Rishworthian Minis v Huddersfield Minis, match report, Rishworthians put in some excellent performances against Huddesfield

Rishworthians Minis v Baildon & Keighley

Rishworthians beat the weather & enjoy a mornings rugby at Baildon

Match reports Sunday 27th January
With all games postponed at Copley due to the River Calder bursting its banks and flooding the pitches Rishworthians minis were forced to look for an away fixture. Thanks must go to Baildon who were at home to Keighley for allowing our minis to join in at short notice and make up a 3 way mini tournament.

Under 6’s The Micros
The under 5's and 6's trained with Neal Lumb and Darren Grogan taking the session. Once they reach their 6th birthday and understand the game they can join the under 7's squad and play some competitive games. Jack Mallinson, Oliver Brian, George Wannan and Kieran Lewis are now enjoying competitive tag rugby with Oliver Brian coming away with the man of the match again. Well done Oliver.

Under 7's The Young Guns
An amazing thirteen players (fourteen with Toby who played for the under 8’s) turned out on a very windy and cold morning to do battle with Baildon and Keighley. The elements and the small pitches didn’t allow for much free flowing rugby but all the players need to be complemented for their efforts.

Baildon 2 Rishworthians 6
Rishworthians never looked like losing this game and but for the wind would have won by a bigger margin. Kian Sutcliffe and Corey White bagged a brace apiece with George Sutcliffe and Alex Oldroyd adding one each.

Keighley 3 Rishworthians 5
This was a much closer contest against a near frozen team from Keighley. Each team matched the other up to 3-3 with Corey White scoring a hat trick for Rishworthians. Further tries from Alex Oldroyd and George Sutcliffe gave Rishworthians a deserved final winning score of 5-3.Well done to Reggie Herd on his debut for Rishworthians the highlights being a couple of forceful runs up the touchline.

Thanks again to all parents for ensuring such a fantastic turnout on a wild morning and to Mark for coaching the team.

Player of match in the Baildon game went to Kian Sutcliffe for some fine individual running. Thanks also to Kian for volunteering to run out for Keighley in match 2 where he again demonstrated his strong running.
Player of match in the Keigley game went to Oliver Brian for consistent strong running and eagerness to take on the ball.

Squad: Finn Sutcliffe, Kian Sutcliffe, George Sutcliffe, Carrick Keighley-Payne, William Harker, Henry Hilton, George Wannan, Jack Mallinson, Alex Oldroyd, Corey White, Oliver Bryan, Daniel Haigh, Reggie Herd

Grahame White

Under 8’s The Raiders

Rishworthians Blow Baildon Away!
The Old Rishworthian Under 8’s braved a fierce gale away at Baildon on Sunday morning, but responded to the adverse conditions by blowing the opposition away instead.

In the first of two games Baildon ‘A’ took an early lead due to some missed tags by very cold fingers! However, Callan Jamieson didn’t let the strong wind dent his enthusiasm by crossing the line to even up the score. Sam Puddephatt added a try to make the score 2 – 1 to Rishworthians and Will Symms also crossed the whitewash with a fine run down the touchline to score in the corner. With the wind behind Baildon however, they managed to score a couple of tries before half time making the score 3 – 3. In the second half Rishworthians cut loose with the impressive Symms bagging two more tries and Callum Bell getting into the action by showing his blistering pace to score no less than four tries. Baildon took advantage of Rishworthians lapse in defensive concentration to grab a couple of late tries, although the Copley outfit were comfortable 9 – 6 winners.

Against Baildon ‘B’ Rishworthians picked up where they left off. Despite freezing little hands the team managed to hold a slightly better defensive line in this second game although brief lapses in concentration again cost the team dear as Baildon managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over. However, the superior attacking skills that have been developed by coach Dave Puddephatt really shone through as the game went on. James McHugh got on the score sheet twice, as did Will Symms. Other scorers included Alex Scoley, Callum Bell, Sam Puddephatt, Callan Jamieson and a fine individual run by Toby Muscat-Barron sealed a man-of-the-match performance to score in the corner and secure a 9 – 6 victory.

