit. Yes, we did start a little RU like but quickly worked out that if we were going to move the ball effectively forward we needed to run straight. Our play the ball (on what was a very hard and dry surface) was clean and precise as was our carry and handling. Our only failing was the organisation of our defensive line and group tackling but I’m being incredibly picky, particularly as we began to organise and strengthen our resolve as the game went on.
Finally, we had to cope in the last 20 minutes of the match with a sending off and a referee who was steadily losing control. I am still perplexed as to why this happened, a sin-bin perhaps or a warning and explanation at best. But none the less, it left us a man down with a growing injury list, against a rejuvenated Skolars…..but hey, we won through and boy did we do it in style. What a bunch of superstars and hero’s!!!
The detail…. Knowing that Skolars were only going to play one way and that was down the middle, the tone of the match was set. They had some sizeable players and a number of new editions to the team including a very tough number 11. We’d set up to counter this but we needed to be on our metal and early carries from Harry, Harvey, Matt Cannon and Hamish met with significant resistance. In return, we gave Skolars as good as we got and I think at this point everyone knew they were in for a game. After realising the wings were near redundant and that carrying into contact was going to be the only way forwards we got our first break through Tom Liddelow, who playing as Loose Head carried the ball over Skolars line. That gave us momentum and when Tom Wilton converted we were soon back in their faces. Harvey Smith led the way with some crunching tackles and Harry Dean was wrapping up the runs and ball carrier to prevent skolars progressing in to our own quarter.
Ball possession remained very much in the middle of the field until our next try which, in my opinion was probably the best executed of the game if not this season. This saw us on the fourth play and 30 meters out from the Skolars line with the ball in hand fed out from Barry Heath who had yet again a terrific match, into Tom Wilton who as Scrum Half ran forwards at pace down the middle of the pitch to drawn and feed in Tom Liddelow who did the same for Harvey Smith resulting in him making the final well timed pass to Harry Dean, who needed merely sight of the line, to place the ball down for our second very well worked try on the right hand side. That quietened the crowd and when Harvey converted from an acute angle at some considerable distance from goal, you knew our adrenaline levels were up. Skolars though fought back and scored their first try just before the first quarter ended which meant that as we stopped for water and refreshments our players had time to review their own and Skolars performance. We needed to retain the ball and play out our set of 6, we also needed Skolars to work hard on every occasion to stop our run. Our fitness levels have without questions improved throughout the season and I believe, had this been a full 25 minute game, we would have taken even greater control. As it was, the breaks gave both sides time to collect thought, recoup, cool-down and importantly hydrate.
The second quarter played out very much as the first although bizarrely (and we need to work this out) we failed to score two further tries. The first a clumsy kick that was both ill-timed and high-risk resulted in the ball bounding back from the post when a grubber would have done the job and the second, failure to take responsibility to ground the ball when we were over Skolars goal line?? These two incidents helped swing momentum back to Skolars. However, in response outstanding and robust tackling from us saw them incur several injuries which resulted in players being taken off. I say saw, because we seemed to be the only side that did and despite our best efforts to stop the game both the referee and coaches played on!
After a further respite, we then proceeded to power in a third try, making amends for the earlier misses. Harvey Smith this time was not going to be stopped and running over on the left side of the field he placed what should have been a big blow to Skolars resolve. At 3 – 1 up we could afford to make some changes and after providing Hamish with a much needed and well deserved break we ran out the first half as clear winners. We discussed during the break our game plan and whilst there was still considerable frustration to the shape of the pitch, it was essential that we continued to keep cool and work at our game plan. Tempers were up, virtue of the situation and manner in which the game was being run and the referee did, in trying to address this, speak to both teams requesting for greater levels of control ….and whilst there was a definitive no to resizing of the pitch, our metal maturity changed significantly and for the better.
After the restart, Harry Dean once again found himself with an overlap and space to run and, whilst I would not encourage this level of creative play, he decided to take advantage of the situation by kicking and chasing through. It has to be said a very fortunate bounce ensured that despite some vain covering by Skolars to field the ball, he collected and grounded it, leaving coaching staff gazing on incredulous?! Having given it all, it was time to make some changes and after replacing several players and switching positions there then came a titanic onslaught from Skolars. Realising quickly where the mismatches were, they took full advantage, as their own loose head weaved his way through our defensive line. A few ‘plays’ later they were over, leaving our players to question individual and team commitment. It was at this point that a number of Cents not only started to raise their game but we saw new levels of leadership filtering through. Calming but probing words from Isaak Nathan questioned the mental state of the team and how we should best react. Tom Liddelow took great personal responsibility and recognising he was going to get little change from the referee, channelled his feelings through clear word and encouragement. What was said, clearly worked!!
Despite our players starting to hurt, Luke Latschrauner refused to come off, Freddie Meredith & Gethin Martin who had worked so hard for the team on the wings were now starting to feel the strain. Yet the Team continued to support one another and rise to their own personal challenge. Moving Abner Wallace to Hooker, Barry stepped outside, Sam Jackson-Hale who after returning from an unrelated injury had put in a wonderful performance continued to battle away although, was clearly beginning to feel the pressure. Alex Edwards who I know inside was feeling the intensity of the match, demonstrated yet again that despite size, execution of core skills, mental determination and game awareness could be equally damaging as brawn alone!
I could easily run out of words here for what I saw and heard from so many of our players. They earned my absolute admiration for the way in which they dealt with this game and yet there is still more to come……
Despite all of this; continued offensive pressure from Skolars saw them once again break through our line and with players including their number 11 returning from injury, the pressure was well and truly taking its toll. This was not before a great Cents defensive display which, started to see the likes of Tom Ivory, Matt Naylor, Sam Ellis and Gethin Martin join the frontline and make a huge difference to the final stages of the game. With the third quarter closing out and a refreshed Harvey Smith returning to the field, he found himself soon afterward red carded for kicking a grounded ball clear of his goal line. Considered dangerous play, we were left with 12 players, a resurgent Skolars and a referee who was now refusing to speak with our Captain.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man and boy oh boy, did our players truly produce a momentous display. They were not to be moved and after some very aggressive running from our ‘big game’ players including Hamish Tinker who had put his heart and soul into carrying the ball forwards and moving Barry back to Hooker, Tom Wilton soon found himself again on the ball and able to shape Harry Dean into the clear. Harry by this time was fired up and ready to shift whatever was in front of him and in so doing, cleared a path through to the Skolars goal line to deliver two more tries. For the remaining 10 minutes it was simply grit and fight as Isaak Nathan proved once again what a force he’s to be reckoned with. Taking on some of Skolars largest players he put his body on the line to stop them and after a brush down and ice-packing off, he took to the field once again slightly more bruised but certainly better respected for what he had achieved.
Matthew Cannon who remained on the field throughout as Prop tackled liked he’d never get the chance again and carried as if his life depended upon it. Every single tackle executed precisely and without injury, he ensured we kept on the front foot even when one of their coaches berated him for an overly aggressive tackling….err, let me just think about this for a moment please…Am I allowed to mention size of pitch again?!
With this resolve and the kitchen sink now well and truly being thrown at us, Skolars, to their full credit, gave it their all. There was to be no let up and whatever it was, everyone had a willingness to battle for the Cents cause. We saw Tom Ivory fired-up and angry pile into a Skolars forward who 15 meters out, was stopped still. Matt Naylor backed this up seconds later as he tackled a Skolars forward meters from his goal line saving a try. Sam Ellis muscled his way in combining with Abner Wallace and wherever the action was they aimed to be there slowed down and disrupting play. No matter where you looked in fact, everyone was playing their part brilliantly. Centurions were not going to be defeated after all the work they’d put in and so it was!
I’ve been waiting to see this spark in some of our players who I know have yet to realise their own potential and yet in these final few minutes, there was a dawning of realisation that everything was possible and could be achieved. I hope all of them carry this belief forward and for those players who were not able to make this match please know your value and place in this team. We work hard on the training ground to enable you to perform to the best of your ability and when we see it, it makes it all very, very worth-while. It was the defence that won it but take nothing away from our attack. In recent weeks when we have been working on our collective game, certain players have been generous in their execution of this but today, we needed some individual brilliance to combine with an outstanding team performance and that we certainly got in bucket loads. Steady mind and well channelled self-control was amply demonstrated by all three Tom’s and it needs to be recognised and rewarded. Great mutual support and teamwork are essential components in achieving success and our players are creating a very strong value system which is having a wonderful impact on everyone around them.
Well done Centurions and outstanding collective team performance and one that should not be forgotten.
Man of the Match – Tom Ivory accepted on behalf of the whole team, following his powering tackles!
THE TEAM ABNER WALLACE – HOOKER ALEX EDWARDS – HALF BACK BARRY HEATH – HOOKER FREDIE MEREDITH – WING GETHIN MARTIN – WING HAMISH TINKER – 2nd ROW HARRY DEAN – CENTRE, 4 x Tries HARRY TALLINTIRE – WING HARVEY SMITH – CENTRE 1 x Tries, 1 x Conversion ISAAK NATHAN – FULL BACK 1 x Conversion LUKE LATSCHRAUNER – PROP MATT CANNON – PROP MATT NAYLOR – 2nd ROW SAM ELLIS – HALF BACK SAM HALE-JACKSON – 2nd ROW THOMAS IVORY – 2nd ROW TOM LIDDELOW – LOOSE HEAD 1 x Tries TOM WILTON – SCRUM HALF 2 x Conversions
With one game in hand, if the Cents defeat Southend Spartans next Saturday, they will not only win the league but be the only team in both the North and South London U13's leagues to go the whole season without losing a league game.
St Albans Centurions 60 -v- 24 Eastern Rhinos
St.Albans Centurions U13s showed terrific skill and execution in their play this weekend.
Having reviewed our performance against Hayes & Ealing which resulted in a convincing win but less than comprehensive performance, coaching staff and players alike had decided at the last training session to place greater emphasis on team play. Our aim this match was to transfer this into a real game environment with our players running straighter and drawing the opposition in to the tackle and by so doing, creating space for teammates to exploit.
We also wanted to see improvement in our defensive line and desire from all players to support one another in the tackle. By wrapping up the opposition and squeezing the space they had available to play in, limited ground would be gained.
As we could measure these areas of performance based on how well or otherwise we and the opposition moved the ball up and down the field, I was thrilled to see every single one of our players working hard for each other to achieve these in game objectives.
Our hope that we could execute these skills collectively was slightly set back when we were informed by Rhinos that a number of their players would not be available but as things turned out, we shared our players around and as a result, fielded two competitive 13-a-side teams.
Cents keen to keep up their impressive Try Difference at the head of the League Table, set the tone from the outset and full credit has to be given to the 6 players we leant Rhinos who without their help, would have faced an even bigger challenge.
