Rishworthians win a very entertaining game Match report Sunday 20th September Friendly Rishworthians started well and took the game to Moortown with a series of well worked moves but were soon five points down as a loose ball was kicked the length of the pitch with the Moortown player winning the race and going over for a try. A setback early on would have seen heads drop last season but the new found confidence and excellent team spirit saw the Rishworthians boys get straight back into the game applying good pressure on the opposition in their own half. A series of good moves between the forwards and the backs saw a cross field chip by Josh Kelly picked up by Jack Ledgard who showed good skill and strength to go over and level the points. Kelly added the conversion and Rishworthians were back in the game at 7-5. The rest of the half was a close game with both teams showing strengths in different areas. Moortown were particularly good with the ball in hand and space to move it and with Rishworthian's tackling letting them down, it was only last ditch defensive work that kept Moortown out for a long spell in the first half. Having soaked up pressure, Rishworthians started to establish some good field positions and looked threatening each time they got near Moortown's 22. As it was half time saw the score at 7-5 to the home team. Half Time: Rishworthians 7 - 5 Moortown Rishworthians started the second half with some good spoiling rugby, stopping Moortown's fast backs from developing any rhythmn and defending high-up in Moortown's half. The half was well balanced for long periods with Moortown starting to dominate in the set pieces but Rishworthians playing well in the loose and kicking well from defence. Rishworthians were beginning to put some good runs together and when Broadbent made a strong break he kept the ball alive and good support from Collett saw the big lock power over for a well deserved try. Ledgard was wide with the conversion. At 12-5 Rishworthians needed to keep the momentum going but a bit of sloppy play gave Moortown a penalty well into Rishworthians's half and the kick from hand was followed up well by the Moortown winger who went over for a try. The conversion was just wide keeping Old Rishwothian's just ahead at 12-10. The game wasn't over yet and while Moortown worked hard to get the crucial score for a win, it was Rishworthian's who added the important points with Ledgard getting his second try of the game with a well worked move. Kelly's conversion was just wide of the posts. Rishworthians finished the match with confidence and could have added more points if not for some good defensive work by Moortown. Final Score: Rishworthians 17 - 10 Moortown This was one of the best performances by the under 16's and demonstrates the continual improvement. The rucking and mauling was good with the forwards putting together several phases of play and the backs having the confidence to move the ball out wide. It was also pleasing to see a squad of 22 players turning out and with 2 good wins out of 2 they can go into next weeks cup game in a positive frame of mind. Well done lads Man of the Match: Gary Hayes.
Another good win for Rishworthians U16s in a closely fought contest against a strong Moortown side from Leeds. This was the first time these teams had met and neither side knew what to expect - as it turned out both sides played some good rugby in excellent conditions.Click here to view Moortown website
| Team | ||||
| 1. Fowles | 2. Illingworth | 3. Thomson | ||
| 6. Mansell | 7. Broadbent | |||
| 4. Zientek | 5. Collett T | |||
| 8. Seleznev | ||||
| 9. Cowey | ||||
| 10. Ledgard T2 | ||||
| 12. Kelly C | ||||
| 13. A Watkins | ||||
| 11. Floyd | 14. Bottomley | |||
| 15. Hayes | ||||
| Subs | ||||
| Brierley | Smart, Norville | Effenfield-Nann | Percival | T Hurst, Norcliffe |