Under 12s at Old Colfeians - 19 February 2012
Following a forced three week layoff due to the extreme weather, Medway’s Knights were itching to get back into the action and got their chance in an away fixture at Old Colfeians.
As both squads had around 20 available players and were unable to field both A and B sides, it was decided the teams would play one long match with 4 quarters enabling the coaches to give all players good game time.
Both teams began the match with their A teams, Colfs started strongly winning a high percentage of the scrums and early breakdowns and Medway as not uncommon this year started slowly. Showing a bit of inexperience in the backs Medway’s centres and wing were drawn into the centre of the field and an intelligent long pass gave Colfs a two man overlap which they scored from. Medway realised they were in a match and upped their game but only after conceding a very similar try to the first. With a quick talk in the first break the Knights to their credit addressed the defensive problem and pulled back two tries of their own as they began to settle down. Two fine solo efforts from scrum half Harry Meadows who threw a dummy at the back of a scrum just inside the opposition half and won the race to the corner and from No.8 Jamie Wyndham who burst through the defence from a penalty move 10m out. Half time score 10 all.
It was déjà vu at the start of the second half with two tries in quick succession for the hosts before Medway got going. It wasn’t until the final minute of the third quarter that the Knights looked like scoring. After a good kick and chase followed by aggressive rucking, Medway were unlucky not to score in the corner after the ball was knocked on when going over the line. The ref told the players that the resulting scrum would be the last play of the quarter and in an awesome effort a pack that had been struggling most of the day drove the hosts back for the ball to go lose and allow Meadows to pounce for his second try.
With both sides tiring the final quarter was always likely to have a few tries in it. Medway although 5 points down were still on a high after the finish to the last quarter and started with two quick tries, both good solo finishes from wings Christopher Jarvis and Mattias Carden after fine build up play from backs and forwards. Old Colfeians then scored a bizarre try to level the match when the Medway winger left the field to give him an unopposed run in because he thought Medway had 3 wingers on the pitch! It was very honest of him but unfortunately a mistake. Medway did have 3 wingers on the pitch but one of them was playing fly half due to injuries! It was now end to end stuff with Medway regaining the lead through centre Sam Crean who finished a good period of play breaking through with a crash ball to score. Old Colfs levelled again before the final try went to Medway with winger Jean Luc Carden beating the last defender after some fine handling left him with a one on one in the corner.
A great morning’s rugby played in the right spirit with both sides hopefully gaining from the experience. The next time these sides will meet will be in a very tough qualifying group in the Kent Cup. To be honest The Knights were stronger with the mixed A B teams but Colfs had the better A team results so it will be very close again I’m sure.
The Knights squad were : Oliver Rees, Jack Bloomfield, Josh Butler, Jean Pascal Carden, Jean Luc Carden, Mattias Carden, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Joshua Lamb, Harry Meadows, Tom Narborough, Anthony Parish, Adam Sleiman, Oscar Wells, Aidan Wolfe, Miles Eason, Christopher Jarvis, Jamie Wyndham, Jacob Clayton, Joseph Van Vilsteren and Harry Lockyer.
Under 12s at Aylesford Bulls - 29 January 2012
Following last Sundays defeat at the hands of TJ’s A string, the Knights were looking to get straight back to winning ways in another away fixture with local rivals Aylesford. Recent fixtures between these two sides have been close, hard fought affairs and todays matches were no different.
In a game of seldom few clear cut chances, defences ruled the day in the A team fixture. Throughout the first half both sides enjoyed spells of good pressure, making good ground and threatening the opposition line, but neither side were able to turn their pressure into points, due to not being able to find the killer pass in the last few yards to break the last line of defence to get over. In the second half Medway moved the ball well and stretched the Aylesford defence, with a long spell of possession, as the game wore on Aylesford were forced to kick from deep on several occasions to clear their lines and it was from one of these kicks, that Medway finally managed to break the deadlock when full back Josh Butler, took the high ball and raced away down the wing, before rounding the Aylesford full back to score in the corner. Aylesford came back well but were unable to penetrate the Medway defence. Final score 0-5.