Impressive tackling from Harvey Smith and Ethan Cheung made sure little if any ground was given to Rhinos and within the first 5-minutes Cents had put points on the board through Hamish Tinker. What defined our play this weekend was our willingness to run straight and into contact and in so doing, draw the opposition in to the tackle, allowing sufficient time for support players to take the ball and move into the space at speed.
Some of the interaction in the centre of the field initiated through Kieran McCarthy, Tom Wilton, Tom Liddelow and Isaak Nathan was fantastic to watch as they fed and shaped one another into areas of the field whilst at the same time running forwards. With this pattern of play set, it wasn’t long before Cents scored their next well worked try through Harvey Smith (a well built and powerful Centre) who accelerated down the Rhinos left wing after a well worked series of passes and pattern running.
In response, the Cents players loaned to Rhinos’ returned the ball well and with Tommy Lennon, Luke Latschrauner and George Pelham making some well-deserved ground before receiving some big hits for their efforts (I am sure these will be returned in kind at some point) continued to retain the ball much all coaches delight!
Cents Alex Edwards, following early injury to one of the Rhino’s players took up the position of Stand Off and put in another brave and solid performance and was instrumental in helping Rhinos progress up the field. However, for all their great effort the Centurion shirted players had a complete shutout in the first half and after further tries from Hamish Tinker, who from his own third carried the ball down field I noted, looked at least three times on his run to feed the ball out to supporting players found that in so doing, that he pulled opponents out and away opening up a channel through which to run. It was wonderful to see and demonstrates that when our players support the runners and ball carrier, space is created which can then be used to devastating effect.
After further tries from Hamish Tinker, Harvey Smith, Harry Dean, Tom Liddelow and Isaak Nathan who had yet again another terrific spell as full back the first half finished Cents 46 – Rhino’s 0.
After a collective huddle, players were rotated and the teams rebalanced. Whilst there was a desire to continue building our ‘try difference’ we also recognised the opportunity to work on key areas of our game and so the second half began.
As expected, the match proved much more competitive, we continued irrespective of coloured shirt we were wearing to remain focused on our core disciplines and game plan. Not once did a Cents player produce a poor ‘Play The Ball’ or miss-handle. Our running lines were straight and we fed our team mates into the game. I believe every player touched the ball and we worked our way through all 6 sets consistently demonstrating great control and awareness based on our field position.
Cents Freddie Meredith put Rhinos on the score sheet early on in the second half, as Cents Barry Heath playing Hooker for Rhinos started to control the ruck and direction of play, allowing Alex Edwards time to feed the ball into the on-running Rhinos players. Freddie subsequently converted much to the delight of the Rhinos and it was game on. On the Cents side, Abner Wallis did his bit to replicate Barry’s performance and with Sam Ellis acting as Stand-off fed his passes into the powerful running hands of Harvey Smith and Captain Harry Dean who proved far too much for Rhinos, as a further tries were added to the Cents score line.
Tom Wilton continued to kick well for Centurions and subsequently convert whilst on the opposite side of the fence Freddie Meredith continued to cause a nuisance for his teammates, as did Hamish Tinker who ran in a further 3 tries between for Rhinos……thanks guys ;–)!
It was a great technical performance and builds very nicely for our next match away at London Skolars. Our players showed great awareness, demonstrated their core skills extremely well and executed the match objectives to the letter and as a result, every single one of them should be more than pleased with their performance. We are our biggest critics but on this occasion, based on the display the coaches and spectators saw today, every one of our players should feel extremely proud, no matter what colour shirt they wore of the game they played. Well done you approach and execution was terrific and deserved the complements it received.
Final score Centurions 60 – Rhinos 24
TEAM SHEET AND SCORES
ABNER WALLACE – HOOKER ALEX EDWARDS60 – STAND-OFF BARRY HEATH – HOOKER CHARLES NEEDHAM – WING ETHAN CHEUNG – CENTRE/SECOND ROW EUAN McQUADE FREDDIE MEREDITH – WING (3 x Tries & 2 x Conversions) GEORGE PELHAM – SECOND ROW HARRY DEAN – CENTRE – (1 x Try) HARRY TALINTIRE HARVEY SMITH (4 x Tries) HAMISH TINKER (6 x Tries) ISAAK NATHAN – FULL BACK (1 x Try & Conversion) KEIRAN MCCARTHY – PROP FORWARD LUKE LATSCHRAUNER – (PROP FORWARD) MATT NAYLOR – SECOND ROW SAM ELLIS – STAND OFF TOM IVORY – SECOND ROW TOM IVORY – SCRUM HALF (5 x Conversions) TOMMY LENNON (PRPO FORWARD, SECOND ROW) TOM LIDDELOW (1 x Try)
Man of the Match – Alex Edwards for helping to shape the game for Rhinos under great pressure from his own team.
Donkey Award – Kieran McCarthy for ducking his head down when being tackled – please can every player keep their head up so to either evade or take the contact. Critically, this will avoid head injury but also ensure you are aware of what’s around you and going on when contact is made.
St.Albans Centurions U13s showed terrific skill and execution in their play this weekend.
Having reviewed our performance against Hayes & Ealing which resulted in a convincing win but less than comprehensive performance, coaching staff and players alike had decided at the last training session to place greater emphasis on team play. Our aim this match was to transfer this into a real game environment with our players running straighter and drawing the opposition in to the tackle and by so doing, creating space for teammates to exploit.
We also wanted to see improvement in our defensive line and desire from all players to support one another in the tackle. By wrapping up the opposition and squeezing the space they had available to play in, limited ground would be gained.
As we could measure these areas of performance based on how well or otherwise we and the opposition moved the ball up and down the field, I was thrilled to see every single one of our players working hard for each other to achieve these in game objectives.
Our hope that we could execute these skills collectively was slightly set back when we were informed by Rhinos that a number of their players would not be available but as things turned out, we shared our players around and as a result, fielded two competitive 13-a-side teams.
Cents keen to keep up their impressive Try Difference at the head of the League Table, set the tone from the outset and full credit has to be given to the 6 players we leant Rhinos who without their help, would have faced an even bigger challenge.
Impressive tackling from Harvey Smith and Ethan Cheung made sure little if any ground was given to Rhinos and within the first 5-minutes Cents had put points on the board through Hamish Tinker. What defined our play this weekend was our willingness to run straight and into contact and in so doing, draw the opposition in to the tackle, allowing sufficient time for support players to take the ball and move into the space at speed.
Some of the interaction in the centre of the field initiated through Kieran McCarthy, Tom Wilton, Tom Liddelow and Isaak Nathan was fantastic to watch as they fed and shaped one another into areas of the field whilst at the same time running forwards. With this pattern of play set, it wasn’t long before Cents scored their next well worked try through Harvey Smith (a well built and powerful Centre) who accelerated down the Rhinos left wing after a well worked series of passes and pattern running.
In response, the Cents players loaned to Rhinos’ returned the ball well and with Tommy Lennon, Luke Latschrauner and George Pelham making some well-deserved ground before receiving some big hits for their efforts (I am sure these will be returned in kind at some point) continued to retain the ball much all coaches delight!
Cents Alex Edwards, following early injury to one of the Rhino’s players took up the position of Stand Off and put in another brave and solid performance and was instrumental in helping Rhinos progress up the field. However, for all their great effort the Centurion shirted players had a complete shutout in the first half and after further tries from Hamish Tinker, who from his own third carried the ball down field I noted, looked at least three times on his run to feed the ball out to supporting players found that in so doing, that he pulled opponents out and away opening up a channel through which to run. It was wonderful to see and demonstrates that when our players support the runners and ball carrier, space is created which can then be used to devastating effect.
After further tries from Hamish Tinker, Harvey Smith, Harry Dean, Tom Liddelow and Isaak Nathan who had yet again another terrific spell as full back the first half finished Cents 46 – Rhino’s 0.
After a collective huddle, players were rotated and the teams rebalanced. Whilst there was a desire to continue building our ‘try difference’ we also recognised the opportunity to work on key areas of our game and so the second half began.
As expected, the match proved much more competitive, we continued irrespective of coloured shirt we were wearing to remain focused on our core disciplines and game plan. Not once did a Cents player produce a poor ‘Play The Ball’ or miss-handle. Our running lines were straight and we fed our team mates into the game. I believe every player touched the ball and we worked our way through all 6 sets consistently demonstrating great control and awareness based on our field position.
Cents Freddie Meredith put Rhinos on the score sheet early on in the second half, as Cents Barry Heath playing Hooker for Rhinos started to control the ruck and direction of play, allowing Alex Edwards time to feed the ball into the on-running Rhinos players. Freddie subsequently converted much to the delight of the Rhinos and it was game on. On the Cents side, Abner Wallis did his bit to replicate Barry’s performance and with Sam Ellis acting as Stand-off fed his passes into the powerful running hands of Harvey Smith and Captain Harry Dean who proved far too much for Rhinos, as a further tries were added to the Cents score line.
Tom Wilton continued to kick well for Centurions and subsequently convert whilst on the opposite side of the fence Freddie Meredith continued to cause a nuisance for his teammates, as did Hamish Tinker who ran in a further 3 tries between for Rhinos……thanks guys ;–)!
It was a great technical performance and builds very nicely for our next match away at London Skolars. Our players showed great awareness, demonstrated their core skills extremely well and executed the match objectives to the letter and as a result, every single one of them should be more than pleased with their performance. We are our biggest critics but on this occasion, based on the display the coaches and spectators saw today, every one of our players should feel extremely proud, no matter what colour shirt they wore of the game they played. Well done you approach and execution was terrific and deserved the complements it received.
Final score Centurions 60 – Rhinos 24
TEAM SHEET AND SCORES
ABNER WALLACE – HOOKER ALEX EDWARDS60 – STAND-OFF BARRY HEATH – HOOKER CHARLES NEEDHAM – WING ETHAN CHEUNG – CENTRE/SECOND ROW EUAN McQUADE FREDDIE MEREDITH – WING (3 x Tries & 2 x Conversions) GEORGE PELHAM – SECOND ROW HARRY DEAN – CENTRE – (1 x Try) HARRY TALINTIRE HARVEY SMITH (4 x Tries) HAMISH TINKER (6 x Tries) ISAAK NATHAN – FULL BACK (1 x Try & Conversion) KEIRAN MCCARTHY – PROP FORWARD LUKE LATSCHRAUNER – (PROP FORWARD) MATT NAYLOR – SECOND ROW SAM ELLIS – STAND OFF TOM IVORY – SECOND ROW TOM IVORY – SCRUM HALF (5 x Conversions) TOMMY LENNON (PRPO FORWARD, SECOND ROW) TOM LIDDELOW (1 x Try)
Man of the Match – Alex Edwards for helping to shape the game for Rhinos under great pressure from his own team.
