U7C Sutton & Epsom Festival 13/04/08



12 teams competed in the festival and Sutton and Epsom were initially playing 5 matches before results were in to dictate which teams qualified for the runners up play off and the final between the winners of Group A and B.



Chobham Won 5-4

Chobham opened the scoring with an unchallenged run the length of the pitch but Harrison quickly managed to equalise with a convincing try to even the scoreline. Good tags were had by Jack and Tom and Rhys and Ellie both had great runs that came to an end when they were tagged. Chobham's next try was disallowed as the player was only wearing one tag. A valuable lesson to ensure that each player is wearing two tags. Tom scored two tries in quick succession backed up by a good run from Harry Quick. In the second half great teamwork particularly between Reuben and Tom ensured another try.Harrison made a valiant run and was knocked to the ground but in great team spirit got straight back up again. Rueben scored the closing try of the match.



Guildford Won

Maybe news of our inaugral victory had spread, maybe it was the thunderstorms or maybe something else? Whatever put them off Guildford were a no-show so Sutton & Epsom emerged winners.



Old Alleynians Drew 4-4

Full of confidence if a little cold due to not playing match 2 we started well with a great run by Ellie who was tagged just yards from the try line. Harry Quick full of bravado barged through the opposition and progressed the ball well until he was tagged. Reuben then scored a try. The second half went well but by then the heavens had opened and it was challenging enough for the team to stay on their feet. Jack scored a try unchallenged the length of the pitch and was matched soon after by a great try from Rhys.



Effingham Won 5-4

In the opening seconds of the game Jack set off like a rocket, ran the full length of the pitch and scored the opening try of the game. Rhys managed a good run and was then knocked flying by the opposition. He recovered brilliantly and managed to score our next try. Ellie then made an assertive challenge to Effingham just missing out on a tag. Harry Evans then runs the full length of the pitch to give us our third try. Harrison then lost his entire tag belt which stopped play while his wardrobe malfunction was corrected. At least he kept his shorts on! Jack opened the second half by two Effingham tags one after the other but Effingham still managed to score. Rhys was knocked down again and limped off after a good effort and Harry Evans came on as sub and immediately put in a strong challenge. We clocked up an impressive tag tally in the second half with Jack, Reuben, Harry Quick and Max. Harrison then scores the final try of the match to nudge us ahead in the dying seconds of the game.



Battersea Won 7-4

We were now full of confidence for our last match of the Group which was immediately knocked when Battersea scored the opening try of the game. Rhys then equalised  and Harry Quick got a tag.Harrison then scored a great try unchallenged by Battersea and Battersea's next try is disallowed for running out.Rhys gets a tag and Jack scores two tries within minutes of each other. We open the second half looking very strong with a great line and so it proved to be. Tagging galore takes place and once again we end  up winners.



After brilliant results at every game we were fairly confident we had made it to the final but went to clarify the situation with the powers that be in the control tent. Despite some controversy surrounding our win over Chobham that the ref had recorded as a draw we emerged as winners of Group A and therefore had qualified for the final!!  Our final match opponents were King's who were the winners of Group B.



Final King's Lost 4-7

The heavens had opened once more and a very cold team took to the pitch one last time. Rhys opened our scoring with a great try and Tom then took a tumble but managed to recover. Reuben then scored  a try and Lawrence took a great tag. Harrison then scored a try and Rhys got a tag.After half time it was evident that even if we could see through the rain King's were a phenomenal side with great tagging ability. Great runs by Max and Ellie followed Harry Quick tagging a King's player however the ball was by now very wet and Sutton & Epsom had difficulty holding onto it! Harry Quick and Harry Evans made some great passes and Reuben scored another try. Ellie got a great final tag but the last try of the match went to King's.



As runners up of the tournament all the team not only collected their well deserved medals but also received a trophy for their great achievement which was collected by Rueben on behalf of his team mates as Captain.

A brilliant result for the squad who kept fighting to the end despite the thunderstorms, torrential rain and waterlogged pitches.

Team photos were taken of the victorious squad with their handsome coaches - Donald, Mike and Buz!



Teamsheet: Alexander Howden, Tom Gill, Harry Quick, Harry Evans, Ellie Green, Lawrence Wise, Jack Aldred, Harrison Wray,Reuben Massay-Alstrom, Max Jackson, Rhys Kennedy.