In the following A/B match, all the tries came in the first half. Aylesford scored first, when their player broke off the back of a maul 10 yards out, in spite of two Medway defenders challenging well on their line, the referee adjudged the ball was over the line. Medway were not behind for long, from good rucking at the breakdown, scrum half Josh Lamb broke clear in his own half, his pass sent Mattias Carden away on a fine mazy run, which was too hot for the Aylesford defence and levelled the scores. Minutes later Medway were back on the attack and in the Aylesford half, this time Joshua Lamb chose to go it alone from the back of the scrum and with a three man overlap outside him, he stepped inside the last defender to score the winning try. Final score 5-10.
There was still time for a short 10 minute game for the A sides. All of the match was spent in the Medway half and in spite of Aylesford’s best efforts to break through, time and time again, every Medway player to a man was there tackling rucking and generally throwing themselves in the way to thwart every attack and ensure they did not concede a try. Final score 0-0.
As expected a hard mornings rugby against a strong Aylesford Squad but managing to go undefeated after last weeks reversals was a great result for the players. Not to much shown in attack this week, bar two or three moments of brilliance but a teriffic defensive performance from all the players. Its getting harder to see the difference between the A and B performances which again is testiment to the spirit and skill all the players are starting to show.
The Knights squad were : Oliver Rees, Jack Bloomfield, Josh Butler, Jean Pascal Carden, Jean Luc Carden, Mattias Carden, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Joshua Lamb, Harry Meadows, Tom Narborough, Anthony Parish, Adam Sleiman, Oscar Wells, Aidan Wolfe, Miles Eason, Karl O’Grady, Matthew Phillips and Harry Lockyer.
Under 12s at Tonbridge Juddians - 22 January 2012
The Knights managed to take 22 players to Tonbridge Juddians after the fixture was rescheduled from home to away during the week at the request of TJ’s and for which the TJ’s coaches thanked both parents and players. With only the one squad the Knights stuck to a mixed A / B squad for all 3 matches, the hosts were able to field 3 teams an A, B and C.
First up for the Knights were TJ’s B squad who caught the travelling side cold and quickly scored 2 unanswered tries. Medway were to slow to react to the loose ball and were guilty of getting drawn in towards the break downs allowing the space out wide for the TJ’s fast centres and wingers to take advantage. Medway did recover and came back into the match towards the end of the first half. Their one spell of pressure was enough to get a try back before the break with second row Tom Narborough scoring from close in after a number of attempts were held up just short. Despite the half time warning from the coaches about getting drawn in, the Knights did just that at the start of the second half and conceded a third try. To the players credit Medway never looked a beaten side and started to play the sort of fast flowing good handling rugby we know they are capable of. After a number of good attacks the Knights earned a scrum 10m out from were centre Josh Lamb was able to break through to score after a well-timed pass and good line of running. A good clean catch from the re-start followed by a quickly set up maul set the backs away. With good straight running and well-timed passes winger Jack Bloomfield was given the time and space to finish well in the corner and deservedly level the match 15 all.
Despite the warning from the first match, the Knights unbelievably started even worse against TJ’s C squad this time going 3 tries to nil down within the first 5mins. Missed tackles and some great play from Tonbridge being the main reasons but again the Knights refused to let their heads drop. After a spell of pressure on the TJ’s line the Knights had the vision to get the ball wide allowing outside centre Lewis Hollidge to score on the outside of the TJ’s winger. Shortly after the re-start a great handling move ended with fullback Josh Butler being held up inches short of the line before Hollidge gathered the ball to dive over for his second. The half ended with the Knights 3 tries to 2 down but with their heads up. The second half saw the Knights continue the great rugby. With good fast rucking from the forwards allowing quick ball for the backs and giving them the chance exploit the space created. This fine play resulted in two more tries coming from fly half Mattias Carden and fullback Butler. Tonbridge did rally and spent the last minute of the game on the Knights try line with great defence keeping them out until the final whistle went when the ball was held up over the line. A great come back for a 20 – 15 win.
