A win for All MAC's U16's

Melkham kicked off and the early exchanges were tightly contested with some good runs matching some stout defence. But it was Melkham who scored first with a bundling run through the heart of the defence for a try after 10 minutes that was duly converted. 0-7

The restart was fumbled and knocked on by Melkham- not for the last time today. The resulting scrum wheeling right before Immi took the ball through the defensive line to release Katie and Amele before the ball was lost on the floor and the visitors kicked the ball clear. But the kick only got as far as Immi who picked the ball up inside her own half before beating half a dozen defenders. Melkham returned the ball into All Mac half down the right touch line where Bella produced a solid tackle as Immi stepped in to steal the ball and win a penalty.

A short while later Melkham scored again as the All Mac defensive line fractured taking the score to 0-14

And the 3rd try followed shortly afterwards as the restart was taken down the left hand side where Amele made a brilliant covering tackle. The ball was then spun wide right by Melkham but despite a bruising tackle by Molly the Melkham hooker took the ball over the line to make the score 0-19.

But All Macs have traditionally been slow starters and today was no different. After another knock on at the restart the resulting scrum released Katie past two defenders to get inside the visitors 22. A few short runs from Evie, Molly and Darcy off the breakdowns brought them closer to the first score but the referee deemed a double movement from one of the attackers and gave a penalty to Melkham. Despite this; All Macs returned the clearing kick through Immi who offloaded to Katie to pierce the defensive line and earn All Macs a penalty of their own. Sharp thinking from Emmie to take the quick tap saw Amele get the ball 10 metres out and take two defenders with her over the line for the first All Mac score that was duly converted by Kira. 7-19.

As the first half draw near to a close the All Macs produced a highlight reel moment as a clearance kick from a scrum inside the All Mac 22 was chased down and recovered by Anneliis who managed to offload in the tackle to Katie at halfway who in turn offloaded to Kira at the 22 ably supported by Immi who offloaded one last time to Georgie to take the try amid a pile of defenders as the halftime whistle blew

Half time 12-19

An early run from Amele linking nicely up with Bella on the right wing helped All Mac establish field position from the second half kick off but Melkham regained possession and looked to improve their field position only for a combo tackle by Rose and Emmie forced another knock on by the visitors giving All Macs put in at the scrum.

Melkham had had the upper hand at scrum time throughout the first half but All Macs managed to dominate this collision for Georgie to pick from the base before passing to Immi who sold her opposite number a beautiful dummy and ghosting through the resultant gap in the defence and deep into the Melkham half.

Another scrum to AM and another pick and run from Georgie took the ball deep into the 22 when a knock on gave the scrum to Melkham. This time it was All Macs who had the upper hand at the scrum but the opposition scrum half managed a clearance kick up towards halfway where Anneliis collected the bouncing ball running horizontally along the halfway line in front of the advancing defensive line, turning the corner up field leaving her one on one with a drifting final defender who was left flat footed by a shimmy step outside and a sprint down the right touchline for a fabulous solo try - All Macs their third of the game to pull the score to 17-19.

Throughout the game play was dictated by the superb interplay between the All Macs fly half backs and centres. Equally threatening in defence and attack the three-quarters took the restart back into the opposing half and then through a shuddering tackle dislodged the ball allowing Georgie to take possession. All Macs moved the ball up field with helpful runs from Evie, Molly and Darcy before a bouncing ball was pounced on by Amele who released Katie through two defenders and in for the fourth try that was well converted by Kira.

Another cross field run by Anneliis fed runs from Katie and Maisie before Emmie proved a real annoyance to the Melkham line out earning a scrum penalty for her team. A trademark run from Georgie off the back of the scrum then provided a neat offload to Katie who took the ball over for the try and having the presence of mind to take advantage of the space behind the posts to make the conversion easier for Kira who duly slotted over her third conversion of the day. 31-19

Fearing the game slipping away from them; Melkham launched an attack of their own from lose ball that was taken up to halfway by the scrum half then tackled by Anneliis only to for the ball to be popped up to the rampaging number 8 who took the ball half the length of the pitch to score under the posts. 31-26

As most players started to fade, Evie Parker caught her second wind and made a number of charges up field breaking the defensive line on at least three occasions whilst picking up valuable metres into the opposition half. As Melkham pushed to even the scores; the well organised and committed All Mac defence held firm and ultimately earned a holding on penalty to bring the game to an end.

Both teams should be very pleased with their rugby today as a combination of fast running rugby and close phased, technical running made for a great game for the spectators.

Whilst initially being dominated by the opposing pack the All Macs forwards regained parity and at times dominated the at close quarters. Lottie B and Georgie worked well together to link the forwards and backs as Immi ran the ball and distributed masterfully. Amele and Bella gave width to the game and were as stout in defence as they were dangerous in attack. Anneliis’ highlight reel from today is worthy of its own match report as she brought a touch of flare every time the ball came near her. The centre pairing of Katie and Keira was simply outstanding both in attack and defence- it’s possible that one or two Melkham players will wake up tomorrow with Kira shaped bruises on them such was the ferocity of her tackles. The often forgotten forwards fought heroically in the scrum and at the breakdown and provided excellent go forward ball when it was needed. Special mentions to Evie and Georgie for their running play, Rose and Emmie for their work in defence and Molly for her leadership. Well done and thank you to the coaches for helping the team put together a highly entertaining game.