The under 12s warmed up for the forthcoming Nottingham festival with their regular end of season visit to the Preston tournament. The coaches were in a bullish mood after some recent good performances and were quietly confident that the team would perform well on the day.
Ormskirk kicked off with a game against old rivals Liverpool Collegiate who had beaten us in an ill-tempered match last season. In the early exchanges play was very tight although it was pleasing to see how well the pack were keeping their larger opponents at bay with Marcus Rylance winning ball at every opportunity. The first try, when it came, was a great piece of opportunistic play by centre Tom Povey who cleverly stole the ball from a promising Collegiate attack and ran half the length of the pitch to score. Matt White added the conversion. This seemed to spur on the Liverpool team who came thundering back into the game. Just before the break some good forward play released one of their mammoth second row forwards a yard from the line who then literally ran over the diminutive Matt White at full-back a la Jonah Lomu to score their opening try. As the team came off at half time it was clear that this was going to be  a close affair and that perhaps one more score might settle it. From the kick off it was Ormskirk who lifted the pace of the game and were soon awarded a penalty as Collegiate were penalised for an infringement on the floor. As the Collegiate team organised their defence fly-half Robbie Jones took a quick tap and brilliantly threaded his way through the opposition for Ormskirk’s second try again converted by Matt White with a rarely seen drop kick. With time running out Collegiate launched one last desperate attack. A great pass left their mighty second row forward with the line at his mercy but it was left for Ormskirk’s full-back Matt White to have the last laugh on his larger opponent by somehow tackling him from behind and holding up until re-enforcements arrived to snuff out Collegiate’s last hope of a score. The team came off at the final whistle with a collective smile on their face but more importantly with two points in the bag.
Ormskirk 14 Liverpool Collegiate 7
With confidence high in the Ormskirk camp everyone looked forward to the second game against Vale of Lune. Unfortunately Ormskirk were slow out of the blocks and two unanswered tries left us fourteeen points to nil down at half-time. Things got better in the second half and the Ormskirk forwards especially Craig Ennis and and Robert Hall made some inroads into Vale territory. However as hard as they tried Ormskirk failed to get back into the game leaving them with a difficult match against Blackburn to secure a semi-final spot.
Ormskirk 0Â Vale of Lune 14
Nothing less than a victory was needed against a strong Blackburn side who had pushed Vale of Lune close in their earlier group game and had been very unlucky not to have got at least a share of the points. Fortunately the Ormskirk team started the game in a far more positive fashion and were soon on the score sheet when scrum half Harry James made an excellent break near the line and was cleverly driven over by the forwards to score the first try converted by Matt White. Even though Ormskirk were  in control of the game Blackburn held firm and were still clearly in the game at the end of the first half just seven points to nil down. However after the break Ormskirk moved up a gear and Marcus Rylance scored the first try of the half with a barnstorming run right through the middle of the Blackburn pack again converted by Matt White. This was followed by possibly the best team try of the day as the ball was passed down the line for speedster Tom Povey to score in the corner this time the conversion was scored by the trusty boot of Michael Lea. Ormskirk rubbed salt into the Blackburn wounds when Kyle Hoy won the ball at a breakdown near to the opponents line to set up Marcus Rylance for his second try of the game converted by Matt White.
Ormskirk 28Â Blackburn 0
Certainly this was uncharted territory for the under 12’s a semi-final place in a tournament and a well deserved one at that. Their opponents were the pre-tournament favourites Warrington, a team who always do the basics right and do not rely on individuals for their victories. In the early exchanges their was very little between the teams and it was obvious that any score would have to be worked for. Unfortunately Warrington were the first team on the score sheet. After a well won scrum on The Ormskirk line the ball was sent to Matt White behind the try line but he was caught in possession and the ball was stolen for an easy touchdown. Although down at half-time the lads still felt they were still in the game and went out for the second half with a spring in their step. Warrington however wrapped up the game half way through the second period with a wonderful flowing move along the back line allowing the winger to go over in the corner. Even though Warrington came off the pitch winners at the end of the game they knew that it had been a hard fought victory and that they had not had things all their own way.
Ormskirk 0Â Warrington 14
Getting to a tournament semi-final is certanly charting new territory for the under 12’s but yet again this reflects the hard work work put in by both the players and coaches this season. There is certanly a lot of optimism in the air as the team look forward to testing themselves in the national Nottingham festival taking place next week over the Easter weekend.