Their final match against the TJ’s A squad turned into a very one sided game in favour of the hosts. In a previous write up I described them as probably one of the best sides in Kent and nothing today changed that opinion. Man for man they are a head taller and a few inches wider than the Medway players but take nothing away from them they also play great rugby. Medway fought bravely in the first half and had a few good attacking plays. They were able to limit the hosts to 3 tries which is no mean feat. As the Knights tired in the second half the Tonbridge players realised Medway had no answer if the ball was fed wide quickly and ran in a further 5 unanswered tries. Despite being a big side TJ’s also have real skill and pace throughout the team. With good technic Medway have turned over bigger teams upfront and in the loose, not today though, TJ’s dominated possession and used it extremely well.
The players earned praise from the Ref and the TJ’s coach for never giving up and they actually finished the game with their best spell of the match. The Knights did themselves proud and learned a great deal from all 3 matches today no more so than the last. Tackles that were missed against the bigger players at the start of the game weren’t missed at the end which goes to show the spirit and lessons learnt by the Knights.
The Knights squad was: Jack Bloomfield, Josh Butler, Jean Pascal Carden, Jean Luc Carden, Mattias Carden, Jacob Clayton, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Joshua Lamb, Harry Meadows, Tom Narborough, Anthony Parish, Alfie Pattenden, Adam Sleiman, Joseph Van Vilsteren, Oscar Wells, Aidan Wolfe, Jamie Wyndham, Miles Eason, Karl O’Grady and Harry Lockyer.
New Year's Cup, Home - 8 January 2012
The Knights welcomed both Blackheath and Beckenham to Priestfields for the traditional New Year’s Cup which is contested between the 3 sides. Each age group from U7’s through to U12’s plays a round robin tournament with the results for each age going towards the overall tally to decide which club wins the cup. The cup competition would be played between the A squads with the B or A/B teams playing just as competitive friendlies afterwards.
First up in the Cup were Blackheath A’s. Despite early pressure from Blackheath the Knights defended bravely and eventually broke out of their half after turning over a scrum just 5m from their own line. Playing against a bigger set of forwards and struggling for clean possession from set pieces the backs knew they had to make the most of the scrum won just 10m from their opponents try line and with centre Josh Lamb taking a crash ball at pace and with a great line they did just that as Josh broke through to score. As good sides always do Blackheath came straight back at the Knights and levelled the scores before half time. Going down the slope second half and with the bigger forwards winning most of the possession Blackheath made both count to take the lead shortly after the break. This time it was Medway’s turn to come back and although set piece ball was hard to come by, the rucks were a different matter as the Knights pack won pretty much any ball that went to ground. With a bit more possession the Knights applied the pressure, Blackheath held up a number of attacks over their own line and looked like they were going to deny Medway a score until No.8 Adam Sleiman and Flyhalf Lewis Hollidge jointly charged a clearance kick down for Second Row Oliver Rees to dive onto the loose ball to score and level the match. After a couple more Blackheath attacks the full time whistle went with the game a deserved draw 10 – 10 .
The Knights second Cup match against Beckenham A was similar to the first match in the respect that Beckenham’s bigger forwards won the majority of set piece ball and Medway were better in the loose but out wide it was totally different. Given time and space winger Jack Bloomfield scored a hat trick of tries in the first half finishing two good handling moves from the backs and a fine individual try. Going down the slope in the second half the Medway forwards decided to get in on the scoring act. Firstly with a blind side break from the half way line and sprint to score in the corner from second row Tom Narborough followed by tries from No.8 Slieman and hooker Sam Crean both showing good support play to finish attacking plays. The final score being 30 – 0 win for the Knights.
The cup result was decided with the Blackheath v Beckenham match which Blackheath won 4 tries to 1 meaning Medway topped the group with a better try difference.
Medway’s B squad was made up of 10 B team players and 3 A team to make up the numbers.
They had a great start against a mixed A B squad from Blackheath going 3 tries to 1 up by half time through a brace from fullback Christopher Jarvis and a fine solo try from centre Jack Bloomfield early on in the match. Blackheath strengthened their team for the second half and dominated the match scoring 5 unanswered tries to win the game 30 – 15 but the Medway lads had performed very well.
