Whits U13s played their final group game of the waterfall cup against the only other unbeaten team in their group, Hammersmith and Fulham. Whits knew that a victory would ensure they finished top of their group and would play for the cup. From the start they were on the back foot with 3 of their usual props missing, this meant that Whits were forced to play uncontested scrums from the start, a big set back for the home side as this has been an area of strength for the team this season. In addition to Nouar, Ethan and Flynn, Whits were missing both Max B and Max W as well as Tariq. Sam and Noah therefore stepped up to play in the front row and as usual did so without any complaints and no shortage of effort and skill.
Whits set out with intent from the start, a knock on from the kick-off led to a scrum but the speed of the Whits back line meant that they pressured the scrum half into a poor pass and winning their own scrum. Off the scrum, fly-half Eli switched to the blindside giving Whits an overlap which Caden exploited with a hot-stepping run that made a good 10 metres. Hands in the ruck gave Whits a penalty which was given by Kai to 6ft 3 inch Thomas, to test the H&F willingness to tackle. Thomas made another 10m before the number of H&F players hanging from him brought him to ground. Quick ball from the ruck found its way out to Eli who twisted and turned his way through the H&F midfield to make another 5m. Another penalty for diving over at the breakdown was given to Thomas again who barrelled his way to the try line before being stopped, Kam picked up the ball from the base of the ruck was stopped by the opposition but driven over by his teammates Markell and William. 5-0
H&F elected to receive the kick off but the ball was driven deep into the bottom right hand corner by Eli and the Whits chase was good, their winger made some metres before being smashed into touch by Kam. The game then swung back and forth with neither side able to put together a consistent passage of play due to handling errors and some ferocious tackling. 15 minutes in and Whits conceded a penalty on their 22 over on the left. H&F spread the ball out wide with some slick passing finding its way to their right winger who had an easy score in the corner. 5-5
Another period where neither side could get a foothold followed with infringements at the breakdown and knock-ons leading to a series of penalties and scrums. The Whits forwards were getting some considerable success at the breakdown thanks to some great work from Conn, Will and Henry but the ball never seemed to stay in Whits hands for long. Finally, a penalty to H&F on the 22 went through the hands again, finding its way to their biggest player, he made a good 10m before being stopped by Markell but the ball made its way out of the ruck and was scored by the 9 in the same corner that his teammate had scored 5 minutes earlier. 10-5 to Hammersmith and Fulham.
Whits came straight back, a scrum on the 10m line went down the line, a powerful run and offload from Eli found Joseph on the wing but the defence had scrambled and bundled him into touch
Half time 10-5 to H&F
From the restart Whits were straight up and pressuring H&F with Stevie, Markell and Conn leading the chase. H&F were forced back to their 22 and chose to move the ball down the line again. Big hits from Kam and then Eli and Will forced them to reset before they once again went right and set off downfield before Caden and then Thomas drove the winger into touch. From the free pass, Kam drove hard and fast straight through the H&F defence breaking 3 tackles before the 4th slowed him enough for the rest of the defence to surround him. Having made at least 15m Kam still had the presence of mind to offload to Thomas who gave the poor H&F defence the same treatment again, steamrolling through the remaining forwards only to be brought to ground a metre short of the try line. Some good work from H&F stole the ball at the breakdown but a knock on gave Whits the ball back with a scrum. Kai played a short pass to fly half Eli, who stepped inside his opposite number and burst through two more tackles to score to the left of the posts. It was a great team effort with everyone on the team contributing to an excellent try. Scores were now level at 10-10
Seeing how well the formula worked the first time, Whits did the same again from the kick off. Another good chase pushed H&F back into their own 22. As they tried to play out Kam and then Eli again floored their runners with two huge tackles. H&F seeing no way through the middle went to the wings again, this time to the left. Who was there to stop him but fullback Caden this time supported by centre Markell and into touch went the winger again in almost an identical place to the first but on the opposite side of the pitch.
At this point Kam had to leave the field due to a head injury and was replaced by Sean who slotted into the centre of the midfield. From the free pass Henry tried the same approach that had worked so well for Kam and made similar ground but as he went to floor the ball was knocked allowing H&F to relieve the pressure. But the Whits backline refused to give H&F any reprieve and pressured them into a poor pass that went to ground and forced the H&F winger to tackle Mustafa off the ball. Kai took the penalty and gave it to Henry who this time popped it inside to Caden who had joined the line. Whits were now in front of the posts but a knock on gave H&F the ball, still Whits refused to give up and scrum half Kai pressured his opposite number into tackling him off the ball. The resulting penalty went to Markell who only had one thing on his mind. He drove hard and fast through the H&F defence taking out at least 5 of them to score to the right of the posts. Whits were now leading 15-10.
Again Whits pressured from the kick off but this time H&F were given a break by an infringement at the breakdown. Now it was there turn to put together some flowing rugby, swinging the ball from one wing to another with some nice evasive running from both their wingers. Only an excellent tackle from Sean stopped their centre from crashing over but a penalty for an earlier offside gave the visitors another chance. This time they went left and it was Stevie’s turn to put in a try saving tackle when the winger only had him to beat, Eli jackled and stole the ball before setting off downfield, he cleared with a kick but was tackled afterwards winning his side a penalty from where the ball landed pushing H&F away from the danger area.
But Whits were finding it hard to get out of their half. Another series of penalties gave H&F good field position and when they shipped the ball wide to their wing it was left to Sean once again to save the day by tackling him into touch. Whits cleared their lines and with a scrum on the 22 looked to be in a good position to relieve the pressure but the ball squirted out the side, the H&F fly half had crept forward from his position 5m behind the scrum to be level with the number 8s back foot whilst the Whits backline were still 5m away, the fly half was therefore only a metre away from the ball and was able to fly hack it on. This caused panic in the Whits back line as the ball bobbled and bounced, Kai cleared up and set up the ball for a Whits ruck and the ball was passed back to Caden who under considerable pressure cleared an excellent kick downfield. Unfortunately the H&F was under the ball and caught it cleanly, he carried back down the left and was stopped by another excellent tackle from Henry inches short of the try line. The H&F support was there quickly and picked up the ball to flop over the try line to bring the scores level at 15-15 with 5 minutes to go.
Whits responded from the kick off, pushing the H&F players back into their own half but a series of uncharacteristic handling errors took the pressure off the visiting team. In the end Whits just ran out of time and the match was drawn 15-15.
The result left both H&F and Whits unbeaten at the top of the table, Whits placed second for scoring one less try than H&F. This decider methodology is unfortunate since it penalises teams (like Whits) who adhere religiously to the half game rule and who follow the RFU and Surrey guidance on ensuring that games are not one-sided. This is absolutely the right thing to do for the development of our team but it still is uncomfortable when the players are so visibly disappointed to have been deprived of a top of the table finish. Even so, they will play Chobham in the Trophy final with the opportunity to ensure that they finish their cup campaign unbeaten. #UTG