Malvern U12s home to Ledbury 07/02/10
FEB
Malvern U12s B - 25
Ledbury U12s B - 20
Malvern scored the opening try in the first minute of play and then seemingly went to sleep handing the initiative back to Ledbury who piled on the pressure and scored the next two tries.
Towards the end of the half, Malvern recovered their composure and a good attacking run from Josh King finally took them back into the Ledbury half. Having spread the ball wide and carried it close to the Ledbury line, Malvern spurned a scoring chance by cutting the ball inside allowing the Ledbury defence to recover.
The second half started with Malvern back on the front foot as Sam Harcombe made a searing 50 yard run only for the ball to be held up in the try zone. Malvern made good use of the resulting 5 yard scrum and, after being set up by Miles Richardson, it was left to Jake Wrafter to place the ball to even up the points.
Four minutes later, Ledbury took the lead again but, with Malvern showing more alertness at the break down they dominated play and Jake Wrafter added a further two tries while Robert Wilson poached his first from around the ruck.
In the final minutes Ledbury took advantage of a tired home defence to add their fourth try to make nail biting finish.
Malvern U12s A - 10
Ledbury U12s A - 0
A gladiatorial battle between the two sets of forwards made this encounter a bruising but entertaining match.
In the early exchanges, both teams made forays into each other’s territory but neither of the packs was able to retain enough possession in the rucks and mauls to create a try. As the tackle count increased Malvern eventually strung together enough phases to break the Ledbury defence and spread the ball to Ben Richards who grounded the ball for a well deserved try.
Malvern confidence grew after getting some points on the board and the backs started to work the ball wide and showed some excellent handling skills to stretch the Ledbury defensive line and create gaps. It was the loose forwards that made the most of the gaps and consistently good running from Jack Curtis made the hard yards to take Malvern forward. As the fiercely competitive scrum, that proved a handful for the referee, and the set plays cancelled each other out it was the creative Malvern open play that proved decisive and led to a second try by Rory Atkins.
Towards the end of the game the physical commitment of both teams started to tell as injuries started to mount and legs became tired. Ledbury showed great spirit to keep Malvern working hard and to make this one of the best games seen at Spring Lane this season.