To their credit even after conceding an early try against Beckenham’s A team, the Knights didn’t let their heads drop and taking the positives from the first half performance in the last game soon got on level terms through No.8 Jamie Wyndham breaking the tackle to score from close range. From the restart the ball was caught clean and after going through two sets of hands found its way to Wyndham who was in support on the wing, after a turn of pace and good side step he crossed for his second. Beckenham soon levelled the scores before Wyndham completed his hat trick to give Medway the lead at the break. With great tackling and rucking Medway dominated the game in the second half and managed to double their tally with a further 2 scores from Wyndham (5 tries for the No.8 in a single match he was turning up everywhere) and a second of the day for our No.8 now turned fullback Adam Sleiman.
Blackheath were the club that won the overall Cup but it was a great start to the new year with the A team deservedly winning the U12 section of the cup and the B team putting in two great performances. The 25 players for Medway Knights U12’s were:
Jack Bloomfield, Josh Butler, Jean Pascal Carden, Jean Luc Carden, Mattias Carden, Jacob Clayton, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Joshua Lamb, Harry Meadows, Tom Narborough, Anthony Parish, Alfie Pattenden, Oliver Rees, Adam Sleiman, Kyle Struthers, Joseph Van Vilsteren, Oscar Wells, Aidan Wolfe, Jamie Wyndham, Miles Eason, Sam Lockett, Harry Henbest and Harry Lockyer.
Bromley, Home - 11 December 2011
21 Knights braved the conditions to welcome Bromley to Medway on a blustery, wet and windy Sunday morning. Bromley had enough for one side with subs and agreed to play two games against the Knights. The Knights decided to play both games using all the players and with a mixed ability squad it gave the coaches the chance to play players in different positions and give valuable game time to some of the more inexperienced players. One such player was Harry Henbest who made his debut playing in both games up front in the forwards. He had an impressive morning and only looked out of place because he was the smallest forward on the pitch, he certainly got stuck in.
The Knights made a great start to the first game playing some good open rugby. An impressive midfield break from the backs took the Knights up into Bromley’s 22 and after two more attacks through the hands of the backs, Hooker Sam Crean was there in support to finish the move and score the first try. Bromley hit back just before half time with some good play of their own to level the score. As the weather worsened in the second half the bigger Bromley pack took control and bossed the game adding a further 2 scores from fine driving moves making the final score 15 – 5 in favour of Bromley.
The Knights were really up against it in the second match, after being dominated in the loose by the bigger pack in the first match and losing 2 of their bigger forwards to injuries it didn’t bode well. To their credit the Knights took on the advice from their coaches who despite the conditions asked them to play a faster rucking and attacking game to try and nullify the Bromley pack. Right from the start the Knights upped the pace and had the upper hand for the whole of the first half. Sam Crean got his second try of the day and the Knights could have added more. As it was 5 nil was a great score at half time.
Bromley came back strongly in the second half and had a lot more success by keeping the ball of the floor with mauls and close driving runs, if the ball did go down the Knights were awesome in the rucks and turned over plenty of ball. The difference being this time the Bromley defence stopped the Medway backs without the big yards being made. Eventually tiredness took its toll and a couple of dropped passes and missed tackles meant Bromley got the 2 tries they needed to win the match 10 – 5.
The Knights didn’t get the results they wanted but put in a great performance and gained valuable experience. Some of the attacking and especially the rucking was very good and a joy to watch.
The Knights squad was: Harry Lockyer, Josh Butler, Jacob Clayton, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Josh Lamb, Harry Meadows, Tom Narborough, Oscar Wells, Anthony Parish, Jack Bloomfield, Matthew Phillips, Adam Sleiman, Kyle Struthers , Mattias Carden, Jean Luc Carden, Jean Pascal Carden, Harry Henbest, Karl O’Grady and Alfie Pattenden.
Beccehamians Away - 20 November 2011
A small Knights squad made the trip to West Wickham to face hosts Beccehamian’s and Old Caterhamians. Due to various illnesses and absences the usually strong travelling squad was down in numbers by about 10 players, meaning the coaches had no selection headaches with all 15 players playing in one mixed A/B team. After a good warm up and training session it was agreed to play 3 short sided fixtures.
First up were the hosts A team and despite the thorough warm up and training session the Knights got off to exactly the same slow start which has plagued the team over the last few weeks. Within a minute or two from the kick off the Knights found themselves a try down and again as in the past few weeks this woke the boys up. From the moment they conceded the try the tackling and loose play was far better and the Knights managed to stop Beccs from adding to their tally. Unfortunately Medway were also unable to score and so lost the game 5 – 0.
