Match Report for Sunday 14th October

Grasshoppers 20 Hemel Hempstead 0

Gs U15s win debut league match in Division 2

This match brought 3 firsts today, Gs debut league game in Division 2, their first against Hemel & first league points of the new season. Playing uphill in the first half, Gs were only in the Hemel 22 once when a breakaway, after 24 minutes & very much against the run of play, led to a scrum 5. Skipper Sean Butler made an early call for the back row move, No 8 Charlie Keen picking up and winger Alex Nangle scoring in the corner. The rest of the first half was all about defence for Gs as Hemel retained possession but were unable to convert pressure into points. For the second successive week, Gs proved themselves very strong in defence however, in attack; they allowed themselves to be turned over too many times. Fortunately Hemel were never able to capitalise on the opportunities put their way. At half time, the score remained 5 – 0 in our favour. With the slope in their favour, the second half was all about Gs attack. Playing with far more composure than last week at Bracknell, Gs attacked as a XV, putting pressure on the Hemel back line in particular. James Matthews was able to convert a penalty to make the score 8 – 0. A change in scrum half with Alfie Hylands taking over duties was adding more pace to the attack and strength in defence. Soon after, an incident led to a sin bin for Gs for retaliation & one player from Hemel being sent off. The game continued to be played almost exclusively in the Hemel half and when Gs were back to full strength, their numbers began to tell. Twenty minutes into the second half and a Hemel lineout 5 metres out was tapped back & prop Mo El Gassim beat everyone to the ball for his first try of the season. Just before the final whistle, second row Martin Elsby ran in from half way as again Hemel indiscipline distracted them from tackling the player with the ball striding towards the line. A good win was only marred at the very end when skipper and man of the match, blindside flanker Sean Butler was taken to hospital. The good news is that he should be back in a few weeks. This side always learn from their mistakes. This week, we got to the away game early; we prepared well & kept our composure rather than pushing the panic button. We will take the negatives from this game into the next few training sessions & ensure they’re addressed before the next fixture. It was fantastic to see so many lads available on the bench too but with the game so finely balanced until the very end, only injured players were substituted. Thanks to all of you for being there, with so much completion for places, it will keep everyone on their toes.

Match Report for Sunday 7th October

Bracknell 5 Grasshoppers 0

The result did not go our way, but this match will live long in the memory of those lucky enough to have seen youth rugby at it most competitive. Although Gs had the overall advantage in both territory and possession, especially in the second half, a lack of composure in attack prevented them from converting pressure into points.

Already missing skipper Sean Butler and winger Luke Happs through injury, fly half Mark Cunningham was injured during the warm up and with more important league fixtures to come, it was decided to rest him. On arrival at the pitch, Gs were greeted by Bracknell A and B squads doing defensive line drills; very loudly! This had the (desired?) affect of upsetting Gs players’ preparation & the coaches with a job to get them focused as quickly as possible.

Bracknell were into their stride straight from the kick off. For the most of the first quarter, Gs were pinned down in their 22 as Bracknell tried their best to bulldoze their way to the try line. However, the Gs defence was more than capable of the challenge. On our set piece, we were not able to provide any clean ball off the line out but at least the scrum allowed No 8 Charlie Keen to pick and go. Only some very strong defence from Bracknell prevented Gs from scoring. It was from a turnover from a Gs attack that allowed the Bracknell winger to evade the cover tackles to score. The tricky conversion kick struck the upright to make the half time score 5 – 0. Influential full back Chris Bamber Blake had to retire injured forcing more changes to the Gs line up.

The second half saw Gs hold the advantage of possession and territory but lacking the composure to complete attacking moves. As the clock ticked by, Gs became more desperate to get the converted try that would probably settle the match. But the harder they tried, the more often a pass was knocked on or ball was turned over as we ran out of support players.

Man of the match today was the entire squad – it would be unfair to the rest of the squad to name one individual; the lads played with spirit, heart and obviously for each other.

Match Report for Sunday 30th September

Grasshoppers 43 Battersea Ironsides 12

This was the first match between the 2 sides; both in division 2 of their respective county leagues. Grasshoppers were into their game straight from the whistle and quickly gained a 2 try lead. The first try came from debut winger Te San Hong after Gs won a scrum against the head. The second try came straight from the training pitch with No 8 Charlie Keen picking up from a scrum and providing the scoring pass to full back Chris Bamber Blake.

Playing four 15 minute quarters allowed both sides to make changes and it was Battersea who started the better of the second quarter. Gs also began to concede needless penalties and it was no surprise when Ironsides efforts were rewarded with a try. However, Gs were soon back in their stride with 2 tries, first from winger Hamza Hammouda who picked up a desperate Ironsides effort to clear their 22 and flanker Roach Bruce Quao who had an easy try to make after another debut player, Mike Hughes, won turnover ball in the Ironsides 22.

The second half again started well for Ironsides who were beginning to use their solid pack to retain midfield possession. Another converted try was duly scored. However, this galvanized Gs into action with Captain Sean Butler now playing prop, leading the line in attack and defence. Further tries came from Charlie Keen, using his pace to out run the defence, Chris Bamber Blake who was put in following more turn over ball won by Charlie Keen & finally centre Alex Nangle form a quick tap penalty.

Mark Cunningham scored with 4 conversions to make the final score 43-12. Man of the match this week was Chris Bamber Blake who counter attacked at pace and defended strongly.

Overall, a good result looking at the score line but there is no doubt that playing 4 quarters with team changes resulted in a patchy performance. Gs were unable to fully capitalise with their fast moving game. On a positive note, three new players made their debut, Wednesday nights tackling practice had obviously sunk in and the squad benefited from a competitive fixture 2 weeks before League games begin

Match report – Ruislip U15 10pts v 12pts Grasshoppers U15

Grasshoppers U15s off to a winning start

The first fixture of the season began with a trip to local rivals Ruislip. In the first half, Gs had the majority of possession and territory without converting this pressure into points. Waves of attacks were repelled by an effective scramble defence from Ruislip. Gs did not help their cause by conceding field position through 6 penalties and 5 lost lineouts. Eventually, the sustained pressure by Gs led to a pushover try for blindside Charlie Keen who successfully converted a difficult from the touchline.

The third quarter possession was evenly split with Ruislip increasing in confidence as the game progressed. Good midfield defence by Gs led to ‘man of the match‘ Charlie Keen winning turnover ball. His run drew several defenders and his pass to fellow back row player Roache Bruce Quao allowed him to sprint over the try line.

This was the last attacking move of the game by Gs as they spent the rest of the half defending their own try line, 2 unconverted tries from Ruislip led to a nail biting final 5 minutes as Ruislip were unable to cross the Gs line from three 5 metre scrums. A final penalty kick at goal attempt was missed leaving Gs the victors.