Dave Puddephatt

Under 9's The Reds & All Blacks
With Copley still feeling the effects of the flooding, Rishworthians were grateful to Baildon for helping them out on this fine Sunday morning. Nevertheless, perfect as the condition of the pitch was, these were indeed challenging conditions. Touchlines took on a life of their own as cones were hurled across the pitch by the violent winds, closely followed by tackle bags, spare kit and even the odd supporting fan.

Rishworthians 45 Keighley 0
The opening game of the morning saw the Reds take on Keighley on a relatively narrow pitch. This, coupled with the howling gale, meant Reds would need to keep it tight. This they did, Jacob Bower showing that neither the wind nor the uphill slope would put him off his driving runs. The Reds kept up what is becoming a fine tradition of rucking, Sam Brant taking the opportunity at scrum half to feed Jack Davis who stormed straight up the hill to give Rishies an early lead.

This was a fine morning for Charlotte Siddall too, perhaps her best of the season, giving an exemplary demonstration of tackling. Keighley’s restart was halted abruptly by her keen defence. More could have been made of it, save for a knock forward which owed more to that wind blasting the ball out of Reds’ hands than any genuine fumble. That said, the Reds’ handling was excellent, as was the support play. Thomas Cockroft drove through the ruck winning an opportunity for Thomas Creasy to show his sidestep. Feeding on to Jacob Bower, it looked as though Rishies would be in for a second score, but for a high tackle on Jacob yards short. Keeping the pressure up, Thomas Creasy again made ground, feeding Charlotte Siddall who returned the compliment, Thomas now having space and crossing the line for his first of the New Year.

The Reds gave Keighley no respite, coming up fiercely again from the restart. Jacob Bower mimicked the style Sandal had shown in the Reds’ previous game, coming up fast in defence to catch the Keighley player as he took the ball. This gave Will McDonnell his first chance to show us his running skills and, sure enough, he was darting his way through the Keighley defence. A final tackle denied him a try, but Keighley were now driven over their own line to concede a 5 yard scrum. The Reds had started the game with a new structure, Will McDonnell playing at scrum half and looking to feed the ball out into space. There will have been huge encouragement amongst the players, coaches and supporters as the game plan slotted into place. The Reds next score followed what we can hope will be a classic passage, Will passing the ball out to Jack Davis, who drew in the defence before feeding Thomas Cockroft to power over for a try at the inside centre position. Rishies continued to ruck well with Billy Whyte and Thomas Cockroft driving Keighley off the ball. It was good recycling that gave Will McDonnell a chance to show his clear pace as he beat the defence to the line and put Rishies 20-0 up at half time.

A quick team and Rishies began the second half grateful for the downhill slope. Charlotte Siddall broke through tackles, before placing the ball back well for Jack Davis who wasted no time crossing the Keighley line. The whole side worked well off each other, Gregory Day driving Keighley well off the ball. Jack Davis and Jacob Bower put in their big hits and Nathan Cooper showed a clear and steady head at fly half. Good ripping gave Jack Davis a chance to run down the hill, but sadly he was just going too fast to keep control of the ball. Nathan Cooper too came close to scoring, with some fine sidesteps, but was held out at the corner. The lineout was always going to be chaotic in the hurricane like conditions, and George Radcliffe capitalised by putting early pressure on Keighley as they tried to move the ball way. Jack Davis was quick to pounce on the loose ball for his hat trick.

Weak tackling allowed Keighley to put pressure on the Rishies’ line and it looked as though a try was coming, but Sam Brant managed to work the ball free and make a good clearance to give space for Rishies to breathe again. George Radcliffe too showed robust defence, putting in two rocking tackles. George soon had his reward with a strong run down the wing, shimmying his way through the Keighley defence to put the Reds 35-0 up. Keighley did not let up and made forays into the Reds’ half, but Thomas Cockroft was first onto a wild pass and made it to just yards short. Keighley did well to work the ball forward, but a turnover gave Jacob Bower the chance to arc his way across the pitch and into the corner.

Keighley were perhaps surprised at the Rishies’ continued gusto as, now late in the game, their restart was met with a sandwich of Jack Davis and Thomas Cockroft. Thomas Cockroft emerged with the ball and charged straight back down to the Keighley line, diving over to bring the final score to 45-0.