Despite it being a losing start the Knights had put in a good performance and were looking to continue in the same vein against a strong Beccs B team. This time it was Medway who got the better start with No.8 Sam Crean scoring after 2 or 3 mins of dominant Knights play. The home side did come back at Medway but the defence was superb and soon the Knights were pressing for another score. After coming close on a number of occasions Scrum Half Harry Meadows converted one of the chances just before half time to double their lead. The second half was much closer than the first with both teams having chances but only Medway able to add to the score with Crean’s second of the game mid-way through the half after some great inter passing between backs and forwards created the chance. The final score being 15 – 0 to the Knights.
Although the games were short sided they were very tough and by the time the Knights meet Old Caterhamians in their last match they had lost both Full Back Josh Butler and Second Row Tom Narborough to injuries. After the 3rd player Full Back Christopher Jarvis was injured in the first half both teams agreed to play with just 12 players. The Old Cats pack were dominant throughout the match and it was a case of damage limitation for the Knights who were starved of possession. Despite the territory and possession being totally one sided Medway limited Old Cats to one try in each half and were valiant in defeat. The referee had praise for Fly Half / Hooker / Second Row Lewis Hollidge for twice saving tries by getting under the ball after the opposition players had crossed the line, he also praised both Prop Anthony Parish and No.8 / Hooker Sam Crean for their all-round determination and good play.
Low on numbers, players playing out of position and good strong opposition could have led to a bad day at the office but with great performances and determination all round, the small Knights squad made sure the sunny day was enjoyed by all who travelled with them.
The Knights squad was: Harry Lockyer, Josh Butler, Jacob Clayton, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Harry Meadows, Tom Narborough, Anthony Parish, Jack Bloomfield, Jean Luc Carden, Jean Pascal Carden, Mattias Carden, Ethan Green and Miles Eason.
Ashford Home - 13 November 2011
The Knights hosted Ashford who turned up in impressive numbers with enough players to field 3 sides. With a thorough warm up and a break for the 2 mins Remembrance Day Silence (very respectfully observed by both sets of players and supporters) there was enough time to play 3 x 10 min a side games.
The Knights have worked hard to improve their start in matches over the last few months and thought they had kicked the habit of starting slow and trying to come back later in matches. Unfortunately they were back to their old ways against Ashford conceding all the tries against in the first half and after the break not conceding at all in the 3 games.
The first and last matches were against Ashford’s A team with the same 2 tries to nil reverse result in both games. As already mentioned both tries in each game were conceded early in the first half, a couple through missed tackles and a couple after good play from the Ashford team, committing the backs to tackles with a good attacking play and then getting it wide to the winger who went over unopposed in the corner. After the disappointing start to both games the Knights rallied and took the game to Ashford. In both matches it was the Knights who were attacking at the end of the match and looking to score.
The second of the 3 matches was a mixed A, B game and the same old story saw the Knights 2 tries to nil down early in the game. The difference this time was that the Knights were able to turn their own possession into points. After a series of attacking runs and good rucks, scrum half Harry Meadows attacked the blind side from one such a ruck and broke the tackle to make it 2 – 1 at half time. With the lift of scoring just before the break the Knights dominated the second half adding 2 more tries, centre Josh Lamb crashing over from a penalty 7m out and second row Joseph Van Vilsteren completing the scoring after a strong run and great reach to get over the line. Ashford did come back at the Knights but unlike earlier the tackles weren’t missed and they held on for the win.
The Knights never really played their best today, partly due to their own performances and partly due to good opponents. On a positive note though, they did show that when the performance was there they were more than able to hold their own against a squad who in numbers and physical size were a lot bigger than themselves.
The Knights squad was: Harry Lockyer, Josh Butler, Jacob Clayton, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Josh Lamb, Harry Meadows, Tom Narborough, Oscar Wells, Anthony Parish, Jamie Wyndham, Jack Bloomfield, Joseph Van Vilsteren, Matthew Phillips, Adam Sleiman, Kyle Struthers , Mattias Carden, Jean Luc Carden, George Hamblyn and Jean Pascal Carden.
