Sunday 7th February 2010

West are Best at U12s  

Wetherby 7 West Park Leeds 52 

A badly depleted Wetherby side struggled to contain West Park Leeds at Grange Park. The visitors were stronger in most aspects of play, scoring six tries to Wetherby’s one, Will Copley benefiting from a kick-ahead.  Ed Contreras worked hard in the rucks and Callum McHenry carried the ball well. Ben Taylor competed well in the line-out and Greg Hirst tackled hard. Ben Thompson covered a lot of ground and Niall Robinson marshalled the pack well. But defensive weakness and the lack of a solid scrum cost Wetherby the game.  

Wetherby 0 Whitby 42 

The Wetherby B team was also badly hit by absentees, losing several key players who had to be called-up as cover for the A team against West Leeds. Despite this, it was a brave performance, with much for the team to be proud of. The forwards in particular held Whitby at bay, with Jake Wilby outstanding at lock, constantly driving forwards and tackling aggressively. Podraig Gwyn-Jones was heavily involved, Alex Mann was clearly learning fast at Hooker and Henry Evans clearly enjoyed his new role as kicker. Well done to the whole team and especially Jo Driver, captain for the morning and prop Alex Humphries, who came with a foot of his first try for Wetherby.

Sunday 24th January 2010

Stearn Double Deals with Dalesmen 

Wensleydale 14 Wetherby 21 

Wetherby U12 took a full squad on the trip up to Wensleydale, electing to play four ‘quarters’ so all players were fully involved. The strong starting team played uphill and soon managed to turn their forward strength into scoring opportunities. Tom Stearn regularly had the beating of his opponent for speed on the outside, to twice score in the corner after quick service from centres Andrew Hulmes and Tom Savage. 

At the change-around, the less experienced Wetherby players had a chance to take on the very physical Wensleydale side, Alex Davies and Poraig Gwyn-Jones in particular doing well under pressure. Jack Paine also tackled hard around the fringes. Ben Taylor and Alex Humphries dominated the scrums, giving Wetherby plenty of good ball with which to launch their backs.

After conceding a try from a blind-side scrum move, Wetherby battled back when half-backs Niall Robinson and Tom Wright kicked intelligently down the slope. Callum McHenry and Ben Thompson drove the ball on, for Ed Contreras to eventually score from close-range.  

Wensleydale again scored to keep themselves in the game, exploiting weak tackling in the last quarter of the match. But Wetherby controlled possession and territory well, with James Megarry and Seb Pitt constantly making hard yards, driving strongly from short pop-passes close to the rucks. In the end it was a more comfortable win than the score-line would suggest, but a good competitive game played in a good spirit.

Sunday 15th November 2009

Wetherby (14) v Thirsk U13s (12)

Wetherby were not expecting to play Thirsk, who arrived early expecting an U13 fixture. So the team did well to get into their stride quickly, Tomas Wright controlling the game cleverly from stand off. Along with relieving box-kicks from scrum half Niall Robinson, Wright’s kicking in a strong wind ensured the game was played in the Thirsk half. The pressure of the Wetherby rush-defence eventually resulted in a scrum from which Tom Savage galloped over for his first of two tries.

Andrew Hulmes had his best game yet in a Wetherby shirt, almost scoring a try and handling skilfully at inside centre. Tom Stearn also had a good morning, demonstrating the technique for dropping on the loose ball which the team had practiced on Wednesday. For the forwards, Ed Contreras, Seb Pitt and Ben Thompson were dominant in the rucks with Matt Jones and Callum McHenry more than holding their own against far larger front row from Thirsk.

Only the huge Thirsk centre presented an attacking threat on a bad day for wingers. But this was a worthwhile physical test. Wetherby tackled far better than in previous weeks, keeping the big Thirsk U13 players at bay and eventually running-out winners in a close fought game.

Wetherby U12B (0) v Castleford U12 (14)

There was more tackling practice for Wetherby in this match, when the tough Castleford runners battered and crashed at a mostly resilient defence. Tom Stearn’s cover-tackle epitomised their efforts and brought huge applause from the home spectators.

Wetherby fielded nearly all of their squad as the first team tired, with Marcus Cornelissen and Jack Paine impressing as replacements in the pack. Alex Mann and then John Uddin battled valiantly at hooker, with Henry Evans, Will Shuttleworth, Jo Driver and Pat Daley-Dee all contributing in the backline. But Castleford were too physical for Wetherby’s second string players and scored twice to win the game by just two tries.
 

Sunday 15th November 2009

U12s wait to hear Yorkshire Cup outcome

Wetherby U12s finished fourth in their Yorkshire Cup qualification tournament at Guisborough this weekend. The highlights of the morning were two tries by Tom Stearn, first scything through the Wensleydale midfield on an outside arc and then finishing another great move in the corner. Callum McHenry also scored after a typically bullocking burst from close range. 

After containing an impressive Middlesbrough side to loose by just one try in the semi-final, Wetherby finished fourth overall and must now wait to hear if they qualify for the last sixteen, an outcome which would be the side’s best ever performance.
 

