Cranleigh U15s 34 - 0 Egham U15s
Flush from two previous wins, Cranleigh went on the attack from the outset, getting close to a score in the first minute. The Cranleigh back line, despite missing a couple of regular faces, looked very sharp. The Egham backs had no room to run and every time they got the ball were pressurised into mistakes by some excellent Cranleigh tackling. The Cranleigh pack, even more depleted than in their previous game, still performed very strongly providing plenty of ball for the backs to run with. Led by some very aggressive running by their fly half, Cranleigh dominated the open play with both backs and forwards combining to repeatedly brake through the Egham defences running in a total of six tries and two conversions. Despite some valiant attacks, mainly through their forwards, Egham were unable to break through with the strong Cranleigh tackling keeping them at bay to finish the game 34-0.
Coach Warren
Cranleigh U15s 12 – 7 Chobham U15B
On a windy morning, this was a very evenly matched and hard fought game. The rather depleted Cranleigh pack (missing all four regular props) held their own against the larger Chobham pack. What they lacked in size they made up for in mobility and aggression winning a lot of turnover ball at the rucks. The ball handling in the backs was a pleasure to watch. However, the best part of the Cranleigh game was the very solid tackling.
Cranleigh scored the first try mid way through the first half. A penalty close to the touch line inside the opposition 22 was run along the full set of backs for the full back to score in the far corner. A superb conversion in very difficult conditions made it 7-0. Chobham countered just before half time with a converted push over try under the posts.
The second half continued with Chobham using their larger pack to drive forward but the Cranleigh pack rose to the occasion and kept them at bay with some very rugged tackling and rucking. Ten minutes from time Cranleigh were desperately defending their try line but, try as they might, Chobham were not able to break through.
Shortly after it was Cranleigh's turn to go on the attack with some great open play involving both forwards and backs. Chobham were unable to keep up with the slick ball handling and eventually the Cranleigh interplay created an overlap for the centre to score in the corner 3 minutes from time.
Final result 12-7 to Cranleigh U15s!
Coach Warren
Cranleigh U15s 10 – 0 Guildford U15s
On a wet, windy day and muddy field the Cranleigh under 15's finally put a win on the board (as older players would say ‘long time between drinks’). The team has been showing improvement over the last few months and had a couple of close losses before Christmas but, with a lot of effort, 2008 has started on the right track.
Winning the toss and playing into the wind, the boy's pressured Guildford right from the start making tackles and turning over the ball, playing most of the first half in Guildford's territory. From a scrum, Cranleigh moved it through the back line where a ruck formed, the ball recycled again through the back line and the winger finished off close to the corner. Great team try.
The first half was dominated by Cranleigh putting pressure on the ball carrier and a lot of turnovers meant that Guildford didn’t get any good possession to work with. The half finished with Cranleigh 5-nil up. The second half started the same way with Cranleigh dominating rucks, mauls and scrums and sharing line outs. Cranleigh went through a 10 min period where they lost their way but, with a captain learning the art, were able to get back on track. With the forwards pressuring a significantly bigger Guildford pack, they won turn over ball which passed along the back line for the fullback to score in the corner, another team try. Cranleigh withstood the last five minutes of intense pressure from Guildford to end the game 10-nil winners. The last time the 2 teams met at the start of the season, Guildford won by fifty plus points.
There was no player of the day but some mention can be made of James Peck who moved from flanker to loose head prop and had an excellent game (watch the offside line). Duncan moved from fullback to lock and with Luke had strong games. Johnny, Jack, Casper and Paul also had great games, showing huge improvement over the last couple of months. Harry at scrum half and Olly at fly half are working well together and control the game, starting to look good guys. Hugh at inside centre had three or four great barging runs with Sam supporting outside him, both showing strong defence and linked well with the outside backs, Nick, Paul and Matt to score two team tries. Captain James also had his best game as leader, starting to show good signs of leadership.
With very noisy, excited supporters (parents), Cranleigh Rugby was the winner!!
Coach Warren