Donkey Award – Kieran McCarthy for ducking his head down when being tackled – please can every player keep their head up so to either evade or take the contact. Critically, this will avoid head injury but also ensure you are aware of what’s around you and going on when contact is made.
Hayes & Ealing Vikings 10 -v- 60 St Albans Centurions
There were some great moments of rugby league and skill demonstrated by individual players, although we didn’t shine as a team, which was a real shame. This said and to everyone’s credit, the players acknowledged this at the end demonstrating real maturity and honesty. We can build on this!! Pre-match both Dave Wilton and I spoke to the players about what we expected and what the Scout might be looking for….. Team play and execution of core skills was the message and whilst I don’t think there was an intention to over play, there were moments where we could have made things simpler.
This all said, I would like to focus on teamwork this Saturday by means of passing and drawing the opposition to the ball, going to ground early on knees and elbows (that’s our mantra please for the rest of the season) in readiness for a quick and effective play the ball. We will then get the squad into a game situation and put it all into practice. I’d also love to run a tackling clinic for a number of our players who are willing and interested but that’s for another day. If we get this drill right, the half backs then have a choice of long, short passes, whether to scoot or not and our runners (all players) have time to think about the lines they want to take to either draw the opposition away or into the action.
In specific regard to Saturdays match, all the boys carried the ball well (two hands) and I really do thank them for their understanding and support in rolling off and on 7-substituations at a time, particularly when the opposition was down to 11 men at one point. Our tackling was solid although we need to support our tacklers more and not assume Matt Cannon, Kieran McCarthy and our other stronger members of the squad will complete each and every one. There was some nice breaks from both our Props which resulted in points on the board and Matt Naylor ensured for much of the match that he followed up on tackles, holding the opposition down giving our defensive time to retreat.
Isaak made the most in his full back position carrying the ball back into contact and by the end of the game was running freely down the field handing off the opposition with ease who had, by that stage, run out of energy and enthusiasm. Jack Liversidge had another very dependable game doing all the basic things right and well. He’s a player that works hard for the team quietly and diligently getting on with the business and we’d certainly notice his impact if he wasn’t there. In Abner Wallace and Barry Heath who both rotated in and out as Hooker we saw continued improvement. Barry brings experience and ability in his play but wasn’t able to fully express himself as I guess he would have liked and Abner continues to learn from him and ‘in game’ which is encouraging for all to see.
We saw good two handed carries from Tom Liddelow which he was rightly keen to point out and a great try from the restart in the second half, kicking a nice high ball, pressuring the catcher resulting in a knock on and scrum which we secured and subsequent scored from. By moving Harry Dean in once again from Wing to a more central position, it allowed us to exploit his size and power and credit must be given to how well he shared and moved the ball around the team to introduce other players into the game.
The recent introduction of Ethan Cheung has brought further intensity to our tackling which was noted and whilst there’s a lot to learn his contribution was impressive and bows well for the future.
Hamish returning from injury and still suffering the after effects, put in another good show and was involved by the way of our best try towards the end of the game; where we saw the ball go through the set of six and most importantly the hands of nearly every player before scoring a well-executed try. That’s the gold standard that we’re seeking please. In Luke Latschrauner, Tom Ivory, Sam Ellis and Tommy Lennon we have players that I’m waiting to explode into action. All have huge potential, good hands, size and skill and could certainly do a lot more in a game and, in reporting on the match, it’s another reason why I’d like to see more of our players being involved and given the opportunity to carry the ball. Sam Ellis made a great break and was unlucky not to score in the second half and proves that when we draw the opposition away and in turn create space, we have the depth in the squad to exploit these gaps. With Gethin out on the wing we added a good addition to the team in a player who brings both speed and width and in completing the rounds Tom Wilton distributed the ball well, supporting he ball carrier whenever possible. He kicked extremely well. I did make an executive decision to keep to one kicker on Saturday but will against easier opposition, rotate kickers to give everyone opportunity.
And before signing off, I would like to thank Phil and Ryan Hill for joining us; it was great to see you both and even better to see your continued involvement with the team. I’m sure it won’t be long before light training can once again commence.
Finally, I was informed on Saturday that Matt Cannon & Harry Dean would not be available for the Semi or Grand Final on the 18th and 25th July. We are topping the League Table and will certainly be involved in these games which is why, I need to ensure we have strength and depth in the squad to compete. If you could let me know your availability over the coming few weeks as to these two dates I would be grateful.
Well done everyone, another resounding result which we can build on further this weekend.
There were some great moments of rugby league and skill demonstrated by individual players, although we didn’t shine as a team, which was a real shame. This said and to everyone’s credit, the players acknowledged this at the end demonstrating real maturity and honesty. We can build on this!! Pre-match both Dave Wilton and I spoke to the players about what we expected and what the Scout might be looking for….. Team play and execution of core skills was the message and whilst I don’t think there was an intention to over play, there were moments where we could have made things simpler.
This all said, I would like to focus on teamwork this Saturday by means of passing and drawing the opposition to the ball, going to ground early on knees and elbows (that’s our mantra please for the rest of the season) in readiness for a quick and effective play the ball. We will then get the squad into a game situation and put it all into practice. I’d also love to run a tackling clinic for a number of our players who are willing and interested but that’s for another day. If we get this drill right, the half backs then have a choice of long, short passes, whether to scoot or not and our runners (all players) have time to think about the lines they want to take to either draw the opposition away or into the action.
In specific regard to Saturdays match, all the boys carried the ball well (two hands) and I really do thank them for their understanding and support in rolling off and on 7-substituations at a time, particularly when the opposition was down to 11 men at one point. Our tackling was solid although we need to support our tacklers more and not assume Matt Cannon, Kieran McCarthy and our other stronger members of the squad will complete each and every one. There was some nice breaks from both our Props which resulted in points on the board and Matt Naylor ensured for much of the match that he followed up on tackles, holding the opposition down giving our defensive time to retreat.
Isaak made the most in his full back position carrying the ball back into contact and by the end of the game was running freely down the field handing off the opposition with ease who had, by that stage, run out of energy and enthusiasm. Jack Liversidge had another very dependable game doing all the basic things right and well. He’s a player that works hard for the team quietly and diligently getting on with the business and we’d certainly notice his impact if he wasn’t there. In Abner Wallace and Barry Heath who both rotated in and out as Hooker we saw continued improvement. Barry brings experience and ability in his play but wasn’t able to fully express himself as I guess he would have liked and Abner continues to learn from him and ‘in game’ which is encouraging for all to see.
We saw good two handed carries from Tom Liddelow which he was rightly keen to point out and a great try from the restart in the second half, kicking a nice high ball, pressuring the catcher resulting in a knock on and scrum which we secured and subsequent scored from. By moving Harry Dean in once again from Wing to a more central position, it allowed us to exploit his size and power and credit must be given to how well he shared and moved the ball around the team to introduce other players into the game.
The recent introduction of Ethan Cheung has brought further intensity to our tackling which was noted and whilst there’s a lot to learn his contribution was impressive and bows well for the future.
Hamish returning from injury and still suffering the after effects, put in another good show and was involved by the way of our best try towards the end of the game; where we saw the ball go through the set of six and most importantly the hands of nearly every player before scoring a well-executed try. That’s the gold standard that we’re seeking please. In Luke Latschrauner, Tom Ivory, Sam Ellis and Tommy Lennon we have players that I’m waiting to explode into action. All have huge potential, good hands, size and skill and could certainly do a lot more in a game and, in reporting on the match, it’s another reason why I’d like to see more of our players being involved and given the opportunity to carry the ball. Sam Ellis made a great break and was unlucky not to score in the second half and proves that when we draw the opposition away and in turn create space, we have the depth in the squad to exploit these gaps. With Gethin out on the wing we added a good addition to the team in a player who brings both speed and width and in completing the rounds Tom Wilton distributed the ball well, supporting he ball carrier whenever possible. He kicked extremely well. I did make an executive decision to keep to one kicker on Saturday but will against easier opposition, rotate kickers to give everyone opportunity.
And before signing off, I would like to thank Phil and Ryan Hill for joining us; it was great to see you both and even better to see your continued involvement with the team. I’m sure it won’t be long before light training can once again commence.
Finally, I was informed on Saturday that Matt Cannon & Harry Dean would not be available for the Semi or Grand Final on the 18th and 25th July. We are topping the League Table and will certainly be involved in these games which is why, I need to ensure we have strength and depth in the squad to compete. If you could let me know your availability over the coming few weeks as to these two dates I would be grateful.
Well done everyone, another resounding result which we can build on further this weekend.
St Albans Centurions 54 -v- 16 Hemel Hempstead
Sorry for the delay and less than detailed report:–
Scorers as follows:
HARRY DEAN – T & C = 6 HARRY DEAN – T = 4 TOM LIDDELOW – T = 4 TOM LIDDELOW – T = 4 HARRY DEAN – T = 4 ISAAK NATHAN – C = 2
HALF TIME – Cents 26 Stags 6
TOM LIDDELOW – T = 4 ISAAK NATHAN – C = 2 ISAAK NATHAN – T = 4 TOM LIDDELOW T & C = 6 ISAAK NATHAN – T = 4 HARRY DEAN – C = 2 ISAAK NATHAN – T = 4 TOM WILTON – T = 4 TOM LIDDELOW – T = 4
FINAL SCORE – 58 v 14
Men of the match - Matt & Dan Cannon for their tremendous joint tackling during the course of the game – Dan leading and after some vocal support from brother who ‘eventually stepped in’ to finish the job off…!
Runners up….
Harry Dean for his driving tackle which saw him push the Hemel player back at least 15 meters.
Isaak Nathan for a flurry of tries and aggressive runs, taking the ball full-tilt into contact or not as the case was to be.Finally, Tom Liddlelow for 5 well worked Tries, how many points?!
Team: Abner Wallace, Adam Smith, Barry Heath, Harry Dean, Isaak Nathan, Jack Liversidge, Joe Picariello, Luke Latschrauner, Dan Cannon, Matt Cannon, Matt Naylor, Tom Ivory, Tom Liddelow, Tom Wilton, Tommy Lennon, Freddie Meredith, Alex Edwards.
