Boys U13
Matches
Sun 07 Feb 2016
Chinnor Rugby Club
Boys U13
39
7
Gosford All Blacks (Jonah Lomu Cup)
‘I never give up. Never have, never will’

‘I never give up. Never have, never will’

Nick Stainton9 Feb 2016 - 09:08
Share via
FacebookTwitter
https://www.chinnor-rfc.com/te

The Inaugural Jonah Lomu Cup.

Reported by Jerry Gilbert.

The Inaugural Jonah Lomu Cup.
Chinnor vs Gosford All Blacks (U13)

Sunday 7th January 2016 – Waitangi Day

Paul Sherman, the Chinnor U13’s Kiwi Fixtures Secretary and Alex Bond had conspired to create a really special fixture. Storm Imogen left us in (relative) peace for two hours and allowed the sun to shine, the match was to be played on Pitch 1, Gosford All Blacks turned up in force and Chinnor’s non-Oxfordshire squad had turned up ready to play in this Inaugural Jonah Lomu Cup match.

Gosford won the toss and had elected to play with the wind behind them for the first half. Their kick (with the wind behind it) went high and long. A missed catch allowed Gosford to take the ball. However, in the ensuing maul we turned the opponents over, emerged with the ball, Metcalf flung the ball to his line, Leo Hayden sprinted off with terrific support from Alex Butler and then with great timing Hayden popped the ball inside for Dylan Taylor to score the try. We were off. 5 – 0

After the restart Chinnor regained possession straight from the kick and there then followed a lovely, flowing multi-phased three minutes of play, allowing the ever-ready Butler a well-deserved try. 10 - 0

Following the next restart, a scrum was awarded to Gosford. This marked the first of four scrums where our mighty eight won the opposition’s scrums. It should also be noted that, in a further three, where Gosford tried to go blind, they were hit hard by the combination of Burnett, Maldonado and Bond.

All the while Chinnor were communicating really strongly and positively to each other. In the fact, the best communication we have seen. Apart, however, from a critical 20 seconds where Gosford were awarded a penalty from within the 22 and, despite fumbling the ball and taking the ball at a very steady pace, roamed straight through our squad, practically uncontested, to score an easy try under the posts which they then converted.

But – and this is important, this was only time in the game when our defence wasn’t on it, the only time we weren’t ready, and the only time we were not on the front foot and ready to maximise every opportunity. So 10-7

However, this try by Gosford marked only a temporary loss of possession. Yet again Chinnor benefitted from Maldonado’s know-no-fear approach and the most aggressive counter-ruck of the game saw Chinnor winning the ball and we then witnessed another super bit of open play with the backs really stretching their legs and saw Hayden, Bond and Nathan running really hard and Nathan scoring his first try for Chinnor. 15 -7

The restart saw Chinnor regaining possession yet again and after a scrum Metcalf stepped a very eager Gosford scrum half and made valuable yards before offloading to Burnett and Butler, allowing Alex another try – this one under the posts and ripe for conversion. 22 -7

Don’t think that Gosford weren’t up for a fight, because they were and this was demonstrated in a number of ways, but principally through really gritty defence, some strong running and good communication. They had some strong players and we came off second best in a number of one-on-one contests.

Following the restart, Gosford allowed us to regain possession and Shearman, who until now had been quietly going about his business leading the pack, seized the ball and ran through four of Gosford’s players, one of them being outmanoeuvred with a sublime step before offloading the ball to Morris who stormed the final fifteen yards to bring the score to 27 -7.

A strong lineout and some more determined running by Peecock, Bettison, Bridges and Bond brought us to half time, with our computer confirming that we had had somewhere in the order of 75% of the first half possession and a half time score of 27-7.

The second half saw a much steadier, more workmanlike series of phases, fewer moments of glory but many equally valuable contributions. Strong tackles by Gilbert, Nathan and Maldonado meant that when Gosford had possession they didn’t get too far.

Of particular note in the scrum was the effort put in by Bedwell, a real unsung hero of Sunday’s match. Always committed and always in the thick of the action: - ripping, tackling and driving hard, aided by Lawson and Atkins making the most of this opportunity to shine. Cringle also showed us how lucky we are at Chinnor – with Cringle, Nathan and Favors really contributing to their team in their first season with us.

Cold hands meant that that there were inevitably a number of handling errors, but these just gave us more practise in the scrum.
Following a scrum that Gosford won, they made a break and looked like they were going to have the try. However, we needn’t have feared – Maldonado was playing full back. His speed and commitment to the tackle ensured that their man was down and we were jackling for the ball instantly. The ball then went out to the unbelievably determined Favors (whose play throughout the game showed his coaches just how quickly he is progressing) who ran with real agility to score again for Chinnor.

Your correspondent then forgot to write any further notes except to say that Shearman scored a well-deserved try in the 18th minute that was converted to bring us a final score of 39-7 to Chinnor.

Our thanks to Alex Bond for refereeing.

After the game there was a delicious lunch and a very moving showing of two clips recorded especially for the occasion by one current All Black, Jerome Kaino and one of Jonah’s contemporaries, Tana Umaga. They thanked us for playing the game in Jonah’s honour and to raise funds for the Jonah Lomu Legacy Trust. Thank you to everyone who parted with their cash.

Paul Sherman then awarded the Jonah Lomu Cup to Chinnor’s Captain, Dylan Taylor.

All in all a great day.

JRG
08.02.16

Match details

Match date

Sun 07 Feb 2016

Kickoff

10:00

Meet time

10:00

Location

Instructions

10am meet in changing rooms in rugby kit.
No.1's for post-match lunch
11am kick off

Attendance

100
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Principal sponsor - Rectory Homes