Under 16s Match Reports - 2011/12
Match Reports for the 2011/12 Season are within this page, scroll up / down to view them. Click on the following link to go to the Minis & Juniors Main page
4th Dec'11: Dinnington 14 - 28 Derby U16s
To experience the four
seasons in a day is not unusual for the climatology of
Dinnington and this Sunday proved to be no exception. The
stark landscape contrasted sharply with the ever changing
kaleidoscope of colours as the sun fought a futile, lonely
battle against the elements in a bid for supremacy.
On the pitch there was also such a battle. To bring order
from chaos; to wrestle control from the frenetic; to bring
pattern to the random. Like rudderless ships the teams
lurched from leeward to windward ultimately to crash onto
the rock that was the opposition.
High on effort this game was a bruising affair precipitated
by an officiating style borne of a laissez-faire approach.
In short it was the law of the jungle, anything goes and
everything went. Offside agogo, handling on the floor, not
releasing the ball in the tackle etcetera etcetera. A
veritable cornucopia of perceived offences for the geek with
the pencil and tick sheet. Let us not take anything away
from the players, as they conducted themselves in good
fashion and tempers never flared. It was entertaining stuff
for the innocent bystander.
Dinnington provided a robust set of players as one would
expect in the land that if famous for nothing else is
renowned for its pie. Derby in turn started with their most
inexperienced pack this season.
Dinnington favoured a narrow
game and the trusty hoof of the stand off, coupled with a
good kick chase. Derby sought to absorb as much pressure as
they could and compete at the lottery of the breakdown.
Following an opening try and conversion by Dinnington, Derby
got lucky with and interception by Chalkin and a later try
by Avis were both converted by Johnson to give a lead of
14-7 at the break. Derby had fronted up and applied
pressure. First up tackling should have been much better and
a couple of overlaps were wasted, albeit from way out.
In the second half Derby gradually filtered stronger players
into the team but it was a full 23 minutes into the half
before the changes brought about a temporary ascendancy. Two
converted tries were scored in this period as Derby at last
began to put together some good structure and kept the ball
alive. But almost as if the sun had burst through the cover
of the cloud only to be shrouded again, Derby’s big men
started to take the ball too far and to take contact. This
signalled Dinnington’s revival as they were once again
allowed to compete for the ball at the breakdown. They were
awarded a penalty try as reward for their late rally and the
score ended at 28-14 to Derby. They had made heavy weather
of it.
Meteorology by: Rain based alto
20th Nov'11: Matlock 07 - 30 Derby U16s
Derby travelled to Cromford
Meadows in a return of the fixture which had taken place in
September and finished 31 apiece.
A typical autumnal November morning found the meadows
wrapped in a cotton wool haze and the brown and crinkled
leaves of the stately oak trees, clinging to the branches in
staunch defiance of the winter yet to come.
Derby awoke from their Sunday morning slumber very slowly.
Rarely functioning with full efficiency, they squandered
chances, knocked on and dropped catches.
Despite this they managed to finish the first half 15-0
leaders with Greensmith and Ebbrell scoring tries and
Shannon adding a penalty and conversion. It was scrappy
stuff though.
After the half time interlude of a few home truths, Derby’s
start to the second half was brighter and another try by
Greensmith quickly followed. But Matlock had other ideas as
they crowned a period of sustained pressure with a try close
to the posts. They never really threatened again though as
Derby continued to limp their way to victory with another
try for Greensmith and one for Gilliver.
This was a story of missed chances and careless execution,
but plenty of effort and determination. Derby never really
let Matlock into the contest. The backs defence forced their
Matlock counterparts to perform well behind the advantage
line and the forwards put in a solid display against a
physical opposition featuring some under 17’s.
The air of disappointment really is symptomatic of the
expectation that this team has created during the autumn.
The frustration felt over a 30-7 win is a testament to how
far this collection of lads has come in a short time.
Roast in bad ale
6th Nov'11: Derby U16s 76 - 00 Leicester Lions
Derby defeated Leicester
Lions by 76-0 in a decidedly one sided encounter.
The first half turned out to be a procession as Derby
exploited their dominance by running in nine tries. With the
addition of the conversions, this made for a 55-0 lead at
half time.
At the break Derby made
multiple changes, particularly in the forwards. This
resulted in a stemming of the flow of tries by Lions as they
started to compete more. But the end result was the same as
a further three converted tries were added by Derby to amass
the total score of 76 – 0.
Two tries each for Chalklin, Avis, Trembling and Fearn while
Greensmith, Miller, Ebbrell and Gilliver also crossed the
line. Shannon’s kicking earned sixteen points.
This was a difficult game in
which to maintain focus and team structure. Individuals
therefore found it hard to perpetuate standards and work on
their development needs. Far harder games are just around
the corner.
Vague recollections provided by: A debonair salt
16th Oct'11: Derby U16s 29 - 05 Melbourne
Onwards and upwards!