Sorry for the delay and less than detailed report:–
Scorers as follows:
HARRY DEAN – T & C = 6 HARRY DEAN – T = 4 TOM LIDDELOW – T = 4 TOM LIDDELOW – T = 4 HARRY DEAN – T = 4 ISAAK NATHAN – C = 2
HALF TIME – Cents 26 Stags 6
TOM LIDDELOW – T = 4 ISAAK NATHAN – C = 2 ISAAK NATHAN – T = 4 TOM LIDDELOW T & C = 6 ISAAK NATHAN – T = 4 HARRY DEAN – C = 2 ISAAK NATHAN – T = 4 TOM WILTON – T = 4 TOM LIDDELOW – T = 4
FINAL SCORE – 58 v 14
Men of the match - Matt & Dan Cannon for their tremendous joint tackling during the course of the game – Dan leading and after some vocal support from brother who ‘eventually stepped in’ to finish the job off…!
Runners up….
Harry Dean for his driving tackle which saw him push the Hemel player back at least 15 meters.
Isaak Nathan for a flurry of tries and aggressive runs, taking the ball full-tilt into contact or not as the case was to be.Finally, Tom Liddlelow for 5 well worked Tries, how many points?!
Team: Abner Wallace, Adam Smith, Barry Heath, Harry Dean, Isaak Nathan, Jack Liversidge, Joe Picariello, Luke Latschrauner, Dan Cannon, Matt Cannon, Matt Naylor, Tom Ivory, Tom Liddelow, Tom Wilton, Tommy Lennon, Freddie Meredith, Alex Edwards.
St Albans Centurions 26 -v- 18 Brentwood Eels
After the disappointment of two weeks ago, the contrast in these two matches could not have been greater. Like the weather the sun shone not only on the Colosseum but on each Cents players that stepped out onto the field of play.
From the outset we saw a team that played as a unit, backing and supporting each other up and from the get-go were ready for the fight. We made one or two changes and stuck with the team and format of play which, remained pretty well constant throughout the match. We played effective rugby and pressured Brentwood from the outset and to their absolute credit our players made very few if any handling errors, playing out each set of 6 at every opportunity.
We carried the ball well into the opposition’s territory and employed quick play the ball (PTB). In the tackle, we made and held Brentwood down sufficiently to allow our defensive line to recover. Our line speed was good and we closed the offensive space down to ensure little ground was offered for Brentwood’s forwards to exploit.
As ever, the powerful combination of Matt Cannon and Kieran McCarthy at Prop ensured we took the game into Brentwood’s half. In carrying the ball they always made yards and in defending the line, the execution of some of the tackling was simply outstanding. They set the tone for the match which the rest of the squad more than amply backed up. Barry Heath playing Hooker provided the necessary speed of hand and agility to avoid the on rushing Brentwood markers which, allowed our Forwards to find the necessary time and space to break the defensive line.
To the right and left Centre we positioned Ryan Hill and Harry Dean to beef up the middle whilst also adding speed and strength in tackle. It was a formidable forward facing line and it delivered results very early on in the game with Brentwood forced into a series of handling errors which is no mean feat, from a team we have learnt to respect and challenge. With Hamish Tinker and Matt Naylor moved into a wider 2nd Row position to rotate as necessary with Harry and Ryan, it allowed the team to compress the centre whilst squeezing and protecting the wings enabling Freddie Meredith and Tom Ivory out wide to defend and run. In Sam Ellis and Tom Wilton we had our two experienced Half Backs shaping and controlling the game and neither wasted this opportunity to utilise the ball, drawing and feeding in players as necessary and as opportunities arose. They also ensured that the game didn’t break down into a form of Union.
Finally, playing in his first competitive match and in the position of Loose Head we had Jack Liversivage whose running and tackling I have to commend and, in the position of Full Back, to replace the absent Isaak Nathan, we had Tom Liddelow a versatile player who wrapped up those Brentwood players who did manage to break our line and showed control in both his return runs and distribution of the ball.
All in all it was a very competent display of rugby league which was a pleasure to watch and brought a great deal of praise from the two Open age Cents players helping us out on the day. There were some fabulous highlights and moments of skills throughout the game from Harry Deans crunching tackle on Brentwood’s half back who to his credit held onto the ball after the hit, to intricate handling which allowed us to create our second try which saw the ball carried at speed and passed through the hands of a number of players starting with I believe Barry, Jack, Tom W and Harry D before it was grounded in the corner of Brentwood’s try line.
In the second half the match resumed as it had left off with Freddie Meredith continuing to find space with some weaving runs, ensuring we maintained momentum. The only pause to proceedings being the ill-fated injury to Ryan Hill, who after fending off several Brentwood players during a carry was turned in the tackle resulting in him landing awkwardly on his left shoulder. As it has transpired, despite the paramedics assessing Ryan’s injury on the day and giving him the all clear, following an X-Ray on Monday it has been confirmed that Ryan has in fact suffered a clean break to his collar bone.
This is not the news any of us wanted and as I write, we send our very best wishes to him for a full and speedy recovery! All being well Ryan will be joining us this Saturday to cheer us along and at the same time give us the opportunity to directly pass on our best wishes. The incident was incredibly unfortunate and I will be working with our coaches to ensure our players are more aware, when carrying the ball, of when to go to ground.
As a result of Ryan being carried off several changes were made to the team which saw the introduction of George Pelham who is never shy in getting involved and to his credit scored our 5th try following a kick and run through from Harry Dean. Adam Smith who, just like Jack continued to deliver what we have seen on the training ground to the field of play, maintaining the ball, closing down play and tackling well and Luke Latschrauner who is a solid and highly dependable player in any given circumstance.
Overall, it was a fantastic performance individually and collectively and it was great to see so many of our squad and parents in attendance. The match was a bruising encounter with Cents this time coming out on top.
In summary, a very hard fought but well deserved victory!
Try’s and Conversions scorers: Harry Dean – 3 x Try’s George Pelham – 1 x Try Tom Liddelow – 1 x Try Awaiting more T’s & C’s to be confirmed
Team 1: Matt Cannon – Prop Kieran McCarthy – Prop Barry Heath – Hooker Matt Naylor – 2nd Row Hamish Tinker – 2nd Row Ryan Hill – Centre Harry Dean – Centre Jack Liversivage – Loose Head Tom Wilton – Half Back Sam Ellis – Half Back Freddie Meredith – Wing Tom Ivory – Wing Tom Liddelow – Fullback
Interchanges: George Pelham, Adam Smith, Luke Latschrauner, Will Lawrence and Abner Wallace
MATCH TWO
This was no less a tough game and the team we played was made up of U12’s and U13’s players with varying experience of RL against a Brentwood side that still retained a number of bigger players from their opening match.
The game allowed our players to familiarise themselves, in a more controlled but none the less competitive environment, with the rules and technical aspects of the sport.
Hats must be taken off to Brentwood’s two newly qualified referees in Jacob Smith and Paddy Wiseman who controlled the game well and in the eyes of players and spectators alike, did a very good job.
It was also very pleasing to see our players control the ball and maintain this discipline throughout the match. The team more than held their own and executed their core skills well.
In the position of Prop we had Will Lawrence and Luke Latschrauner. Abner Wallace took up his normal position as Hooker with Tommy Lennon a new player to Cents and to the game of Rugby League but, an experience Union player joining George Pelham, still pumping from scoring his try in the first game to the position of Second Row.
Outside Centres where Matt Naylor and Dan Cannon our youngest player on the field and, as I had been assured, he more than held his own throughout the match.
On the wings we played Harry Tallantire and Freddie Smith allowing them both to stretch their legs and exploit the spaces created by our Forwards in Brentwoods wider defensive line and in the Half Back position we had Alex Edwards and Joe Picariello, more usually found in the front row but this time, he was given the opportunity to help shape the game with Alex taking the lead role. Finally, we had another new player in Finn Warner playing as Loose Head with Tom Liddelow retaining his position as Full Back.
Alex Edwards showed through the course of game great awareness and skill in moving the ball around and he is one player to certainly watch over the coming years as he develops in the sport. Will Lawrence at close quarters is a force to be reckoned with and as his speed and positional awareness develops he will be one tough nut to stop and get past! With less interference in the ruck, Abner Wallace continued to demonstrate good awareness as Hooker feeding the ball out from the PTB position and, as he continues to progress I am looking forward to seeing him ‘scoot’ (carrying the ball into the heart of the oppositions defence).
Joe Picariello playing at U12’s continues to defy his age in both is tackling and carrying into contact and I hope he continues to attend training and employ the skills he is learning. It was another solid performance from the young man. Freddie Smith continuing on from the first game and enjoyed having a free roaming role out wide and in so doing, created a continued nuisance of himself carving up and weaving through Brentwood’s line with the ball.
Dan Cannon playing in his first game after watching big brother bash the door down, took on an equally roaming role in his Centre position and by the end of the match could be found pretty much near most of the action.
It was great to see the enthusiasm which flowed through the team and Tommy Lennon exemplified this with powerful runs down field to gain significant territory from which Alex Edwards could work the ball. Tommy quickly learnt that you can’t rip unless you are in a one-on-one situation with an opposing player.
Brentwood in attack did exploit the gaps in our defence and on the right wing they had a very tricky player who was both agile and fast and at times really tested the discipline of our defensive line which, illustrated our lack of coaching time. However, we were very much impressed with how well our players performed and maintained their structure throughout the game.
Whilst the result did not go our way this was secondary to the objective, that of giving every player the opportunity to develop their game awareness and core skills in a way that could not be achieved through coaching alone.
Overall, it was a very good display of RL and by the end of the match we even had chance to play some champagne rugby as Ken noted the ball being kept alive and near enough passed through every players hands before Brentwood closed down the space and made the final tackle!!
If parents could let me know try scorers and conversions I will add this in to the report, thank you.
We will need all our players available over the coming season and I hope that in both numbers and ability we will have the strength and depth of squad to compete for the top spot. We had a testing encounter this weekend and we need to make sure we can rotate all our players so, I would like to thank along with my other Coaches the patience and understanding our interchanges (substitutes) and their teammates who showed equal measure during the course of Saturday.
In playing Hemel this weekend, we will certainly need the numbers to ensure we have a strong bench which I will aim to rotate, in the hope, of giving everyone the opportunity to play either in the first or second half.
In signing off, I would like to thank those but not by name, who offered feedback and thought following our last match and to both Andy and Tim from the Open age squad who helped in coaching the players pre-match and for Andy particularly for assisting Ryan. Your tips and insight throughout the morning were well received and valued.
Well done Centurions!!
Team 2: Will Lawrence – Prop Luke Latschrauner – Prop Abner Wallace – Hooker Tommy Lennon – 2nd Row George Pelham – 2nd Row Matt Naylor – Centre Dan Cannon – Centre Finn Warner – Loose Head Alex Edwards – Half Back Joe Picariello – Half Back Freddie Meredith – Wing Harry Tallantire – Wing Tom Liddelow – Fullback
After the disappointment of two weeks ago, the contrast in these two matches could not have been greater. Like the weather the sun shone not only on the Colosseum but on each Cents players that stepped out onto the field of play.
