Upton U16 vs Malvern U16 31st January 2025
Venue: Banwell Park
Kickoff 19:30
Referee: David Surch North Midlands RFU
A return fixture at home to Malvern was much anticipated after a loss earlier in the season on a cold November night at Spring Lane.
Friday night lights seemed the most appropriate setting for such a worthy clash.
Upton kicked off to Malvern who carried well into the first contact. From the initial exchanges it was very obvious to any spectator that both teams were well up for the battle. With big hits and big carries much of the first 5 minutes were spent between the two ten meter lines.
A couple of penalties gave Malvern the opportunity to advance up field and after a good line out drive they were making their way closer to the try line. Showing good patience and recycling well they kept probing both side of the ruck to find an opening in the Upton defence. They held resolute and when Malvern made a desperate attempt to get over the try line they were held up over the line and a goal line dropout was awarded to Upton who summarily cleared their lines.
With some more brutal play in the middle of the park and both teams engaging tough scrums and some hard exchanges in the loose play, Upton eventually got some penalties for their hard work at the breakdown.
Advancing into Malvern’s 22, slick line out work ensured a good mid field carry drawing in defenders and giving opportunities for the backline. They came close, but Malvern held out.
Upton showed good patience in retaining possession and probing with hard carries. Eventually an opportunity opened on the blindside. Brook received the ball from a ruck and with some deft footwork made a break towards the line, the cross defence moved quickly to close it down, but first with a dummy pass then a gentle floating pass, Brook drew 4 players to him. Noah on the wing took the pass and like a typical winger pinned his ears back and sprinted for the line, protecting the ball with his body he slid across the line scoring in the corner.
Buoyed by the energy from the try, Upton immediately ran hard back at Malvern from the kickoff. However Malvern was not going to give in that easily. More resolute defence from them gave a turnover and they came back at Upton.
Again the game was played between the two 22s as possession changed hands and both teams trying various probing options to break the opposition’s defensive lines and structures.
A out-of-character loose play from both teams saw the ball hacked gently into Brook hands who decided to try a banana run to get around the defence which worked and he broke the line on the outside and was streaking down the far touchline. The cross cover defence came to halt the big fella, but once again with footwork, some handoff’s and a very delicate back of the hand flip to Cory again setup the speedy winger to run free and score Upton’s Second try.
Some more meaty exchanges in the middle of the park led to a well deserved half time break for both teams.
The second half started much like the first half ended. Big carries in the midfield met by big defence from the opposing team.
There were chances for Upton as they worked their way into Malvern’s 22 meter area, but just couldn’t find a way through.
At this stage the game had become very gladiatorial with players aiming to try and bludgeon their way up the field rather than trying structured play and advancing with guile.
Penalties changed to tap and run rather than kicking for field position and using lineouts to start moves. This was a great spectacle for the crowds watching seeing big players making big runs and matched by big hits and big drives back. Of course this type of confrontational play could lead to some frayed tempers and briefly boiled over into a meet and greet for some players in the middle of the field who seemingly hadn’t met each other before in the game.
The ref called the two captains over for a brief discussion on greeting etiquette and allowed them to get this message across to their players.
The intake of oxygen calmed some thinking and Malvern advanced up the field with some big scrums which they were starting to dominate and driving lineouts which placed tremendous pressure on the Upton defence.
The last ten minutes was spent in the Upton 22 defending feverishly against some very determined Malvern attack. Inevitably this pressure led to frequent penalties and eventually the referee brandished a yellow card for continuous infringements.
The last 5 minutes of the match was played out in a small area between the sideline and 15 meters in within the 5 meter area of Upton’s tryline.
It was an absolutely brutal onslaught from Malvern trying to get something from the game, met with even more determination from the Upton team not to allow that to happen. Some more yellow cards reduced Upton to 12 players on the field.
They never yielded and eventually one of the massive hits on a Malvern player dislodged the ball and the referee blew the whistle for the knock-on and the end of the match.
The sheer unbridled joy from the team and their many supporters was a truly beautiful site to behold.
A well-deserved victory in a hard fought battle against our fiercest rivals.
Well done to all the players from both teams delivering such a wonderful rugby spectacle for all to enjoy.1
