A waterlogged pitch saw Oundle U15s make the trek south to Saints for their East Mids Cup
fixture on Sunday. The game started at a frenetic pace with St Neots kicking off to start the
match and Oundle pounding straight back down the pitch at us. This was to be the theme of
the match, big runs, and big tackles. Some of the biggest tackles of the match were put in by
Alfie Tokens and Josh Griffin (who also captained the team).
While both teams were sizing each-other up, an early penalty saw Jack Chamberlain open
Saint’s account with three points. Oundle came back at us and after some time where both
teams were putting in a combination of strong plays in the centre and great runs by the back.
A try and conversion saw Oundle take the lead.
Late in the half with stalemate in the middle of the field Jack Chamberlain put a lovely
cross-field kick in the direction of the left wing. Harvey Collins sprinted down the line to
connect with the ball just beside the flag and slide over in the corner for St Neot’s first try.
The conversion was close, but just ducked under the bar.
The second half started as the first, this time with St Neots receiving. Both teams made
multiple phase gains against the opposition, but it was Oundle who put three converted tries
past Saints to open up a gap between the teams. The Oundle kicker seemed to be able to
find the posts from anywhere on the pitch.
In the middle of the second half a series of three rucks within Oundle’s 22 and a quick pass
by Matthew gave Alfie the opportunity to score beside the posts. Jack brought the scores
closer together with a conversion. Late in the second half the ball was passed wide and the
ever-present Harvey made a fantastic run down the left wing, surviving multiple attempts to
tackle him into touch. Unfortunately, when reaching for the try line he was judged to have not
been in control when touching the ball down, denying saints the opportunity to close the
scores.
After a very physical contest, which could have gone either way for most of the match,
Oundle finished ahead of St Neots by 11 points, with a final score of 15-26. Oundle
nominated Jack Chamberlain as Man of the Match