From the outset we saw a team that played as a unit, backing and supporting each other up and from the get-go were ready for the fight. We made one or two changes and stuck with the team and format of play which, remained pretty well constant throughout the match. We played effective rugby and pressured Brentwood from the outset and to their absolute credit our players made very few if any handling errors, playing out each set of 6 at every opportunity.
We carried the ball well into the opposition’s territory and employed quick play the ball (PTB). In the tackle, we made and held Brentwood down sufficiently to allow our defensive line to recover. Our line speed was good and we closed the offensive space down to ensure little ground was offered for Brentwood’s forwards to exploit.
As ever, the powerful combination of Matt Cannon and Kieran McCarthy at Prop ensured we took the game into Brentwood’s half. In carrying the ball they always made yards and in defending the line, the execution of some of the tackling was simply outstanding. They set the tone for the match which the rest of the squad more than amply backed up. Barry Heath playing Hooker provided the necessary speed of hand and agility to avoid the on rushing Brentwood markers which, allowed our Forwards to find the necessary time and space to break the defensive line.
To the right and left Centre we positioned Ryan Hill and Harry Dean to beef up the middle whilst also adding speed and strength in tackle. It was a formidable forward facing line and it delivered results very early on in the game with Brentwood forced into a series of handling errors which is no mean feat, from a team we have learnt to respect and challenge. With Hamish Tinker and Matt Naylor moved into a wider 2nd Row position to rotate as necessary with Harry and Ryan, it allowed the team to compress the centre whilst squeezing and protecting the wings enabling Freddie Meredith and Tom Ivory out wide to defend and run. In Sam Ellis and Tom Wilton we had our two experienced Half Backs shaping and controlling the game and neither wasted this opportunity to utilise the ball, drawing and feeding in players as necessary and as opportunities arose. They also ensured that the game didn’t break down into a form of Union.
Finally, playing in his first competitive match and in the position of Loose Head we had Jack Liversivage whose running and tackling I have to commend and, in the position of Full Back, to replace the absent Isaak Nathan, we had Tom Liddelow a versatile player who wrapped up those Brentwood players who did manage to break our line and showed control in both his return runs and distribution of the ball.
All in all it was a very competent display of rugby league which was a pleasure to watch and brought a great deal of praise from the two Open age Cents players helping us out on the day. There were some fabulous highlights and moments of skills throughout the game from Harry Deans crunching tackle on Brentwood’s half back who to his credit held onto the ball after the hit, to intricate handling which allowed us to create our second try which saw the ball carried at speed and passed through the hands of a number of players starting with I believe Barry, Jack, Tom W and Harry D before it was grounded in the corner of Brentwood’s try line.
In the second half the match resumed as it had left off with Freddie Meredith continuing to find space with some weaving runs, ensuring we maintained momentum. The only pause to proceedings being the ill-fated injury to Ryan Hill, who after fending off several Brentwood players during a carry was turned in the tackle resulting in him landing awkwardly on his left shoulder. As it has transpired, despite the paramedics assessing Ryan’s injury on the day and giving him the all clear, following an X-Ray on Monday it has been confirmed that Ryan has in fact suffered a clean break to his collar bone.
This is not the news any of us wanted and as I write, we send our very best wishes to him for a full and speedy recovery! All being well Ryan will be joining us this Saturday to cheer us along and at the same time give us the opportunity to directly pass on our best wishes. The incident was incredibly unfortunate and I will be working with our coaches to ensure our players are more aware, when carrying the ball, of when to go to ground.
As a result of Ryan being carried off several changes were made to the team which saw the introduction of George Pelham who is never shy in getting involved and to his credit scored our 5th try following a kick and run through from Harry Dean. Adam Smith who, just like Jack continued to deliver what we have seen on the training ground to the field of play, maintaining the ball, closing down play and tackling well and Luke Latschrauner who is a solid and highly dependable player in any given circumstance.
Overall, it was a fantastic performance individually and collectively and it was great to see so many of our squad and parents in attendance. The match was a bruising encounter with Cents this time coming out on top.
In summary, a very hard fought but well deserved victory!
Try’s and Conversions scorers: Harry Dean – 3 x Try’s George Pelham – 1 x Try Tom Liddelow – 1 x Try Awaiting more T’s & C’s to be confirmed
Team 1: Matt Cannon – Prop Kieran McCarthy – Prop Barry Heath – Hooker Matt Naylor – 2nd Row Hamish Tinker – 2nd Row Ryan Hill – Centre Harry Dean – Centre Jack Liversivage – Loose Head Tom Wilton – Half Back Sam Ellis – Half Back Freddie Meredith – Wing Tom Ivory – Wing Tom Liddelow – Fullback
Interchanges: George Pelham, Adam Smith, Luke Latschrauner, Will Lawrence and Abner Wallace
MATCH TWO
This was no less a tough game and the team we played was made up of U12’s and U13’s players with varying experience of RL against a Brentwood side that still retained a number of bigger players from their opening match.
The game allowed our players to familiarise themselves, in a more controlled but none the less competitive environment, with the rules and technical aspects of the sport.
Hats must be taken off to Brentwood’s two newly qualified referees in Jacob Smith and Paddy Wiseman who controlled the game well and in the eyes of players and spectators alike, did a very good job.
It was also very pleasing to see our players control the ball and maintain this discipline throughout the match. The team more than held their own and executed their core skills well.
In the position of Prop we had Will Lawrence and Luke Latschrauner. Abner Wallace took up his normal position as Hooker with Tommy Lennon a new player to Cents and to the game of Rugby League but, an experience Union player joining George Pelham, still pumping from scoring his try in the first game to the position of Second Row.
Outside Centres where Matt Naylor and Dan Cannon our youngest player on the field and, as I had been assured, he more than held his own throughout the match.
On the wings we played Harry Tallantire and Freddie Smith allowing them both to stretch their legs and exploit the spaces created by our Forwards in Brentwoods wider defensive line and in the Half Back position we had Alex Edwards and Joe Picariello, more usually found in the front row but this time, he was given the opportunity to help shape the game with Alex taking the lead role. Finally, we had another new player in Finn Warner playing as Loose Head with Tom Liddelow retaining his position as Full Back.
Alex Edwards showed through the course of game great awareness and skill in moving the ball around and he is one player to certainly watch over the coming years as he develops in the sport. Will Lawrence at close quarters is a force to be reckoned with and as his speed and positional awareness develops he will be one tough nut to stop and get past! With less interference in the ruck, Abner Wallace continued to demonstrate good awareness as Hooker feeding the ball out from the PTB position and, as he continues to progress I am looking forward to seeing him ‘scoot’ (carrying the ball into the heart of the oppositions defence).
Joe Picariello playing at U12’s continues to defy his age in both is tackling and carrying into contact and I hope he continues to attend training and employ the skills he is learning. It was another solid performance from the young man. Freddie Smith continuing on from the first game and enjoyed having a free roaming role out wide and in so doing, created a continued nuisance of himself carving up and weaving through Brentwood’s line with the ball.
Dan Cannon playing in his first game after watching big brother bash the door down, took on an equally roaming role in his Centre position and by the end of the match could be found pretty much near most of the action.
It was great to see the enthusiasm which flowed through the team and Tommy Lennon exemplified this with powerful runs down field to gain significant territory from which Alex Edwards could work the ball. Tommy quickly learnt that you can’t rip unless you are in a one-on-one situation with an opposing player.
Brentwood in attack did exploit the gaps in our defence and on the right wing they had a very tricky player who was both agile and fast and at times really tested the discipline of our defensive line which, illustrated our lack of coaching time. However, we were very much impressed with how well our players performed and maintained their structure throughout the game.
Whilst the result did not go our way this was secondary to the objective, that of giving every player the opportunity to develop their game awareness and core skills in a way that could not be achieved through coaching alone.
Overall, it was a very good display of RL and by the end of the match we even had chance to play some champagne rugby as Ken noted the ball being kept alive and near enough passed through every players hands before Brentwood closed down the space and made the final tackle!!
If parents could let me know try scorers and conversions I will add this in to the report, thank you.
We will need all our players available over the coming season and I hope that in both numbers and ability we will have the strength and depth of squad to compete for the top spot. We had a testing encounter this weekend and we need to make sure we can rotate all our players so, I would like to thank along with my other Coaches the patience and understanding our interchanges (substitutes) and their teammates who showed equal measure during the course of Saturday.
In playing Hemel this weekend, we will certainly need the numbers to ensure we have a strong bench which I will aim to rotate, in the hope, of giving everyone the opportunity to play either in the first or second half.
In signing off, I would like to thank those but not by name, who offered feedback and thought following our last match and to both Andy and Tim from the Open age squad who helped in coaching the players pre-match and for Andy particularly for assisting Ryan. Your tips and insight throughout the morning were well received and valued.
Well done Centurions!!
Team 2: Will Lawrence – Prop Luke Latschrauner – Prop Abner Wallace – Hooker Tommy Lennon – 2nd Row George Pelham – 2nd Row Matt Naylor – Centre Dan Cannon – Centre Finn Warner – Loose Head Alex Edwards – Half Back Joe Picariello – Half Back Freddie Meredith – Wing Harry Tallantire – Wing Tom Liddelow – Fullback
St Albans Centurions 14 -v- 24 Brentwood Eels - League Cup
It was a tough match on Saturday, not that we expected anything less but I spent a lot of time over the weekend reflecting on the game, in between catching up with friends who helped me review our performance. I also spent some time watching the highlights from this weekend’s Super League games and I think it can be fairly said, that we came up against a very well drilled rugby league side who executed their game plan to full affect.
I don’t think we played to our strengths and certainly not to our best ability. Yes, the refereeing could have been a lot better for our age group and it would have certainly prevented some of the tactics Brentwood employed getting the better of us. As an aside, making a tackle and then pealing-off a player holding their head down in the final act is legitimate in RL but, doing this on near enough every tackle is both highly contentious and unsporting and that’s where I do take exception with the referee who had a responsibility to control this in addition to the backchat.
However having gone through this experience, I believe there are a number of things to be learnt which I’d like to share with you and I am very open to your views and thoughts in return.
First and foremost, as a coach I want our players (your sons) to have fun, enjoy themselves and feel that they belong to a great team. I also want them to develop their rugby skills individually and collectively given this was the core message from the RFL on our Level 2 coaching course.
As a Club, I believe we have a very clear philosophy and attitude to the game which is directly influenced by you. We want our players to be inclusive, competitive and to have the ability to compete in the full spirit of the game. Rugby League is tough but we want our players to be fair, honest and respectful in approach and skilled in execution and technique. I am very fortunate and proud to be associated with this squad of players who more than demonstrate this every time they walk out onto the pitch and I would like this mentality to continue.
