Match Report – 17/09/06
Ormskirk Under 15 2nd Team v Aldwinians
Ormskirk 15 - Aldwinians 12
Tries
O Thorburn
A Sutherland
Conversion
Jack Calvery
Penalties
Jack Calvery
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The first game of the 2006/07 season and Ormskirk, following some hard to ‘bear’ training were ready for the match. As the game kicked off both teams probed and tested and the visitors showed their good pack strength by at first having the upper hand. The Ormskirk pack allowed themselves to be bossed and the game ebbed and flowed with some good defensive work and astute kicking. First blood was drawn, to the obvious delight of the visiting crowd, by Aldwinians with a well worked try following an error by Ormskirk. This seemed to encourage the team and they came back at the visitors with renewed energy and began to exert their overall pack strength and started to dominate the game. Some good individual and team work resulted in Ormskirk drawing level just before half time with Olly Thorburn feigning a pass and jinxing through to score with a nice run.
The second half started with the team reshuffled and like the first half Ormskirk allowing the visitors to dominate and control the game. Ormskirk allowed the visitors to dictate the game at first and following some good play by Aldwinians and a combination of enthusiastic tackling and slack defending the visitors crossed the line and placed the ball between the posts, the conversion meant Ormskirk needed to score twice to level. Again, the try seemed to galvanise the team, and when coupled with the quiet encouragement from the coaches Ormskirk began to exert sustained pressure. The game flowed and ebbed until a good period of pressure with some good drives by the pack began to tell. Following a good drive and ruck the ball came out to Alisdair Sutherland who scored with a typical forward try of using good strength and using a long reach put the ball over. Up stepped Jack Calvery with all the pressure of having to convert to draw level and he coolly put the ball over the sticks. This put the teams on 12 points each and made for a great last quarter.
Ormskirk proceeded to dominate with the forwards continuing to take the game to the visitors, who began to purposefully kill the ball and slow the movement by coming over the top or the side. With minutes to go and Ormskirk pressurising this was spotted and a penalty awarded to the delight of Ormskirk fans and outrage of the visitors. With no obvious discussion all 6ft 6 of the first team captain strode on to the pitch carrying the kicking tee seeming to make the decision to kick for victory. Once again Jack Calvery stepped up and with all the coolness of a certain Mr Wilkinson put the ball squarely between the sticks to make it 15 points to 12 in favour of Ormskirk. A tense few minutes followed until the referee called last play from a scrum, on winning against the head the ball was punted into touch giving Ormskirk first win of the season. The team was delighted with the this victory and overall deserved the victory, with the score matching the way the game developed and played.