Blackheath Away - 6 November 2011
The Knights travelled with 22 players to Blackheath looking forward to a tough mornings rugby against both the hosts and Tonbridge Juddians. With both Medway and Blackheath not having enough for two teams it was agreed they would both play against Tonbridge’s A and B teams and then a mixed ability match against Blackheath. Unfortunately Medway lost Joseph Van Vilsteren due to illness before the first match against Tonbridge Juddians A’s.
Tonbridge are if not the best team in the county certainly one of the top one or two at this age group and any team will have to be at their very best to stick with them. Unfortunately the Knights were not at their best and didn’t really get going until the second half by which time they had conceded 5 tries to nil. They could argue that one was touched down by a defender before the Tonbridge player and there was knock on in the build-up to another, but to be honest other than the rucking the Knights were out played in every department. The second half was much better with the Knights upping their performance and getting a consolation try scored by No.8 Adam Sleiman. Even with the improvement of performance there were still too many missed tackles and too many basic mistakes made, add that to some great play from Tonbridge and another 5 tries were conceded. The referee praised Medway for their rucking after the game and picked out both prop Oscar Wells and fly half Lewis Hollidge for the amount of tackles they made, also naming Oscar man of the match.
The second match against Tonbridge Judds B team gave the coaches a chance to play all the subs from the first match and try different positions for some of the more experienced players. Although the team played better than the first match they were still relying on mistakes from the Judds to hand over possession rather than winning the break downs. In a very even first half nobody looked like scoring until Hollidge this time playing hooker intercepted a pass on the half way line and side stepped the cover defence during the race to score. The second half was just as even although missed tackles again cost Medway dear conceding two late tries.
The final match against hosts Blackheath saw the Knights best performance of the day. Looking a lot more like the Knights we know they were first to the breakdowns winning the majority of the loose balls and using it well in the backs. Winger Christopher Jarvis scored a hat trick of tries in the first half before getting a well-earned rest for the second. The backs shared the rest of the spoils with centre Josh Lamb and full back Josh Butler completing the scoring although the whole team deserved praise in the way they played. Most pleasing for the coaches was the fact that the tackling was back to its best along with the commitment in the loose that stopped Blackheath from scoring. The Knights were able to get all the fit players onto the pitch for at least a half in this game.
A good way to finish after such a disappointing start.
The Knights squad was: Harry Lockyer, Josh Butler, Jacob Clayton, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Josh Lamb, Harry Meadows, Tom Narborough, Alfie Pattenden, Oscar Wells, Anthony Parish, Jamie Wyndham, Jack Bloomfield, Karl O’Grady, Joseph Van Vilsteren, William Milham, Matthew Phillips, Oliver Rees, Adam Sleiman, Kyle Struthers and Aidan Wolfe.
Sevenoaks Away - 23 October 2011
The Knights took 19 players to Sevenoaks where they had a joint training session before playing a hard fought game against their hosts. After a thorough warm up the forwards and backs split for separate training sessions. It was then agreed to play a 20min a half game with rolling subs to give all the players good game time.
The Knights started strongly with the backs pressuring the Sevenoaks players by getting up quick, making the tackles and the forwards winning plenty of ball in the loose through good quick rucking. In the set pieces it was harder to provide clean ball for the backs against a larger pack so they had to rely on what they turned over. After one such turn over and a quick break from the backs the ball was taken up to the Sevenoaks line. Sevenoaks managed to turn the ball over in the maul but once again good pressure from the backs and a charge down led to a chance for Fly Half Lewis Hollidge who dived for the ball over the line but knocked on in the process of trying to score. A long spell of pressure resulting in a penalty about 15m out from the try line led to the Knights second chance. Quick hands set up Wing Jacob Clayton who again looked to have scored but a forward pass in the build-up denied the Knights once again. The Knights spent most of the remainder of the half in Sevenoaks territory and just before half time went over in the corner once again through wing Clayton but the ball was judged to have been knocked on in the process of scoring, leaving the teams level at half time.