Horsham A Festival 30/03/08

 

After a torrential downpour on Saturday many of the parents were expecting a cancellation when they received a text on Saturday evening, but the match was still on and the weather on the day proved to be better than expected. However, the evidence of the previous day rain was there to see with several inches of standing water on the pitch originally allocated to the U8s, so we were bounced to a couple of very small pitches at the back of the ground. Much to Lou's disappointment Andy Gomarsall didn't manage to make it over that far - rumours that he'd arrived late wearing a pair of very dark shades to conceal his appearance after a heavy night out on the town didn't seem to put her off (no wisecracks please Duncan about what she wanted him to sign).

 

Shoreham Won 7-4

Harry had been called up to the A squad after some impressive displays in training and for the Bs (becoming the 28th player to represent the team this season) and made an instant impression going over from the first play of the game.  We never looked back from there. Our other debutant, Robert (who'd had to pull out from the mudbath at Richmond 2 weeks ago) also got off the mark with a couple of tries and other efforts from Josh, two from Charlie and Joe breaking down the line untouched from the restart meant we cruised to a comfortable win.

 

Hove Lost 3-4

This proved to be a very evenly balanced match with the eventual league winners that really could have gone either way. We saw some really good aggressive defending with Cameron leading the tagging charge and put some real pressure on the Hove ball-carriers, but they had some good runners and scored twice. Cameron then proved as effective with ball in hand and put in a superb run and pulled one back just before half-time. Joe got another try, but we also conceded twice more. Luke squeezed over in the corner to get it back to 3-4, but that proved to be the last play of the match.

 

Horsham Won 9-6

This was another high-scoring win with Henry getting two and Charlie, Cameron, Josh and Joe also adding to their account.  Our fighting spirit was demonstrated by James, who got knocked down by one of their bigger players who'd run straight at him, but in true Chumbawamba style got straight back up again as the ref had played on. Ewan turned on the style with three excellent jinking runs to bag a hat-trick.

 

Effingham and Leatherhead Lost 4-7

We went into this match needing to win and hoping that Hove would drop some points in some of their other matches. Malcolm had chose a tricky fixture to make his coaching debut for the As as Effingham & Leatherhead proved to be a tough challenge. In the first half we had a couple of calls against us for too many steps, but this was understandable as there didn't seem to be much communication coming as to when we'd been tagged. Charlie kept us in the game with our second hat-trick of the day after Henry had opened the scoring, but we were always behind and it wasn't quite enough.

 

So despite the tacky conditions underfoot we had put on a exhibition of free-scoring rugby and managed to rack up 23 tries in our 4 games with no fewer than 9 of the squad crossing the line and all the rest make valuable contributions in every game - well done to everyone who played.  But there's only 1 more training session to work on our defending before our last competitive run-out of the season at the Surrey As.

 

Squad: Ewan Armitage, Robert Brown, Bobby Burns, Harry Carmichael, Keeley Emburey, Charlie Green, Joe Jackson, Henry Nice, James Ostling, Josh Tully, Cameron Walker-Filgate, Luke Woods

 

Coaches: Malcolm, Simon and Ian

SURREY A FESTIVAL AT DORKING 20/04/08

 

So the last fixture of the season had finally arrived - the Surrey As at Dorking - but as this fell on the last weekend of the school Easter break we found we had several first choice players and coaches unavailable. Fortunately Liam decided to bring the Collins tribe along for a day out supporting their team-mates and stepped in to cover the refereeing duties. Although Liam, along with many of the team, decided to take advantage of our late kick-off slot to grab some extra time in bed, we had to hand over to the parents to get the team warmed-up when I was called up to referee the opening fixture of the festival.  After the wind and rain of our recent run of festivals it was a pleasant change to play in the sunshine and to only have to use the tent to get some shade from the sun. We had pitched up right at the edge of festival site right next to a large open space to use for warming up, but that turned out to be the overflow car park, so we had to make do with some space between the parked cars - the management accept no responsibility for any damage to parked cars especially that black Porsche.

 

Warlingham Lost 3-4

In the team-talk we had focused on avoiding silly turnovers when we had the ball, and the message finally sank in, but only after we'd gone into touch 3 times during this match (after this game we showed some great ball retention and kept clear of those touchlines). Sammy opened the scoring with some great support play and Joe showed off his handling skills taking a ball off his toes to set up another try, with Jay and Charlie scoring.  The match was tied at 3-3 when they made a run for the corner but a fantastic covering tackle (was it Joe?) looked to have tagged them a few paces short of the line and also to have forced them into touch, but the try was awarded so we had to settle for a narrow defeat.