Sunday 1st November 2009

Wetherby 50 Ripon Barbarians 0

Probably one of the wettest and windiest days this year was the backdrop to a great game between Wetherby and Ripon U12’s. Ripon braved the weather but were unable to bring a full squad however thankfully Wetherby turned out in force, providing so many players that we were able to go ahead with a Wetherby versus Ripon Barbarians fixture.

From the off the teams got stuck in from both sides and despite a strong wind and wet, slippy ball the quality of play was high with few mistakes from either side. Wetherby played into the wind during the first half but the strength in the pack shone through and this provided Wetherby many opportunities, eventually resulting in 4 tries being scored by half time, including two by Callum McHenery.

Ripon Barbarians refused to give up and in the second half came out with enthusiasm, ultimately though, with the wind in their favour Wetherby ran in more tries, including a hat trick for Callum plus notable tries from Matt Jones off the back of a ruck, Ed Contreras, driving over from 5 metres out and stand off Tom Wright , a great solo effort cutting back inside the defence to score under the posts. The Wetherby team members that formed part of the Ripon’s Barbarians also deserve a mention, great tackling from Harry Johnson and Tom Savage prevented Wetherby making even more of an impression on the game.

The final score was 10 tries to nil but it was a good game for all involved.

Harrogate 25 Wetherby 5 

Wetherby made a credible challenge to Harrogate on Sunday, losing a close game mostly due to weak tackling in the backs. Wetherby found they had very little time behind the scrum as Harrogate pushed-up fast and at least one Harrogate try resulted from midfield mistakes under pressure. 

The highlight of the match came in the first half when Wetherby scored a classy try to level the scores. The forwards won a ruck twenty metres out from the Harrogate line and scrum-half Niall Robinson had time to look-up, assess his options, then put a scoring pass out to Will Copley on the blind-side. Copley finished the move with style in the corner.  

In the B team game, spirited performances by Greg Barrington-Hirst and Harry Johnson against some of their Harrogate school mates are worthy of note, and Jake Wilby also had an effective morning in the loose. Most encouraging was the scrummaging of not only the regular front row but also the powerful second-team combination of Mann, Humphries and Cornelissen. New players Jack Paine and Podraig Gwyn-Jones again impressed and Henry Evans tackled aggressively at scrum-half. 

Middlesbrough 15 Wetherby 0 

This was another loss, but against another good quality opposition team, especially in the backs, where the Middlesbrough players were outstanding. The contrast between their passing and running lines versus a static Wetherby attack has focussed the squad on priorities for development this season.

Sunday 11th October 2009

Driffield 25 Wetherby 5

This was a very physical match in which six Wetherby players left the field injured within 15 minutes! Already significantly weakened by the loss of half the first team before kick-off due to injury, school games and swine flu, the large squad was still able to play thanks to overall squad numbers. But the backline was largely unrecognisable from the Cup side last week and new players Alex Mann, Oli Roberts, Jack Paine and Podraig Gwyn-Jones had to be ‘thrown in-at-the-deep end’ against far larger and experienced opponents, all doing very well under the circumstances.

Three tries down at half time, Wetherby battled on without a regular kicker, Davey McElwee showing his versatility and willingness to help the team by stepping-in at fly-half. A Wetherby try eventually resulted from the tactic of keeping the ball tight with the forwards, Callum McHenery driving over to score from short range.
 

Sunday 4th October 2009

U12 Land Rover Cup

On Sunday 4th October, Wetherby U11 and U12 played in a national cup competition organised by Guinness Premiership Clubs and sponsored by Land Rover. This was the first competitive fixture of the 2009/10 season and an opportunity to play against the best teams in the County. Wetherby U12s were drawn in a qualifying group with Wensleydale, who beat them last season, and one of Yorkshire’s top clubs, Sandal.

They started convincingly against Wensleydale, winning with a short-range try from Matt Jones. Then against Sandal, they played some efficient and combative rugby but were denied a draw in the last minute.

The tournament format meant a second match was played against each of the sides in the group. Against Wensleydale, an early lead of two tries, including a second from Matt Jones and a crash-ball penalty move in which new player Tom Savage topping a fine debut performance, were overhauled. One try was an unlucky freak in which Wetherby stopped playing after a whistle blast on a neighbouring pitch. The game ended a draw when a third Wetherby try was disallowed for a double-movement of the ball on the try line.

In the last match against Sandal, Wetherby lacked the cutting edge needed to break a strong midfield defence and the game was decided by a badly bouncing kick which was touched down, against the run of play.

The Wetherby forwards were outstanding most of the morning, pushing Sandal off their own scrum ball uphill three times and creating plentiful possession for scrum-half Pat Daley-Dee, whose breaks caused a real threat. Lineout moves worked well and ruck ball was characteristically quick.

In the backs, last season’s static and flat attacking was replaced by a more aggressive style with Thomas Wright varying play cleverly and kicking into space behind the defence. Centres Tom Stearn and Harry Johnson met a tough physical challenge in midfield, whilst wingers Davy McElwee and Andrew Hulmes tackled particularly strongly. They and full-back Oli Heum couldn’t find room out wide on the unusually narrow pitch.

Despite mixed results the team left Kirkstall encouraged by their organisation, decision-making and set-piece performance hoping to find more of a cutting edge in attack as they build towards the Yorkshire Cup in November.