I also do not expect any of our players to do more than I expect of my own son or is reasonably expected of them which is why, it was so disappointing to see some of our players leaving the field on Saturday saddened. I know everyone gave their all and as yes mistakes were made but, this is how we learn and develop.
So, in reconciling the fact that we came up against a very well drilled side who employed tactics associated with the more senior elements of our game we have to brush ourselves down and decide whether that is how we want to coach and manage our team or, encourage our boys to develop their game by ensuring they utilise every player in the squad and not just leaving it to our most experienced and capable players.
We have a long season ahead and plenty more games to go and we need to remember that we’ve had players committed to Centurions from the outset whom without their support, we would have had no season. We also have players who run across both codes and represent their County and I am always conscious of the strain this places on young, developing bodies. So when I write and say that we need to play across the whole team, it is for very good reason. Every Centurions has a right to be involved and as coach, my job is to ensure players have the skills and technique to execute each play. If we get this right, everyone will feel accountable for the outcome whilst at the same time, enjoying their participation.
I am speaking to our first team regarding coaching support as we have some very able players and a couple of New Zealanders in the squad who are keen to help us this year. I do believe on a better day, with a few tweaks here and there we can beat Brentwood and we have shown in the past we can when it counts! Arron Smith, Brentwood’s Coach has emailed me to acknowledge our performance on Saturday and we have provisionally agreed that on the 16th May when we next meet them, that we run a friendly afterwards for our newer and younger players which I have agreed to in principle.
Finally on this weekends match, I will leave it to you as to which part(s) of this report your want or need to convey to your son and welcome your feedback and support in response.
Meanwhile, for those of you heading on Tour, have a great time, enjoy yourselves and we look forward to hearing all about it on your return!
For those not going away, training will continue as usual this weekend 10-12pm at Toulmin Drive and if I could encourage as many of you as possible to come along, this will help develop our team work and fuller understanding of the game.
Our next match is on the 9th May away to Southend Spartans and I will send you an invitation shortly to confirm your availability.
SATURDAYS SCORE LINE AS FOLLOWS:
6-0, 6-6 Harry Dean (t) and Tom Wilton © 6-10, Ryan Hill (t) 10-10, 16-10, 16-14 Harry (t), 20-14, 24-14.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Kieran McCarthy – Congratulations you made some fabulous tackles throughout the game and showed good leadership when it was needed. Very well done!
It was a tough match on Saturday, not that we expected anything less but I spent a lot of time over the weekend reflecting on the game, in between catching up with friends who helped me review our performance. I also spent some time watching the highlights from this weekend’s Super League games and I think it can be fairly said, that we came up against a very well drilled rugby league side who executed their game plan to full affect.
I don’t think we played to our strengths and certainly not to our best ability. Yes, the refereeing could have been a lot better for our age group and it would have certainly prevented some of the tactics Brentwood employed getting the better of us. As an aside, making a tackle and then pealing-off a player holding their head down in the final act is legitimate in RL but, doing this on near enough every tackle is both highly contentious and unsporting and that’s where I do take exception with the referee who had a responsibility to control this in addition to the backchat.
However having gone through this experience, I believe there are a number of things to be learnt which I’d like to share with you and I am very open to your views and thoughts in return.
First and foremost, as a coach I want our players (your sons) to have fun, enjoy themselves and feel that they belong to a great team. I also want them to develop their rugby skills individually and collectively given this was the core message from the RFL on our Level 2 coaching course.
As a Club, I believe we have a very clear philosophy and attitude to the game which is directly influenced by you. We want our players to be inclusive, competitive and to have the ability to compete in the full spirit of the game. Rugby League is tough but we want our players to be fair, honest and respectful in approach and skilled in execution and technique. I am very fortunate and proud to be associated with this squad of players who more than demonstrate this every time they walk out onto the pitch and I would like this mentality to continue.
I also do not expect any of our players to do more than I expect of my own son or is reasonably expected of them which is why, it was so disappointing to see some of our players leaving the field on Saturday saddened. I know everyone gave their all and as yes mistakes were made but, this is how we learn and develop.
So, in reconciling the fact that we came up against a very well drilled side who employed tactics associated with the more senior elements of our game we have to brush ourselves down and decide whether that is how we want to coach and manage our team or, encourage our boys to develop their game by ensuring they utilise every player in the squad and not just leaving it to our most experienced and capable players.
We have a long season ahead and plenty more games to go and we need to remember that we’ve had players committed to Centurions from the outset whom without their support, we would have had no season. We also have players who run across both codes and represent their County and I am always conscious of the strain this places on young, developing bodies. So when I write and say that we need to play across the whole team, it is for very good reason. Every Centurions has a right to be involved and as coach, my job is to ensure players have the skills and technique to execute each play. If we get this right, everyone will feel accountable for the outcome whilst at the same time, enjoying their participation.
I am speaking to our first team regarding coaching support as we have some very able players and a couple of New Zealanders in the squad who are keen to help us this year. I do believe on a better day, with a few tweaks here and there we can beat Brentwood and we have shown in the past we can when it counts! Arron Smith, Brentwood’s Coach has emailed me to acknowledge our performance on Saturday and we have provisionally agreed that on the 16th May when we next meet them, that we run a friendly afterwards for our newer and younger players which I have agreed to in principle.
Finally on this weekends match, I will leave it to you as to which part(s) of this report your want or need to convey to your son and welcome your feedback and support in response.
Meanwhile, for those of you heading on Tour, have a great time, enjoy yourselves and we look forward to hearing all about it on your return!
For those not going away, training will continue as usual this weekend 10-12pm at Toulmin Drive and if I could encourage as many of you as possible to come along, this will help develop our team work and fuller understanding of the game.
Our next match is on the 9th May away to Southend Spartans and I will send you an invitation shortly to confirm your availability.
SATURDAYS SCORE LINE AS FOLLOWS:
6-0, 6-6 Harry Dean (t) and Tom Wilton © 6-10, Ryan Hill (t) 10-10, 16-10, 16-14 Harry (t), 20-14, 24-14.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Kieran McCarthy – Congratulations you made some fabulous tackles throughout the game and showed good leadership when it was needed. Very well done!
St Albans Centurions U13's 34 - 24 London Skolars U13's
St Albans Centurions U13’s consolidated their top spot in the London League (North) after their third successive win against third place London Skolars. The Cents are league leaders, just ahead of the also unbeaten Brentwood Eels. (League Table) Both halves of the match were fairly even, with Centurions going in at half time with a 20 points to 16 lead against the North London side. Whilst both sides enjoyed playing free flowing rugby league, it was the Cents who had the edge with their defensive work, time and again shutting down the Skolars attacking moves.
The second half was a continuation of the first, as the two tries from Skolars and three tries from St Albans came from fast flowing moves that started at distance away from the try lines, and once again the Cents defensive play was the difference between the teams. At one point the Londoners were camped on the Centurions try line for two sets of six, and no matter what they tried, the St Albans boys tackled and kept them out. The game is so popular that both teams had turned up with over twenty players in their respective squads, so it was decided that at the end of the league game, a further friendly would be played, with the teams made up mainly of the teams substitutes, and players players new to the game. Another entertaining game then took place for the spectators, once again won by the Centurions, 16 points to 12. After the game head coach Craig Naylor said “Another fine performance from the Cents. You can see the team gelling with every game. We try and make training as fun and enjoyable as possible, and it seems to be paying off. The boys love this game and enjoy playing it.”
The new playing strip is looking good as well.
Next week sees the Centurions travel to Essex to play second place Brentwood Eels in the second round of the London League Cup. These two teams have not met in the league yet
St Albans Centurions U13’s consolidated their top spot in the London League (North) after their third successive win against third place London Skolars. The Cents are league leaders, just ahead of the also unbeaten Brentwood Eels. (League Table) Both halves of the match were fairly even, with Centurions going in at half time with a 20 points to 16 lead against the North London side. Whilst both sides enjoyed playing free flowing rugby league, it was the Cents who had the edge with their defensive work, time and again shutting down the Skolars attacking moves.
The second half was a continuation of the first, as the two tries from Skolars and three tries from St Albans came from fast flowing moves that started at distance away from the try lines, and once again the Cents defensive play was the difference between the teams. At one point the Londoners were camped on the Centurions try line for two sets of six, and no matter what they tried, the St Albans boys tackled and kept them out. The game is so popular that both teams had turned up with over twenty players in their respective squads, so it was decided that at the end of the league game, a further friendly would be played, with the teams made up mainly of the teams substitutes, and players players new to the game. Another entertaining game then took place for the spectators, once again won by the Centurions, 16 points to 12. After the game head coach Craig Naylor said “Another fine performance from the Cents. You can see the team gelling with every game. We try and make training as fun and enjoyable as possible, and it seems to be paying off. The boys love this game and enjoy playing it.”
The new playing strip is looking good as well.
Next week sees the Centurions travel to Essex to play second place Brentwood Eels in the second round of the London League Cup. These two teams have not met in the league yet
Eastern Rhinos 0 - 40 St Albans Cents U13's
Cents make it two wins out of two.It was aptly summed up by Nigel Ellis on our way back to St.Albans when he said Venimus, vidimus, nos conconquered. And so it was, from one Roman city to another that the St.Albans Centurions truly came, saw and conquered at Colchester!
Leading up the match we appeared to have full complement of players then a sudden shortfall preceded by a boost in numbers thanks primarily to the introduction of Ken Edwards and his boy’s from St. George’s School! For those that don’t know Ken he is one of the founding members of Centurions Rugby Football League Club and I am delighted to see him return with his son Alex following in his footsteps! On arrival, I was unexpectedly greeted by Ryan Hill and Chris Dean, who following a recent operation was not going to be put off making the journey but then chauffeured by Penny his wife, why would you not want to go on a 2 hour road-trip to Colchester :-Z! After a good warm up, led by some of our players we were ready to start the match which was once again ably refereed by Karen Davey and Captained by Harry Dean who lead the team throughout in a calm and controlled manner.
The teams looked pretty evenly matched in the line-up but it became clear after the first few phases of play that what is distinguishing Cents, from other teams, is our tackling and limited error count (touching wood as I write) but the players have to be complemented for their clean execution of the ball whether at the ruck, play the ball (PTB) or when passed. Skills we will continue to develop in training.