 

Chobham Lost 2-3

Another close one. The Chobham defence was very solid but we kept recycling the ball as our passing, support and handling was excellent and eventually prised out opportunities for David and Charlie to score.  Our tagging also improved in this match and we made a strong Chobham team work hard for their 3 tries.

 

Richmond Lost 1-5

This was the only game where we found the going tough.  At this point we noticed one of the dads supporting from the opposite touch-line looked strangely familiar - yes guys and gal you were being watched by one of the best ever Aussie rugby players (at the time of his retirement his 911 points were the record points scored in international rugby).  Sadly the bad news for us was that Michael Lynagh Junior seemed to have inherited his dad's skills and he ran in two early tries.  However, once we could see what we were up against our defence tightened up. The Richmond team also proved to be a very physical side with Josh playing on despite a nasty bang in the cheek and Sammy being penalised for going to ground after being knocked over when being tagged. She didn't let this put her off her game and was there again right on the shoulder when Ewan was tagged over the line to to put the ball down and score our consolation try.

 

Guildford Won 5-2

After a very long break for lunch we were straight back into our stride with a great display of attacking and defensive rugby to dominate the match against Guildford.  Charlie took full advantage of the opportunities and used his speed to run in no fewer than 4 tries, with the other added by Jay.

 

Battersea Drew 5-5

This was one of those matches where the opposition always had their noses in front but every time they scored we pegged them back.  There was some great tries from Ewan, Joe, Josh and Charlie. But when the referee called the last play of the game we were still 4-5 down. Charlie went on a run down the left and looked like he might make it to the line, but was tagged, the ball was passed out to the right where Cameron (I think) took it on and then passed out to the wing. The action seemed to run in slow-mo as Luke outflanked their last defender and make it in at the corner untouched to secure a draw in the very last play of the season.

 

That made a great end to our first season of competitive rugby and what I hope was a very enjoyable day for the team and parents. We had 1 good win, 3 very close matches and 1 heavy defeat, but there's no disgrace in losing to the eventual Surrey champions - Richmond sharing the title with Reeds after a 5-5 draw in the final. All of the squad played their part as we continued our policy of making sure that everyone played at least a half of every game. The tries were spread around 8 different members of the squad, with Charlie ending up top-scorer with a great haul of 7 tries. Both Liam and me were very proud of the effort of the team who were up against some of the best teams in the county.  Thanks to the assistance provided by the parents and special thanks to Liam, who turned out even though Josh had played last week in the Bs, and who was presented with a beer from the cool-box by Cameron, our captain in the final match.

 

I leave you with a last word from the afore-mentioned Michael Lynagh (according to his website he is available at competitive rates if you have a slot for an after-dinner speaker)

"Rugby for me, is the most wonderful team sport. It brings together a group of people from different backgrounds, possessing different personalities all with different ideas, varying degrees of skills and capabilities trying to achieve a common goal."



Squad: Ewan Armitage, Booby Burns, Jay Connor, Samantha Doherty, Charlie Green, David Hammond, Joe Jackson, James Ostling, Josh Tully, Cameron Walker-Filgate, Luke Woods

 

Coaches: Liam & Ian

Sutton & Epsom U18s 50(43) Old Whitgiftians U18s 8(3)

Sunday 20^th April 2008

Sutton U18s bolstered by a good number of U17 players were just too well drilled for this rather ramshackle Old Whitgiftian side.  The visitors played with heart and to their credit never gave up but they were no match for Sutton.  In the end Sutton began to lose concentration to some extent and were at time guilty of over complication otherwise the score would have been even higher.

Old Whits came at Sutton from the kick off but with Sutton's flanker George London burgling ball at will they soon lost possession.  Seb MacDonald broke away and with a massive hand iff which sent a would be tackler flying broke through the centre, he passed to winger Chris Baziwe who took it on then passed outside to charging hooker Tom Comerford who was forced into touch 5 metres out.  Old Whitgiftian won the lineout but again George London ripped the ball away and put centre Seb MacDonald over for the opening score.  It was George who got a well deserved 2^nd try for Sutton when having won a lineout the pack drove over from 22 metres for George to get the touch down.  Full back Adam MacKenzie-Parks converted.

