Lowestoft & Yarmouth  7  –  Southwold  48
(James 1, Ben F. 2, Jon 1, Joe 1, Matt 1, Billy 2)   Conversions Ben 2, Jon 1.

Another impressive early season performance fro the U14s. Despite the sweltering conditions, huge opposition and fielding only 14 players we well and truly earned our bonus point. Good hands and timely passes from all the players but especially our impressive set of backs. Any slight overlap was ruthlessly exploited which meant that the final scoreline wasn’t a fair reflection on the match. All our backs scored at least one try but, as we all know, we couldn’t have done this without ball, so all credit to our forwards who relentlessly battled for possession. L&Y are clearly dominated by an impressive set of forwards who were again faster to the breakdown and more clinical when they got there. So, once again, we had our ball turned over too many times. Nevertheless we scrapped for possession were we could in the loose and mauls and as soon as Josh and Ben shipped the ball out wide, points followed.

Joe, Christian and Konnor added much needed bulk and power to the pack so we could compete at the scrum. A particularly satisfying moment for Konnor, who was playing against his old club, was when he bundled two of their forwards off the ball, then scooped it up and bundled two more out of the way before setting it back. The L&Y pack also made the mistake of annoying Joe who switched to a gear we rarely see, which not only lead to an unstoppable try but some powerful hits. But a special mention should go to our inexperienced front row, Sam, Joey and Jack DH who looked far from novices and held their own all match.

The team rarely concede tries down the middle of the park and Sunday was no exception. Our Defence was solid with some crunching tackles from the usual suspects as well as new boy, Billy. But Josh and James were particularly noteworthy for their textbook low technique against the L&Y big boys – “the bigger they are the harder the fall”.

After two good performances and the Sevens experience, we are shaping up well for the season. But to compete against the the big clubs we need to continue to improve our support running and become more disciplined and instinctive at the breakdown. Well done boys – another good day at the office.

The U13s and U15s both also had significant victories against L&Y on Sunday. But the U17s lost.