Sevenoaks started the second half very well and after winning a series of rucks and mauls got the ball wide for their winger who broke 2 tackles to score in the corner. The knights were gutted, it was probably the only two tackles they missed the whole game. To their credit the Knights went straight back into the attack right from the kick off and after a good chase and tackle from Hooker Sam Crean the resulting ruck was won and the forwards and backs drove the ball up the pitch all the way to the try line with Crean finishing the move he had started levelling the scores. Other than a brief spell after the Sevenoaks kick off the Knights spent the rest of the half attacking the Sevenoaks line. Fly half Hollidge once again dived onto a loose ball over the line and although it wasn’t knocked on this time it had already been touched down by a defending player to deny Medway once again. The game ended in a 5 – 5 draw.
Both teams tried to play good running rugby and the commitment in the loose and tackling from both was just great to watch. The Medway players felt they had done enough to win but for once the finishing let them down. In fairness Sevenoaks deserved to hold out for the draw after withstanding so much pressure and looking dangerous on the attack themselves. Still undefeated this season the Knights continue their great start.
Included in the squad were two players making their debut for the Knights Miles Eason and Harry Lockyer both were really impressive and looked as if they were experienced players. The remainder of the squad was: Josh Butler, Jean Pascal Carden, Jean Luc Carden, Mattias Carden, Jacob Clayton, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Josh Lamb, Harry Meadows, Tom Narborough, Alfie Pattenden, Oscar Wells, Anthony Parish, Jamie Wyndham, Jack Bloomfield and Reuben Murdock-North.
Upminster Festival - 9 October 2011
Medway U12s (The Knights) Cup winners once again.
After the undefeated cup winning start made last week at their own festival, the Knights travelled to Upminster with high hopes of performing well and hopefully being able to go one better than last week's shared cup win.
As last week the format was two groups of 5 teams playing each team in the group once, the two top placed teams playing in the cup final and the two second placed teams playing a final for the plate.
Unfortunately Thurrock had to pull out of the group so Medway’s first game was a bye. Having a long wait after the bye the Knights struggled to find their form in the first half against Chingford although two late tries from Centre Josh Lamb and Wing Mattias Carden made the second half a slightly less tense affair. Further tries from Lamb and fullback Josh Butler sealed a comfortable 20–0 win. Next up were Old Darfordians, both teams tested each other’s defences’ first half but no scores were made. The second half was just as even with the big Dartfordians pack keeping it tight starving Medway’s backs of the chance to attack until a big clearance kick and great chase allowed the quicker forwards to turn over the ball and release the backs. With the Dartfordians defence desperately trying to get across to cover the overlap the gap opened for fly half Lewis Hollidge to exploit and score the only try of the match sealing a 5–0 win. The Knights final group game was against Dagenham who had struggled in their previous games but really upped their performance against Medway. Dagenham had the edge up front and by winning plenty of ball it was Medway who really had to work hard defensively to keep Dagenham from scoring, but that’s exactly what they did with the final score a 0–0 draw.
Without reaching the high standards they set last week the Knights managed to top their group and reach a second cup final in as many weeks. Hosts Upminster won their group to make it a repeat of last week’s 2–2 drawn final and last year’s Upminster Festival final which the hosts won 2–1 . The worry was without the players performing at the top of their game Upminster would be too much for them. As soon as the game started the worries were proved to be unfounded Medway were at their very best and after soaking up early pressure went onto the attack themselves. A series of strong runs from forwards and backs aided by good fast rucking set up a blind side attack from scrum half Harry Meadows who had the presence of mind to give a great timed pass to wing Christopher Jarvis who in turn had the pace and power to go over in the corner. The remainder of the first and to be fair pretty much all of the second half was spent in the Knights half. It took a massive defensive performance to hold Upminster out. The last few minutes of the game were spent camped on Medway’s try line. After repelling numerous attacks and holding the ball up over the line, the forwards won the resulting scrum and after a clearing kick to touch the final whistle went to Medway’s relief and joy the final was won 5–0.
A continued great start to the season and another cup win without conceding a try all day. Proud coaches and parents all round.
The Medway Knights squad was:
Jack Bloomfield, Josh Butler, Mattias Carden, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Joshua Lamb, Harry Meadows, Tom Narborough, Anthony Parish, Oliver Rees, Adam Sleiman, Jamie Wyndham, Jean Luc Carden, Jean Pascal Carden and Oscar Wells.