Nuggety scrum half Jack Wray always alert to a gap next broke from the base of a scrum, the ball passed through the hands of almost the whole Sutton team before MacKenzie-Parks flew down the left wing to score midway to the posts, he converted his own try.

From the kick off Sutton's wing Chris Baziwe broke through then the ball was taken on by London and when he was stopped inches short Sutton drove over and Baziwe broke off to get the score.  MacKenzie-Parks converted 26-0 after 20 minutes.

Whitgiftians rallied a little after this and slowed the scoring rate down but when Sutton took ball against the head at a scrum on the Whitgiftian 22, Jack Wray spotted a gap down the blindside and sped over breaking several tackles on the way.  The conversion attempt dropped just short.

Whitgiftian then mounted a very dangerous attack of their own and it took desperate Sutton defence to keep them out but they eventually kicked a penalty to get on the board.  Sutton though scored again almost immediately when a great charge upfield by Ian Lippy Blanchard was taken on by fly half Bradley Marchant who scored next to the posts.  Adam MacKenzie Parks converted for Sutton to go in at the break 38-3 up.

Made a number of changes at half time and it took a few minutes for them to gel then a break by Marchant from a scrum on Whits 10 metres line was finished by wing Daryl Lindo.  Again Adam converted.

Sutton then lost concentration and a superb break out by Whitgiftians was finished when their left wing went over in the corner.  Sutton though had the final word when a from a catch and drive at a lineout 7 metres out prop Will Lloyd was driven over in the corner.  The conversion was missed but Sutton ended up 50-8 winners.

Next Sunday Sutton are at home to Guildford for their final league match of the season kick off 12.30pm on the 1^st team pitch prior to the Vets cup match against Sevenoaks.

Report and photos by John Ashton

Sutton & Epsom U18s 10 Kingston Under 18s 0

When this massive Kingston side appeared at S & E on Sunday lunchtime, I for one thought, " we are in trouble here."  However in the event Sutton's superior technique won over brute force and we had there set scrum going backwards throughout the game and unusually for the U18s got the rolling maul going to great effect.

One thing Kingston did well was defend helped it must be said by several Sutton players getting goal line tunnel vision and trying to go themselves rather than give the scoring pass.  Sutton pack performed so well that Kingston lived off scraps of possession which thanks to pressure from the Sutton backs they usually managed to lose or kick away. Jack Wray as usual made life miserable for the Kingston Scrum half.

Right from the kick off Sutton took the game to the visitors and having squandered 4 or 5 scoring chances Sutton eventually worked a backs move dragging the Kingston defence across to the right a deft switch of direction saw centre Seb MacDonald go in under the posts.  Full back Adam MacKenzie-Parks converted.  Sutton continued to press for the remainder of the half but there was no further score.

The opening 25 minutes of the second half was all one way traffic but staunch Kingston defence kept Sutton out and they had to settle for a penalty from Adam MacKenzie-Parks to stretch the lead to 10 points.

Kingston then mounted their only dangerous attack of the match pinning Sutton back on their own line for nearly 5 minutes but well organised and dogged defence just kept them out and eventually Sutton were able to clear their lines. It was about now that the referee deposited the burger and chips he had eaten before the game, onto the pitch.  Not a diced carrot in sight.  From then on until the final whistle, Sutton camped on the Kingston 22.  This was a good solid performance which although not giving the scoreline that Sutton should have had was a great team victory over one of the top sides in Division 1.

Several of the under 18s will be in the Sutton & Epsom U21 side on Sunday in the U21 cup final at Dorking.  The next U18s match is away at Old Whitgiftians on 20^th April.

UNDER 17'S WIN LEAGUE

After a 51-5 defeat of Battersea Ironsides on Mother's Day the under 17'S win league 2 therefore playing in the top flight next season - and deservedly so!

The turn around in this squad over the last 18 months has been immense.
Under the inspiring tutelage of Chris Martin and Doug Cooper along with the inimitable Jeff Parsons this squad does now not only believe in itself but also in it's ability to perform.

This year the hard work put in by all on the training field has resulted in this side being undefeated in the league and with only one match to go this is a massive achievement indeed.

A big WELL DONE must go to all the players, but also a mention and thank you to all the parents whose continued support remains tireless.

