Long Eaton Vs All MACs U16s - A fitting end to the season

As if to honour the final game of the season the All Macs boasted a near full availability of players for their away trip to fierce local rivals Long Eaton. Previous encounters had proved close affairs and so it would turnout to be once again at West Park. To complete the celebrations; All Macs welcomed Ella to the team for her first ever game of rugby having trained with the team on a number of occasions in the past few weeks.

The bright sunshine, dry weather and mild temperatures belied the typical rugby season conditions and the pitch looked great for some running rugby. It was the home team that started fastest with continued phases taking the ball down field until they managed to touch down after about 5 minutes. The conversion struck the cross bar and fell short as Long Eaton took a 5-nil lead.

Returning to her former club; Amele clearly had the bit between her teeth as she racked up tackle after tackle (7 in the first 10 minutes by my count) but the All Mac staunch defence was penalised and then marched back 10 for apparent back chat which gave the home team great position inside the visitors 22. Quick tap, tight line running resulted in another try this time excellently converted.
12-0

All Macs are famous for their slow start and generosity at the beginning of games only to roar back into contention later in the match and so it was not unusual to see an attacking scrum won from the kick off provide a platform for Georgie to run from the back, suck in the defence and create space for Annelis to run in for the first visitors try of the day.
12-5

Solid scrums, lineouts and tackles mixed with good running breaks from Annelis, Summer, Kira, Amele and Lottie B highlighted the next 10 minutes of back and forth play between the 22’s. But a moment of brilliant awareness and skill from Kira, ably supported by Summer took the ball from midfield into the opposing 22 and won a penalty as the Long Eaton defence struggled to contain them. A quick tap from Kira, handed off to Georgie created a hole in the defensive line for Kira to reappear and score to the right of the posts and then knock over the conversion to level the scores.

Shortly before half time, Ella made her first appearance as an injury replacement and immediately made an impact as she crossed the gainline before being pulled down. Long Eaton, somehow, regained possession thereafter and put the winger into space for their 3rd try on the stroke of halftime.
19-12

The ‘back and forth’ play continued after the break but Long Eaton then managed to win a penalty inside the All Mac 22 where a quick tap and powerful run from the LE number 8 gave them another try to extend the lead to 26-12

All Macs could easily have folded and let the game get away from them at this point but instead they showed fantastic resilience and fight to claw themselves back into contention. Firstly it was the forwards who drove the ball up field earning multiple penalties along the way. Running the ball tight to the break down, they forced their way to the line and it was Kira who managed to bundle over for her second of the afternoon before converting it moments later. 26-19

Tired bodies fought to keep Long Eaton at bay but their number 8 was having a superb game and powered through to create another try. Ably converted by the kicker to make it 6 out of 7. 33-19

A knock on by the hosts then allowed All Macs to launch an attack from Annelis on the left wing running horizontally across the pitch in front of the defensive line before turning the corner, now on the right wing, and sprinting 25metres to score. Kira adding the extras to bring the All Macs to within one score of the home team. 33-26

With very few minutes left in the game; Kira showed great awareness once again to steel the ball off the floor on her own try line and advance through the rallying defence. Sprinting across the 22 she found Annelis in support who pinned her ears back, turned on the afterburners, released the hand break and left a scorched trail in her wake to score under the posts from deep in her own half completing her hat trick in the process. To add the cherry on the cake and top off a fantastic all round display; Kira stepped up to slot the conversion home (making her 6 from 7 from the kicking tee) and secure a draw as the referee blew his whistle for full time.

This was a hard fought game littered with great skill and talented players but played in the right spirit throughout and most felt the 33-33 scoreline was a very fitting result. It was wonderful to see brilliant teamwork and support throughout to mark the end of a fantastic season and wave the older under 16’s off into the next age group for next season.