U14s As – match report
Ealing Under-14 As were edged out by one point in a thrilling first match of the season at Old Albanians.
A bright start was made with backs and forwards combing well to win several phases of play and end up on the OA’s line.
But the home team were very well-organised and defended strongly until the danger had passed.
The game then developed into a tight affair for the rest of the first half but OA’s enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and territory and their half-time lead of 5-0, courtesy of an excellent try following some strong back row running, seemed a fair return.
The second-half began in similar fashion to the first with Ealing camped on OA’s tryline but this time the pressure was more sustained and the homeside were at full stretch to keep the green and whites at bay.
A number of Ealing forwards were stopped just inches short and our new prop was desperately unlucky not to grab a debut try when he was held up over the line after a powerful drive.
But Ealing remained strong in the resulting five metre scrum and kept the pressure on until the ball eventually found its way out to the winger who skipped past his opposite number and dived over for a fabulous equalising try.
A difficult conversion was slotted over to put Ealing into the lead and the momentum seemed well and truly with the visitors.
This was highlighted just minutes later when Ealing scored a brilliant try to extend their advantage.
An attempted clearance was held up in the strong wind but fell perfectly for the winger who scooped the ball up on the right-hand touchline and showed the defence a clean pair of heels as he sprinted home from well inside his own half to touch down beneath posts.
Another successful conversion made the scores 14-5 in Ealing’s favour.
Lesser teams would have given up but OA’s showed great resilience and fought back strongly.
Their second try in the right-hand corner left Ealing with just a four-point lead but the balance of play had shifted once more and the OAs began to take control once again.
Some great defending and courageous tackling from the Ealing boys looked to have been enough to take a hard-fought win but with two minutes left and OA forward crashed over to give his side the slenderest of leads.
Ealing fought straight back and worked their way deep into OAs territory but the homeside hung on for the win.
A great game to watch thanks to two excellent teams who should both be extremely proud of themselves.
Match report U14B away to Harpenden
Our first game of the season didn’t disappoint the U14 B’s stepped up to the plate with no exceptions.
Harpenden have allegedly the largest membership in southern England and yet they couldn’t get much past the Ealing defence especially in the first half. Some quick scores early on gave a confidence boost and we led 21:5 at the break.
Harpenden began to get their act together and we started to tire in the second half. However, we finished 38:24 and were unlucky to concede late on so the score line rather flattered the locals who spent most of the game on the back foot.
The twins connected well in the middle of the pitch, our new prop came into his own in the second half and our scrum half made some great tackles but there were solid performances right across the team. Good defending, tackling, passing and teamwork added to speed at the break down and a powerful scrum – a great win to start the season.
Well done Ealing B’s.