Warren Andrews (Team Manager)

GUILDFORD B FESTIVAL 24/02/08

 

Thought I'd give you the run down on the Guildford Festival for our Bs. So here goes. We got off to a fine start with the traffic surrounding Guildford Rugby Club, so much so that at the time of our first scheduled Kick Off we had four players ! Luckily our opponents REEDS only had five so a stay of execution was granted. Eventually we had enough to play and any squad formation and rolling subs plan that Mal, Jason and I dreamt of went straight out the window  together with any warm up or any other thing usually observed before a match, more about that later and so we were on !



REEDS Lost 2-6

REEDS are always good it seems and this day was no exception. They were fast and very keen. We lost this game mainly due to the littlens being very slow to form after any hand over to REED by try or infringement and our total loss of the ability to TAG ! Some great parallel running was displayed by a number of our little darlings with rarely a grab ever made and no attempt to run REED into touch ! On the plus side when attacking we put together some lovely multy fazes with good support. The ref played it very straight and absolutely to the rules which killed it a bit at a development fixture. We had a couple of tries disallowed  but that's how it goes. The score is a true reflection. Daniel Heinpuu scored a great try with real pace AND STAYED ON HIS FEET ALL DAY !!!!! Oscar Pitkethly had two not given for half a step extra but scored a great one when totally taken out on the line. True tears followed but recovered well (that's my boy ;) )



TEDDINGTON Lost 4- 6

This was a very similar story to above in every fashion. We were caught knapping and paid dearly. In attack we looked as good as them with Daniel Heinpuu running in another, Oscar Pitkethly getting two, catching them knapping in the same way and George Holyoake scoring a great one after good support and a solo run. It should be said at this point that ALL our players supported well and apart from the odd BOOMING back panic pass we ALL attacked well.



EFFINGHAM & LEATHERHEAD Lost 6-8

This was a closer call with it 4 all at half time. It really could have gone anyway but when it comes to NOT TAGGING why change the habit of a lifetime ! We needed to be sharper in this area but weren't.Daniel Heinpuu scored two this time and is very hard to catch with the ball, George Holyoake got another again from good supporting, Jacob Murray had a good run and scored as did Oscar. Harry Carmichael also scored after being hit hard. WELL DONE HARRY !



DORKING Won 3-2

YES ! WE WON ! White wash avoidance is worth it's weight in gold ! After a truly masterful pre match chat from the moany fat bloke we were a different side 1 true to say the Dorking were more evenly matched to us on the day and the game flowed. We tagged well in this one, spread across the pitch and even ran them into touch which shows we CAN DO IT ! Cameron Walker Fingamy Fildgate made a strong run for a try which was well deserved as a lot of his efforts were covering as a sort of full back for most games. George Holyoake scored a traditional Holyoake try and Harry Carmichael also got one and another knock I think.(He was truly in the wars this day ! )



COBHAM Lost 6-10

Cobham were lightning fast and we could really take a leaf out of their book in how they reform after try or hand over IMMEDIATELY and are gone. So much so that on at least two occasions, probably more I had just starting to explain to those who insisted on gathering round me to ask why it was a hand over when all I could do is stand and watch a little flash of blue and burgundy running towards our line virtually undetected and never in danger of being caught. Thanks in no small way to John, their coach, they appeared to be the Special Forces Unit of the tournament, almost Stealth bombers if you will and so the taste of victory was very short lived for us ! We did score SIX against them though so all was not lost (well it was but you know what I mean). Daniel H got another as did Jacob Murray and Ellie Green ran one in which was well deserved and a real crowd pleaser. My old mate Oscar got three this time and deserves my praise(for once) as he ran all day and tagged well also !



TWENTY ONE TRIES or TRYS ? in a festival means there is a lot going right and we can work on the areas that are not in readiness for the 2025 Six Nations !



Josh Finney, Jack Aldred, Alistair Stockley, Archie Fenn, Finlay Rogers and Rhys Kennedy were the rest of the squad and all ran all day and gave their all. WELL DONE GUYS.



Coaches Jason Finney, Malcolm Carmichael and Me (Duncan Pitkethly)



I swear by almighty God that the above is the truth, the whole truth and probably nothing like the truth ! Old habits die hard

Match report from Chobham C Festival 17/02/2008



Chobham Lost 1-5

Sutton and Epsom opened the Festival playing against the host team Chobham. Chobham were a formidable side and right from the start took the initiative with an opening try by a player who ran the full length of the pitch. Tom managed to tag a couple of players to even things up, followed by Lawrence who put in a good run to grab a tag. A second half try by Sammy was disallowed as he didn't stay on his feet. A lesson learned for the whole team! Harry did a brilliant dummy run to outsmart the opposition  allowing Fred to score our only try of the match and Tom got a lovely tag just at the final whistle.



