Great Morning for the Under 14s V Basildon

Whilst rain hindered the coaches’ final preparations for the visit from Basildon with the cancellation of Thursday night training, a spirited display by Enfield Ignatians saw them over the line with a nail-biting victory. Enfield was delighted to have a number of debutants run out for the team including Daniel, Liam, Logan and Teddy. This was in addition to some newer members of the team getting some much-needed game time. The team were supported by a few old heads on the pitch in the form of a trio of Olivers and the Barnes-Tooley twins, but also from the sidelines where the rest of the boys were only too willing to provide some strategic opinions.

The whistle blew and within a minute Basildon had crossed Enfield’s try line. The boys hadn’t quite woken up to the task in hand with some missed tackles and poor positional play allowing Basildon an early touch down which was not converted. The boys then began to start to play with some strong runs; but the running was unsupported resulting in a number of turnovers at the ruck in what was turning into a scrappy game in the middle of the park. Enfield gradually pushed Basildon back and applied some territorial pressure without, however, troubling the scoreboard. A strong run from Max ended with him picking up a minor knock meaning Matteo joined the fold in an unfamiliar role as centre and it didn’t take him too long to get going when he crossed the Basildon try line with a strong burst. Enfield had points on the board and took a slender 2-point lead when Ollie G stroked home the conversion kick.

From the restart scrappy play resumed until Basildon ran through Enfield’s defense a little too easily for their second try which was duly converted. Basildon held this 12-7 lead as the half-time whistle blew.

The second half started in a similar fashion to the first. Enfield overloaded their defensive line on the open side meaning there was little resistance on the blind side and Basildon ran in an easy third try, which was not converted. Basildon had extended their lead to 10 points at 17-7. After this setback, Enfield started to get a little more cohesion about their play and some strong runs from Harry and Berkay moved Enfield out of their own half. Enfield steadily moved the ball forward with the ball eventually reaching Ollie G to score; although the conversion from an awkward angle didn’t quite make it through the uprights Enfield were back in the game but still trailing by 5.

As the game approached the final quarter, Isaac - playing as fly-half - went off for an injury forcing a reshuffle in the backline and Patrick joining the game as full-back. The pack had been working hard around the ruck and in the scrum to create space down the left which Patrick exploited to break free and put Enfield on level terms with Basildon. The conversion - against the wind and from a tight angle - missed to the left.
In the final period of play Basildon put Enfield under pressure down Enfield’s right and if were not for some excellent defending on Enfield’s try line and the team backing up a clearance kick form Ollie H, Basildon could have crossed the line. With these plays Enfield pushed forward up the right and, following a good run by Donie, Ollie G kept the momentum going and broke free to run in a decisive score in the final minute. The conversion, from a difficult angle, was missed but Enfield had finally taken the lead at 22-17. The restart was the final play and the kick off was taken securely by Ollie S who kicked it out to touch for a home victory.
 
The coaches will take a lot away from today getting to know their new additions to the team and the pack was certainly bolstered with Daniel, Liam and Teddy. There were also a number of players in new positions with notable mentions to Chenitha who ran the left wing well, Max who ran strongly playing centre and Ollie S playing flanker (who was a nuisance all day around the breakdown and was quick to break from the scrum to force mistakes from Basildon’s scrum half).

Overall, a great day for Enfield Ignatians boys’ U14s and it was fantastic to see players old and new bond together and get a win in the basking sun. Onto Woodford next week!