Medway Festival - 2 October 2011
Medway U12's (The Knights) start the season as Cup Winners.
The season started with the Knights as hosts in the Medway festival in which they managed to field a team in each of the qualifying groups. The Yellows were made up of the less experienced players with just a couple of the older hands to steady the ship. Being tight on numbers they were lucky enough to be able to use two players from Sevenoaks for the whole day and a big thank you must go to Alex and Jack who both performed brilliantly. Alex played at Scrum Half and put in countless tackles and Jack played second row where he impressed with his ball carrying and work in the loose. Being a B team they were always going to be up against it but gave their all in every game. Despite losing Fly Half George Hamblyn for the day with an injury in the first game which was a 20 nil loss to Upminster, followed by a 5 nil but very brave and spirited loss to Sittingbourne and a 30 nil loss to Sevenoaks the boys never let their heads drop and rallied to beat Whitstable 10 – 5 in their final pool game. The tries were scored by winger William Milham and debutante prop Jordan Allen. This set up a 4th place bowl final against Maidstone in which the boys once again bravely lost 15 nil. Another mention must also go to winger Matthew Phillips who was also making his first appearance but didn’t look out of place at all.
They started as an inexperienced team but showed great courage and determination while gaining valuable experience and doing themselves proud. The Yellow squad was:
Jordan Allen, Amun Bains, Jean Pasca Carden, Jean Luc Carden, Jacob Clayton, Ethan Green, Wlliam Milham, Karl O’Grady, Alfie Pattenden, Matthew Phillips, Kyle Struthers, Joseph Van Vilsteren, Aidan Wolfe, Jamie Wyndham and George Hamblyn.
The Knights Red team also found themselves in a tough group but after a slow start in the first half against Gravesend they really started to play some fantastic rugby. The forwards performed really well in both the line outs and the mauls and were outstanding in the scrums and rucks, balls against the head and quick rucks enabled the backs to open up and run the tries in. The eventual score was a 30 - 5 win for Medway. The tries were scored by Scrum Half Harry Meadows, Fly half Lewis Hollidge, both the Centres Jack Bloomfield and Josh Lamb and a brace for winger William Milham. After soaking up the pressure in the first half, another great second half performance saw the Reds score 2 unanswered tries from Winger Christopher Jarvis to complete a 10 nil win against Maidstone. Their 3rd group game was against Blackheath and the whole team lifted their game to complete a 25 to nil victory. The boys were playing really good fast open rugby and once again the backs were running in the tries while the forwards were providing not only the platform but numerous turn over balls. Tries were scored by fly half Hollidge, centre Lamb, winger Milham, full back Josh Butler and prop Oscar Wells after the forwards decided enough was enough from the backs and drove him over. Their final group game was a hard fought battle with Aylesford which the Reds eventually won 10 nil with tries from winger Jarvis and No.8 Adam Sleiman. Another debut mention must go to prop Anthony Parish who performed superbly all day.
The results won the group for Medway Reds and set up a final with Upminster who were also undefeated. The reds scored first through winger Milham when he was given the space to exploit after quick passing from the backs. In a rare lapse of concentration the Reds allowed Upminster back in from the restart after failing to deal with the kick or defend the blind side. Unfazed they got back to the attacking rugby they had played all day and after a series of attacks centre Lamb forced his way over to put the Reds 10 – 5 up at half time. Upminster gave it their all in the second half and after numerous attacks at the try line were repelled with brave defence by the Reds, Upminster eventually evened the scores again. Now exhausted both sides cancelled each other out for the remaining minutes of the final with the game ending in a deserved draw and the honours shared 10 all.
Medway Reds played 5, won 4, drew 1 and lost nil. Tries for 17, against 3. Undefeated and playing some really good rugby, deservedly shared winners of the cup and looking forward to playing in Upminster next week at their festival.
The Medway Knights Red squad was:
Jack Bloomfield, Josh Butler, Mattias Carden, Sam Crean, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Joshua Lamb, Harry Meadows, William Milham, Tom Narborough, Anthony Parish, Oliver Rees, Adam Sleiman and Oscar Wells.