Derby Under 16’s this week hosted Melbourne, the home side
having a squad of 25 available on the day. Within six
minutes Derby took the lead when a period of sustained
pressure culminated in MacDonald dancing his way over to
score from fairly close range. The pattern was repeated on
twelve minutes when Boden capitalised with a straightforward
score.
Melbourne was not bowed by
this pressure and never gave up the fight with their
combative forward pack never letting Derby have comfortable
ball. Indeed Melbourne manifested this resilience with a try
of their own after twenty four minutes. A strong, agile and
speedy runner, number 11 had little compunction in accepting
his opportunity to cross Derby’s line for five points.
The half finished appropriately enough with a try for
Greensmith, who was finally rewarded for a series of strong
line breaking runs from full back.
Derby changed two thirds of their team at half time with ten
fresh players pulling on a shirt. What was noticeable about
these changes was that there was little to notice!
The match continued in a similar vein with Derby’s
performance unaffected by the wholesale changes. This is
testament to the understanding the squad have of the way
they should be playing.
It wasn’t long before Avis was put over in the corner and
Derby’s score extended to twenty two as Shannon, bristling
with intent against his former club, added the extras.
The coup de grace was delivered by the rumbustious
Trembling, who on receiving a pass on the left wing in his
own half, displayed strength, power and speed as he raced
like a runaway train to touch down between the posts,
enabling Shannon some ease in completing the formalities.
View the
Photographs from the
Derby
U16s v Melbourne game.
Dubious recollections by: Tanalised Boar
9th Oct'11: Derby U16s 37 - 12 Paviors
A welcome return to Paviors,
who last season beat the Derby ‘B’ team by a margin of 20
points.
The Derby team selection this year included a good
proportion of those defeated in that fixture and the
positive result this time reflects the advances made by
them.
The comfortable looking buffer does not adequately
illustrate the hard work put in by the team which was
particularly exemplified by the forwards against a
determined opposition.
Derby got off to a flyer with three tries inside fifteen
minutes, beneficiaries being Avis, M Johnson and Fearn who’s
try followed a smart ‘show and go’ by Boden. Paviors
achieved some redemption when their sprightly winger nipped
over before Derby finished the half with further repost.
Paviors modus operandi was to utilise a strong looking pack
of forwards in a rather narrow pattern, only occasionally
releasing the ball to the backs who unfortunately could not
find a way to counter stern defensive pressure from the home
team.
Derby continually rang the changes as all squad members
enjoyed their chance in the limelight.
The second half followed a similar pattern though Paviors
did have one spell of extended pressure for which Derby had
to be at their most robust to dispel. Three further Derby
tries were added to Paviors’ one before the referee
signalled time.
There were eye-catching displays from Ellis Szrjeder and Ben
Trembling. Great potential displayed by Tom Miller and
promising all round defensive organisation. Some sweeping
and rapid back play luxuriated the home turf.
Max Johnson collated a fine hat trick of tries. His best
effort came when picking up at the base of a scrum in his
own half. Breaking on the blind side, he offered his winger
as a foil and displayed the ‘nimble tread of the famous Fred
Astaire’ as he tripped the light fantastic through an
audience of bedazzled onlookers to score between the posts.
Match musings by: A baritones lad
24th Sep'11: Derby U16s 31 - 31 Matlock
A bright autumnal morning heralded the arrival of foes from
the north.
Matlock U16s arrived at Haslams in their droves, well,
unfortunately only 12 of them, thus precipitating an
encounter of reduced numbers. It was to be an hour of 12
a-side rugby. This meant that Derby’s squad of 18 on the day
had to be manipulated carefully to ensure each player had
optimal game time. Matlock had no such issue.
It was a game of two halves and end to end stuff, more akin
to the basketball court with the scoring taking on
reciprocal nature. First one side and then the other
attacked and scored in a remarkable tit for tat sequence.
Matlock mixed up midfield power with ground making kicks and
Derby tried to move and run the ball. The bludgeon and the
rapier? This may somewhat be unfair on Matlock who
demonstrated some flair in their half back pairing. Derby
flattered to deceive as they wasted good positions by
kicking the ball away and failing to be clinical with the
Matlock line at their mercy.
All in all a useful exercise as many of the Derby side could
be considered to be inexperienced in the past, but a new
season has brought a level of maturity and confidence that
has developed from hard work and good attention. All can be
pleased with their contribution.
Most of the experienced players stepped up to lead by
example, Blaine Shannon synonymous in this respect. Jack
Johnson is starting to flourish and fulfil potential. Jack
Donoher was a nugget as you would expect; hard and
uncompromising, exhibiting precious mettle.
Of the lesser experienced; Alex Kalyta-Jubb continues to
reap the benefits of a summer well-spent on fitness; Ali
Charles-Clennell almost inexplicably transformed onto a path
from weak willed winger to fully fledged flanker and Ben
Whitworth is finally starting to exude the angst and direct
it at the opposition.
Photographs from the
Derby
U16s v Matlock game can be found in the
Photograph Galleries.
Match comment by: Atonal Seabird