Cobham Lost 3-4

Lessons learnt we were hungrier to win now. Fred grabbed a tag in the opening seconds of the match. We then got a warning from the ref for taking too long to pass. Cobham were given possession due to a forward pass and took full advantage by scoring a try however we came back strongly with a great run by Lawrence and a try by Tom. Tom and Maddie both got great tags but we didn't stop Cobham scoring again. In the second half Tom scored a brilliant try after running half the length of the pitch and there was some good passing from Alexander and Tom.



Old Reedonians Lost 1-4

After such a narrow defeat it was a credit to the team that they weren't disheartened. Again the presence of Tom made a big impact and a pass by Alexander to Tom resulted in a 'classic Tom' scoring a try after running half the length of the pitch, Lawrence got a great tag from one of their quicker players and there was a great run by Harry who unfortunately was judged to be over the sideline. Harry then made a great pass to  Alex J who both managed to collect tags as well. Alexander made a spectacular dummy run ensuring that he went forwards, backwards and sideways in an effort to cover as much of the pitch as possible. It may have outfoxed the opposition but it also confused his own teammates as well! In the second half Harry and Lawrence both got tags but Reedonians still managed to score again. Sam O'Brien scored a brilliant try but it was disallowed due to putting his knee down first. A tough lesson learned.



Teddington Lost 1-4

This was a classic match where the final score  did not reflect the level of play. Maybe due to the temperature starting to rise or the team spirit being alive and well or learning fast on the job Sutton and Epsom put in a great performance and played brilliantly like a well structured team. Harry had some great runs and Tom scored our only try of this match. Teddington went offside a couple of times but we weren't able to exploit these opportunities. Maddie got a brilliant tag as did Lawrence before Sam was judged to be offside. Seconds into the second half Tom got injured and came off for treatment. This consisited DAof cold water over his leg from Donald and some stern words and cash incentives from his Mum to get back on the pitch. Despite his injury the cash incentive proved that money talks and Tom scored our only try in the match at the end of the second half.



Ealing Drew 4-4

This was always going to be a tough match and we were under immense pressure to achieve a win. With the squad really thinking and playing like a team it looked like a real possibility. Sutton and Epsom opened the scoring with a 'classic Tom' with Ealing hot on our heels. Tom and Sammy were our main taggers in the match and Lawrence  scored a try just before the half -time whistle to even up the scoreline to 3 -3. In the second half the pressure was on. Sam O'Brien made a great run and a pass to Tom enabling him to rise  to the occasion with another try so the team achieved it's first draw of the tournament!!

 

All of the team should be very proud of themselves for what they have achieved and learnt to-day. Although we didn't win any matches and only drew one the performance of the team steadily improved throughout the day to a standard that could have beaten any of the other teams in the tournament.  All the team came away with a certificate and a dog tag/medal and had a team photo taken with their handsome coaches Don and Mike!



Squad: Samuel Bitton, Tom Gill, Fred Geen, Alexander Howden, Alex Jackson, Sam O'Brien, Jack O'Sullivan, Lawrence Wise, Maddie Taylor-Edwards, Harry Evans.

Old Ruts U18s 8 Sutton & Epsom U18s 25.

With a number of U17s in the squad and a fairly light weight front row it was with some trepidation that the U18s travelled to Old Ruts on Sunday.  However a great display of team rugby and aggressive defence saw them win far more comfortably than the scoreline might indicate.

Sutton started well and despite a short period of Old Ruts pressure never looked like conceding.  Then a great break up the right wing by Chris Baziwe took them deep into Old Ruts half.  Sutton battered away on the right sucking in the defence and then released the ball left to centre Seb Macdonald who using his great strength crashed over wide on the left for an unconverted try.  Sutton came straight back after this and went further ahead when full back Adam MacKenzie-Parks kicked a penalty.

Old Ruts are a good side and stung by the early Sutton scores they came back at the visitors and Sutton were forced to defend ferociously.  They eventually broke out and some poor discipline by one of Old Ruts locks moved a penalty 20m out to 10 metres from the line several pick and drives eventually saw Alex(Nails) Brice smash his way over wide on the left.  Adam MacKenzie-Parks converted from out wide for Sutton to go in 0-15 up.