The positional line up saw Abnor Wallis once again playing in the hooker role, feeding the ball out well and exploiting the gaps and mismatches in the oppositions defensive line. His two Prop forwards Matt Cannon and Will Lawrence, who is really starting to find his feet in this position and the odd unintentional neck put in another good shift. This team was then backed up by Luke Latschrauner returning from a short illness and Sam Hale-Jackson in the second row, both strong and able tacklers who more than played their role in this match. Harry Tallantire from St.Georges and Matt Naylor playing right and left centre and rotating into loose head ensured yards were gained and that the ball was being regularly fed out to the wings where Ryan Hill and Harry Dean were there to explode into action. Whilst Ryan was taking caution with an injury we rotated his positon with a new player from St.George’s Charles Needham who put in a terrific performance, tacking and running hard into much bigger players. In the half back positions we had Sam Ellis returning to play in the pivotal Scrum Half role and Alex Edwards as Stand Off; both ran well with the ball and importantly created space and time for the backs to exploit. In his second year Isaak Nathan is making the most of the full back position combining well in our set of six PTB’s to break through the defensive line and from kick-off, returning the ball back to gain good field position for our team. Based on the score line you see this was not a push over game, Rhino’s had a number of useful players however, these guys were contained from the outset by solid and well executed tackling. In rugby league you quickly find out a team’s strength and despite Rhino’s playing to theirs, meters were limited and short lived. Sam Ellis was ‘the pick of the tackling bunch’ when he clobber Rhino’s biggest player to the ground who had unwisely thought that he could crash through our Scrum Half…no chance! Good discipline from Cents in moving up and securing the tackle meant that each time Rhinos ran with the ball they were truly facing a brick wall! It was determined, disciplined and well executed tackling from every single Centurion.
And so, it wasn’t long before Harry Dean was able to stretch his legs and, running over half the pitch evading or handing off several players in the process ran in our first of 40 points. Isaak was quick to follow this up with a well-executed try which saw Cents effectively move the ball up field. Harry converted to make it 10 and on the return, after good pressure it forced the first of a series of Rhino errors. Matt Cannon ran in the next carrying several opposition players over in the process. A quick swap around following an injury to a Rhinos player saw a 12 aside game ensue and in the process, Ryan Hill moved over in to the left wing position which, unintentionally saw him with the ball and open space in which to run. So much of a coach protecting his players! 18 – 0 quickly moved to 20 as Harry converted. Half time came and with a few words of wisdom from Ken and Harry encouraging the team to move the ball wider, it was only minutes later before Isaak in full stretch took the ball and evading players ran the score to 24. Harry playing a true captains role took the opportunity to run in yet a further try and convert to take the score line to 30-0. No doubt Rhinos were now starting to tier having gained little ground during the course of the match and having to tackle so much, we saw Harry rotated as we had with all the team, leaving Isaak to follow up on a disallowed try from Matt Cannon taking the score line to 34-0 just in time for Harry to convert. The match was sealed when Matt Naylor diagonally cut through the defensive line to score in a move which ended the match on a strong note.
After the game we discussed the introduction of an award for both ‘man of the match’ and ‘error of the match’ which, as you will read is pretty self-explanatory.
As such and without further-a-do:- 'Man of the Match' went to Sam Ellis for his crunching tackle as noted earlier and 'error of the match' we awarded our new team mate Harry Tallantire for taking the ball over the Rhino’s try line after a strong and aggressive run, only to one-handedly plant the ball down incorrectly, resulting in a no try given!!
I am delighted with the strength across our whole team and the spirit that is developing within the squad well done again Cents!
Craig Naylor.
Cents make it two wins out of two.It was aptly summed up by Nigel Ellis on our way back to St.Albans when he said Venimus, vidimus, nos conconquered. And so it was, from one Roman city to another that the St.Albans Centurions truly came, saw and conquered at Colchester!
Leading up the match we appeared to have full complement of players then a sudden shortfall preceded by a boost in numbers thanks primarily to the introduction of Ken Edwards and his boy’s from St. George’s School! For those that don’t know Ken he is one of the founding members of Centurions Rugby Football League Club and I am delighted to see him return with his son Alex following in his footsteps! On arrival, I was unexpectedly greeted by Ryan Hill and Chris Dean, who following a recent operation was not going to be put off making the journey but then chauffeured by Penny his wife, why would you not want to go on a 2 hour road-trip to Colchester :-Z! After a good warm up, led by some of our players we were ready to start the match which was once again ably refereed by Karen Davey and Captained by Harry Dean who lead the team throughout in a calm and controlled manner.
The teams looked pretty evenly matched in the line-up but it became clear after the first few phases of play that what is distinguishing Cents, from other teams, is our tackling and limited error count (touching wood as I write) but the players have to be complemented for their clean execution of the ball whether at the ruck, play the ball (PTB) or when passed. Skills we will continue to develop in training.
The positional line up saw Abnor Wallis once again playing in the hooker role, feeding the ball out well and exploiting the gaps and mismatches in the oppositions defensive line. His two Prop forwards Matt Cannon and Will Lawrence, who is really starting to find his feet in this position and the odd unintentional neck put in another good shift. This team was then backed up by Luke Latschrauner returning from a short illness and Sam Hale-Jackson in the second row, both strong and able tacklers who more than played their role in this match. Harry Tallantire from St.Georges and Matt Naylor playing right and left centre and rotating into loose head ensured yards were gained and that the ball was being regularly fed out to the wings where Ryan Hill and Harry Dean were there to explode into action. Whilst Ryan was taking caution with an injury we rotated his positon with a new player from St.George’s Charles Needham who put in a terrific performance, tacking and running hard into much bigger players. In the half back positions we had Sam Ellis returning to play in the pivotal Scrum Half role and Alex Edwards as Stand Off; both ran well with the ball and importantly created space and time for the backs to exploit. In his second year Isaak Nathan is making the most of the full back position combining well in our set of six PTB’s to break through the defensive line and from kick-off, returning the ball back to gain good field position for our team. Based on the score line you see this was not a push over game, Rhino’s had a number of useful players however, these guys were contained from the outset by solid and well executed tackling. In rugby league you quickly find out a team’s strength and despite Rhino’s playing to theirs, meters were limited and short lived. Sam Ellis was ‘the pick of the tackling bunch’ when he clobber Rhino’s biggest player to the ground who had unwisely thought that he could crash through our Scrum Half…no chance! Good discipline from Cents in moving up and securing the tackle meant that each time Rhinos ran with the ball they were truly facing a brick wall! It was determined, disciplined and well executed tackling from every single Centurion.
And so, it wasn’t long before Harry Dean was able to stretch his legs and, running over half the pitch evading or handing off several players in the process ran in our first of 40 points. Isaak was quick to follow this up with a well-executed try which saw Cents effectively move the ball up field. Harry converted to make it 10 and on the return, after good pressure it forced the first of a series of Rhino errors. Matt Cannon ran in the next carrying several opposition players over in the process. A quick swap around following an injury to a Rhinos player saw a 12 aside game ensue and in the process, Ryan Hill moved over in to the left wing position which, unintentionally saw him with the ball and open space in which to run. So much of a coach protecting his players! 18 – 0 quickly moved to 20 as Harry converted. Half time came and with a few words of wisdom from Ken and Harry encouraging the team to move the ball wider, it was only minutes later before Isaak in full stretch took the ball and evading players ran the score to 24. Harry playing a true captains role took the opportunity to run in yet a further try and convert to take the score line to 30-0. No doubt Rhinos were now starting to tier having gained little ground during the course of the match and having to tackle so much, we saw Harry rotated as we had with all the team, leaving Isaak to follow up on a disallowed try from Matt Cannon taking the score line to 34-0 just in time for Harry to convert. The match was sealed when Matt Naylor diagonally cut through the defensive line to score in a move which ended the match on a strong note.
After the game we discussed the introduction of an award for both ‘man of the match’ and ‘error of the match’ which, as you will read is pretty self-explanatory.
As such and without further-a-do:- 'Man of the Match' went to Sam Ellis for his crunching tackle as noted earlier and 'error of the match' we awarded our new team mate Harry Tallantire for taking the ball over the Rhino’s try line after a strong and aggressive run, only to one-handedly plant the ball down incorrectly, resulting in a no try given!!
I am delighted with the strength across our whole team and the spirit that is developing within the squad well done again Cents!
Craig Naylor.
St Albans Centurions U13's 32 -v- 4 Hayes & Ealing Vikings
Cents open new season with as resounding win over Hayes & Ealing Vikings.
Match report from head coach, Craig Naylor:- Although a somewhat one sided game, this was a perfect start to the season for us. With a packed weekend of rugby following the Hertfordshire Schools tournament on Friday and the closing matches for many of our players on Sunday at their respective Union Clubs, it was always going to be important to manage the team to ensure an injury free victory. As things turned out, we achieved this objective, coming away with an excellent win against a determined Vikings side. Once again, we were matched up against strong, powerful forwards but the quality of Cents tackling and cover play proved far too good for the Vikings to break.
The pattern was set early on in the game with Tom Liddelow, playing Right Centre breaking through the Vikings defensive line within 5 minutes of the start. It was a powerful run exploiting the gap in the Vikings defence to score the opening try. There then came a sustained period of pressure from the Vikings who put Cents on the back foot, only to be denied by a determined defensive performance which saw Vikings coming up short on the 6th tackle and handing the ball over. Cents played their way out with hooker Abner Wallace feeding scrum half and captainTom Wilton the ball, who spotted the opportunity to supply winger Ryan Hill with a wide pass. Ryan took it in full stride and proceeded to run the whole length of the pitch to score an outstanding individual try; leaving in his wake a number of on rushing Viking backs. Tom Wilton subsequently converted.
Under new league rules, the conceding team restart the game with a 'tap and run' from the half way line and the Vikings, fired up by two relatively quick try’s against them drove the ball down the middle, utilising their three most powerful players. Again, they met robust tackling from Will Lawrence and Matt Cannon who ensured the Vikings were held firm. Both players had an outstanding game as combined Prop Forwards making tackles and gaining all important yards for the team. However, great determination saw the visitors break in the final quarter of the pitch and run the ball over to score their only try of the match. An immediate response from Cents was expected and on the restart, attacking runs from full back Isaak Nathan and winger Harry Dean saw the ball taken all the way back the to the Vikings try line. Tom Wilton again created the space on the restart for Harry Dean to slice diagonally and open the Vikings defence and once in full stride, the powerful winger was not going to be stopped. Try successfully scored and order resumed. Good defensive pressure from Cents again on the restart resulted in the Vikings mishandling and Cents loose head, prop Tom Ivory collected and carried the ball forward to set up a quick play the ball which, once again saw Abner Wallace linking up nicely with the on running Isaak Nathan (now fired up) to break once more the Vikings defensive line and score. It was a steady first half seeing all players involved and fully enjoying the game.
Half time interchanges saw Jake Coltman come on in place for Joe Picariello who, as an U12 in his first match, had performed exceptionally well in this higher league tackling and carrying the ball into much larger players.