Baildon (Under 10s) 25 Old Risworthians 20
Rishies faced a change of scene for their second match, moving to a much wider and flatter pitch. The wind, however, did not let up. Baildon have no under 9's squad but the Reds eager for another game were happy to take on Baildon's under 10's a much bigger team and with a turn of pace.

Will McDonnell relished the open space and darted through 40 yards of Baildon players and Jack Davis collected from the ruck and showed that the Reds do not lack in physical presence themselves, giving the Reds an early lead. Baildon worked their way back into the game, eventually working to a Reds’ scrum close to their own try line. Pressure in the scrum, with quick movement from the Baildon scrum half led to a loose ball and Baildon were first to pounce bringing the score to 5-5.

George Radcliffe kept up his work rate and earned a try for Jacob Bower to restore the lead. Throughout the day, several players could be seen putting in solid tackles, but none more so than Charlotte Siddall. Perhaps her new headguard was to protect her head, perhaps it was to protect the opposition. Either way, two examples showed how powerful effective tackling can be. In the first, Charlotte took on the largest of the Baildon U10s. With her shoulders down and back straight, the Baildon player was run across the pitch and out into touch. It took more than a few minutes before the game could be restarted … The second came straight after Jacob Bower’s try, Charlotte racing in to take the Baildon attacker round the legs, while Jack Davis clattered in as the second half of the tackle. I’m glad I wasn’t playing. Jack Davis had his opportunity to put that spirit into the attack minutes later when he collected the ball at stand off, blasting his way through tackles to score his second of the game.

Half time saw strong words of encouragement from the coach, coupled with a plea to make use of the space available for this game.

Sadly, Rishies began to tire during the second half. Perhaps playing the best part of an hour through a gale was too much of a sap on stamina. Either way, Baildon steadily made their way back into the game, first outpacing the defence to a loose ball and then breaking missed tackles. Gaps began to open up in the Reds’ defence and Baildon worked themselves into a 25-15 lead.

In the closing minutes Reds sparked back into life and good straight running forced a penalty close to the Baildon line. The Reds moved the ball across to Jacob Bower who finished the move clinically and there was now just one score in it. Baildon just held out, Jacob Bower unluckily putting a foot in touch before reaching the corner. A final concerted move with a number of Reds combining well looked as if it might yield the final score but the ball became buried and the whistle blew at 25-20 to Baildon.

Coach Steve Cockroft hailed the team’s “absolutely superb performance”. The rucking and mauling during both games had again been a strong point and, whilst the size of the Baildon team had left its impression on the second game, the Reds had shown their ability to play the game well. Credit justifiably went to Will McDonnell in his debut at scrum half. Work off the pitch preparing for the game, together with a lively contribution on the day earned Will the Effort Award, while Man of the Match went to Jacob Bower for his determined play including two scores in the second game and two desperately close near tries.

Squad: Charlotte Siddall, Jack Davis, Nathan Cooper, Thomas Cockroft, Thomas Creasy, Gregory Day, Jacob Bower, William McDonnell, George Radcliffe, Billy Whythe, Sam Brant

Man of the match: Jacob Bower Effort award: William McDonnell

Hugh Creasy

Under 10's
In Appalling conditions Rishworthians with a mixed squad of under 10's and 11's took on the Baildon full under 11 squad.
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Baildon (Under 11s) 45 - 35 Rishworthians
The game started badly for Rishworthians when Baildon scored straight from the kick off. However Rishies bounced back straight away to level the scores. Play moved backwards and forwards from one en of the pitch to the other. In the strong wind Rishworthians kept the ball at close quarters with excellent use of the rolling maul and went in at half-time level.

The Topsy-turvy pattern continued in second half with Rishworthans matching Baildon try for try. But as Rishies tired against a bigger side a couple of spilled balls and two break-away tries by Baildon enabled them to sneak it. It was a great performance against an under 11 side in bad conditions. Tom Hammond took man of the mach scoring 5 tries and Harvey Keighley-Payne put in some great defensive work to take the effort award.