After the break Sutton again mounted huge pressure on the Old Ruts line and scrum half Jack Wray picking up at the base of a ruck powered his way through several tackles to score in the corner.  The conversion went begging but Sutton now led 0-20.

Sutton had a little wobble after this allowing Ruts to score twice in 3 minutes.  First their scrum half kicked a penalty and then a lovely sweeping move saw them develop a two man overlap on Suttons right and despite the valiant efforts of Suttons Winger Chris Baziwe faced with three players coming at him Ruts left winger went over wide on the left for an unconverted try.

Having had a breather Sutton woke up again and pounded the Old Ruts line until eventually a clever move in midfield caused a yawning gap to open in the hither to excellent Old Ruts defence and centre Seb Macdonald sped through only to be tap tackled 2 metres from the line.  Brad Marchant was there however to take the pop pass and score on the left.

Next Sunday 10th February Sutton’s U18s are away at Cobham for their next league match.

Sutton & Epsom RFC 31 Hertford RFC 36

A late rally by Sutton very nearly robbed Hertford of the win in this London Division 1 match at Rugby Lane on Saturday but had they done so it would have been an act of grand larceny.  Sutton probably conscious of the superb quality of their back line were guilty of trying to do too much off 1st phase; none of their forwards stepped up as a big ball carrier to drag in the defence and create the space the backs could break through.  Consequently whenever Sutton’s backs received the ball they were always covered by Hertford’s well organised defence.  Sutton’s captain, flanker James Clark, back after a long period out with injury did his best but for all his great skills and ability he does not have the size and weight to suck in defenders.  

Late in the match there was one example of what should have been happening when Sutton’s huge and powerful Rumanian prop Val Chirita made a terrifying charge down the left but it was too late.

Sutton actually began the match with great promise pinning Hertford back but having soaked up the best Sutton could give Hertford broke out of defence created an overlap on their right and nippy winger Baba Sodeke ran round to score under the posts.  Wing Neil Barella converted and Hertford were 7 points up inside 8 minutes.  They scored again within 3 minutes when having subjected Sutton to huge forward pressure they released the ball 5 metres from Sutton’s line for Sodeke to score his second try in the corner.  The conversion went begging but the match at this stage looked like turning into a rout.  Sutton’s fly half Tom Williams kicked a penalty to at least get the hosts on the score sheet but a dreadful slap back over the scrum half’s head at a lineout 20 metres from Sutton’s line allowed Hertford to create havoc in the Sutton back line and eventually their pack drove over from a catch and drive lineout for their No 8 Sean Hardy to score the try.  Barella Converted and Sutton had a mountain to climb.

They began their come back just before half time when Williams charged down a clearance kick collected the ball and ran in under the posts.  He converted his own try.  He followed this seconds later by kicking across field with pin point accuracy for left winger Ray Enslin to catch and score in the corner.  The conversion which would have levelled the scores went just wide but Sutton went in at the break just 2 points down.

It was a case of Déjà vu at the start of the second half with Hertford scoring twice in 10 minutes.  First from a scrum just over halfway Hertford broke down the blindside and centre Steve Small scored an unconverted try in the corner, then following a prolonged Hertford attack Sutton’s defence suddenly went absent and No8 Hardy went in for his second.

Sutton then woke up again and mounted a massive assault on the visitor’s line but continuous professional fouls slowed play and eventually Hertford’s hooker was sent to the sin bin.  Sutton’s pressure continued and centre Bryan Milne gave them their reward slicing through then popping a pass to new wing Rory Brabant who went in wide on the right.  Williams converted to bring Sutton within a converted try.

Sutton were now rampant and  were stunned when a promising attack was suddenly broken up by Hertford’s lock Billy Johnson who intercepted on his own 10 metre line and sprinted over in the right corner.  The conversion was missed but with 10 minutes to go Sutton needed three scores.

With time running out Sutton hammered at the Hertford line and from a lineout 7 metres out the ball went to new centre Joe Goatley who dummied and straightened then shot through to score under the posts. Williams converted with the last kick of the game to bring the score to 31-36.

Sutton will need to work a lot harder than this if they are to get their third win of the season over Barnes when they travel to Barn Elms on Saturday KO 2.30pm.