With the emphasis on a team performance the second half resumed. Another early handling error from Vikings saw Cents take the ball through good controlled passing from Tom Liddelow to Matt Naylor and then straight on to Harry Dean who accelerated off to score his second try in the right corner. On the restart Vikings managed to move the ball down field only to be stopped again by more outstanding defence from Cents George Pelham, playing second row, who can always be depended upon and Sam Ellis who as stand off, had a solid game working hard for the team and combining with the ever present Will Lawrence and Matt Cannon to prevent the Vikings breaking through. All this hard work paid off as they forced yet another Vikings error.
Centre Matt Naylor received the resulting ball from scrum, fed out by Tom Wilton and proceeded to make good yards down field, fending off a number of players in the process. This set up Tom Liddelow who ran in to score what would have been the sixth Cents try, only to be foiled by the post pad - a bizarre moment not to be repeated.
A further interchange between Rayn Hill (off) and Kieran McCarthy (on) who immediately had an impact following a penalty which saw Isaak Nathan and Kieran link up to score in the Vikings corner. A further interchange saw Matt Cannon who had worked tirelessly for the team swap with the every keen Joe Picariello. It wasn’t long before Tom Liddelow was back on the ball attacking the Hayes three quarter line and making up from his earlier mistake, as he took the ball in to score an outstanding try (and his second of the match) to end the game on high!
A solid performance and a good opening start to the season. Well done! all!
TEAM:
1. Isaak Nathan – Full Back (T x 1)
2. Harry Dean – Right Wing (T x 2)
3. Tom Liddelow - Right Centre (T x 2)
4. Matt Naylor – Left Centre
5. Ryan Hill - Left Wing (T x 1)
6. Sam Ellis - Stand Off
7. Tom Wilton – Scrum Half (C x 2)
8. Matt Cannon – Prop
9. Abner Wallace – Hooker
10. Will Lawrence – Prop
11. George Pelham – Second Row
12. Joe Picariello – Second Row - (MAN OF THE MATCH)
13. Tom Ivory – Loose Head
14. Kieran McCarthy – Prop Interchange (T x 1)
15. Jake Coltman – Second Row Interchange
NEXT MATCH – AWAY - 28th March Eastern Rhinos – KO tbc.
Cents open new season with as resounding win over Hayes & Ealing Vikings.
Match report from head coach, Craig Naylor:- Although a somewhat one sided game, this was a perfect start to the season for us. With a packed weekend of rugby following the Hertfordshire Schools tournament on Friday and the closing matches for many of our players on Sunday at their respective Union Clubs, it was always going to be important to manage the team to ensure an injury free victory. As things turned out, we achieved this objective, coming away with an excellent win against a determined Vikings side. Once again, we were matched up against strong, powerful forwards but the quality of Cents tackling and cover play proved far too good for the Vikings to break.
The pattern was set early on in the game with Tom Liddelow, playing Right Centre breaking through the Vikings defensive line within 5 minutes of the start. It was a powerful run exploiting the gap in the Vikings defence to score the opening try. There then came a sustained period of pressure from the Vikings who put Cents on the back foot, only to be denied by a determined defensive performance which saw Vikings coming up short on the 6th tackle and handing the ball over. Cents played their way out with hooker Abner Wallace feeding scrum half and captainTom Wilton the ball, who spotted the opportunity to supply winger Ryan Hill with a wide pass. Ryan took it in full stride and proceeded to run the whole length of the pitch to score an outstanding individual try; leaving in his wake a number of on rushing Viking backs. Tom Wilton subsequently converted.
Under new league rules, the conceding team restart the game with a 'tap and run' from the half way line and the Vikings, fired up by two relatively quick try’s against them drove the ball down the middle, utilising their three most powerful players. Again, they met robust tackling from Will Lawrence and Matt Cannon who ensured the Vikings were held firm. Both players had an outstanding game as combined Prop Forwards making tackles and gaining all important yards for the team. However, great determination saw the visitors break in the final quarter of the pitch and run the ball over to score their only try of the match. An immediate response from Cents was expected and on the restart, attacking runs from full back Isaak Nathan and winger Harry Dean saw the ball taken all the way back the to the Vikings try line. Tom Wilton again created the space on the restart for Harry Dean to slice diagonally and open the Vikings defence and once in full stride, the powerful winger was not going to be stopped. Try successfully scored and order resumed. Good defensive pressure from Cents again on the restart resulted in the Vikings mishandling and Cents loose head, prop Tom Ivory collected and carried the ball forward to set up a quick play the ball which, once again saw Abner Wallace linking up nicely with the on running Isaak Nathan (now fired up) to break once more the Vikings defensive line and score. It was a steady first half seeing all players involved and fully enjoying the game.
Half time interchanges saw Jake Coltman come on in place for Joe Picariello who, as an U12 in his first match, had performed exceptionally well in this higher league tackling and carrying the ball into much larger players.
With the emphasis on a team performance the second half resumed. Another early handling error from Vikings saw Cents take the ball through good controlled passing from Tom Liddelow to Matt Naylor and then straight on to Harry Dean who accelerated off to score his second try in the right corner. On the restart Vikings managed to move the ball down field only to be stopped again by more outstanding defence from Cents George Pelham, playing second row, who can always be depended upon and Sam Ellis who as stand off, had a solid game working hard for the team and combining with the ever present Will Lawrence and Matt Cannon to prevent the Vikings breaking through. All this hard work paid off as they forced yet another Vikings error.
Centre Matt Naylor received the resulting ball from scrum, fed out by Tom Wilton and proceeded to make good yards down field, fending off a number of players in the process. This set up Tom Liddelow who ran in to score what would have been the sixth Cents try, only to be foiled by the post pad - a bizarre moment not to be repeated.
A further interchange between Rayn Hill (off) and Kieran McCarthy (on) who immediately had an impact following a penalty which saw Isaak Nathan and Kieran link up to score in the Vikings corner. A further interchange saw Matt Cannon who had worked tirelessly for the team swap with the every keen Joe Picariello. It wasn’t long before Tom Liddelow was back on the ball attacking the Hayes three quarter line and making up from his earlier mistake, as he took the ball in to score an outstanding try (and his second of the match) to end the game on high!
A solid performance and a good opening start to the season. Well done! all!
TEAM:
1. Isaak Nathan – Full Back (T x 1)
2. Harry Dean – Right Wing (T x 2)
3. Tom Liddelow - Right Centre (T x 2)
4. Matt Naylor – Left Centre
5. Ryan Hill - Left Wing (T x 1)
6. Sam Ellis - Stand Off
7. Tom Wilton – Scrum Half (C x 2)
8. Matt Cannon – Prop
9. Abner Wallace – Hooker
10. Will Lawrence – Prop
11. George Pelham – Second Row
12. Joe Picariello – Second Row - (MAN OF THE MATCH)
13. Tom Ivory – Loose Head
14. Kieran McCarthy – Prop Interchange (T x 1)
15. Jake Coltman – Second Row Interchange
NEXT MATCH – AWAY - 28th March Eastern Rhinos – KO tbc.
Richmond RFC Rugby League 9's - Season Opening Competition.
Wonderful result this weekend and below is a very short match report from coach Craig Naylor.
Centurions U13's SHINE at Richmond RLFC
The festival was hosted at Richmond RLFC and there were 12 teams taking part.
I would like to congratulate the players for a fantastic display of rugby which demonstrated that executing the basics well delivers compelling rugby and great results. Individual and team tackling was simply outstanding against players and teams with ‘big units’ and packs. I have absolute admiration for the approach each of you took! Our passing, handling and running was also top drawer.
The format was 10 minute one way rugby, tap and go with no conversions or scrums otherwise, normal rules applied. Our group included Richmond Titans, Invicta Panthers and Sussex Merlins and at the end of the group stage after playing all our fixtures we were unbeaten!
As the outright group winners we met London Skolars in the semi-final who we subsequently beat 20-12 in a very competitive and exciting match!
We then played back to back in the Final against Sussex Merlins who we'd previously beaten in the group stage. This did not prevent us from putting an outstanding and determined performance together and going ever so close, in the dying stages of the game, to levelling the match. Final score 12-8 to Merlins.
I cannot express how very, very proud of our players we were and are. All of them showed great courage, leadership and technical skill across the field and for a team that possessed a number of players new to rugby league we should be very excited about the season ahead. It was a wonderful opening start to the season and this now gives us a great platform on which to build.
The celebrated team who took part in the 9 a side festival included:
Isaak Nathan
Abner Wallace
Harry Dean
Matt Cannon
Matt Naylor
Kieran McCarthy
Adam Murphy
George Pelham
Ryan Hill
Tom Wilton
Tom Ivory
Will Lawrence
Luke Latschrauner
Sam Ellis
Jake Coltman
Sam Findlay-Park
Well done to each and every one of you, let's take this performance and build on the experience, the opening game is just around the corner.
CRAIG NAYLOR - Coach. 14.03.15.
Wonderful result this weekend and below is a very short match report from coach Craig Naylor.
Centurions U13's SHINE at Richmond RLFC
The festival was hosted at Richmond RLFC and there were 12 teams taking part.
I would like to congratulate the players for a fantastic display of rugby which demonstrated that executing the basics well delivers compelling rugby and great results. Individual and team tackling was simply outstanding against players and teams with ‘big units’ and packs. I have absolute admiration for the approach each of you took! Our passing, handling and running was also top drawer.
The format was 10 minute one way rugby, tap and go with no conversions or scrums otherwise, normal rules applied. Our group included Richmond Titans, Invicta Panthers and Sussex Merlins and at the end of the group stage after playing all our fixtures we were unbeaten!
As the outright group winners we met London Skolars in the semi-final who we subsequently beat 20-12 in a very competitive and exciting match!
We then played back to back in the Final against Sussex Merlins who we'd previously beaten in the group stage. This did not prevent us from putting an outstanding and determined performance together and going ever so close, in the dying stages of the game, to levelling the match. Final score 12-8 to Merlins.
I cannot express how very, very proud of our players we were and are. All of them showed great courage, leadership and technical skill across the field and for a team that possessed a number of players new to rugby league we should be very excited about the season ahead. It was a wonderful opening start to the season and this now gives us a great platform on which to build.
The celebrated team who took part in the 9 a side festival included:
Isaak Nathan
Abner Wallace
Harry Dean
Matt Cannon
Matt Naylor
Kieran McCarthy
Adam Murphy
George Pelham
Ryan Hill
Tom Wilton
Tom Ivory
Will Lawrence
Luke Latschrauner
Sam Ellis
Jake Coltman
Sam Findlay-Park
Well done to each and every one of you, let's take this performance and build on the experience, the opening game is just around the corner.
CRAIG NAYLOR - Coach. 14.03.15.