Fair Play to Ilkeston

Ilkeston took the short journey to Mellish rugby club to participate in the annual David Crosbie Memorial Tournament. Taking two teams to participate was another example of the expansive squad that Ilkeston under 12s had maintained this season with both teams looking to return with silverware. Team blue was drawn against favourites Melbourne and host team Mellish whilst Team green were drawn in the hardest group with Paviors and East Retford. The first match saw the blues take on Melbourne, whilst this was the oppositions development squad it was apparent that they had gained a number of extremely useful players as Melbourne dominated all phases of play with their centre scoring 5 of the 6 tries of the first half, unfortunately the lack of tackling helped him to gain confidence. Half time Ilkeston blues 0 Melbourne 30.
The second half Ilkeston blues attempted to establish a foot hold in the game as they eventually started to tackle the opposition. Scrum half Conor Corrigan started to pick up loose ball and feed Jordan Rathbone. Rathbone attempted to break the Melbourne defence but they were resilient however debutante Ben Whitby playing at inside Centre displayed perfect examples of a battering ram which would have been effective if support had been provided by the forwards. Melbourne scored a further four unanswered tries but the blues had shown an improved second half display which bayed well for the next match. Final score Ilkeston blues 0 Melbourne 50.

The greens first match was against East Retford. From the kick off Ilkeston applied immense pressure on the Retford players. This pressure was rewarded as Aidan Norris robbed a Retford player and twisted and turned to score within the first couple of minutes in the corner. This was followed almost immediately with a flowing run by centre Frank Hemingray who presented the ball well to the Ilkeston pack and rather than reset Norris saw his opportunity, picked up the ball and stretched the final five feet to score his second. Ilkeston greens confidence was sky high and every opportunity Retford had with the ball tended to result in a knock on. From this situation a solid scrum saw scrum half Ben Middleton collect the ball, take contact turn and present the ball for the forwards to create a rolling maul. Norris rolled of the side and caught the defence unaware to score his hat-trick. East Retford rallied their players and just before the half time whistle scored an opportunist try through their centre. Half time Ilkeston greens 15 East Retford 5.
During the half time discussion the coaches outlined the requirement for the next half as the greens chased the bonus point for scoring four tries. The Retford players were determined to spoil the plan as they camped in the greens half however a defensive kick by fly half Joseph Doughty put the greens close to the Retford line. Prop Connor Connelley jumped and intercepted the throw passed the ball to Norris to complete the matches score. Final score Ilkeston greens 20 East Retford 5.

The second games were closer matches as the greens played Paviors. Paviors had won their first game also and were obviously confident as the game started. This was shown as the ball was passed down the opposition backs with the winger running against his opposite number. Unfortunately after showing him the outside the tackle was missed and the player ran through to score. This was immediately followed by another try from the kick off for Paviors and Ilkeston greens were looked at a mammoth challenge. Half time came Ilkeston greens 0 Paviors 10.
The second half the greens came alight from the kick off and applied pressure on the Paviors defensive line. A kick over the backs was returned with interest by full back Tom Caines who burst up the left wing to score in the corner. The fire was back however this pressure was not converted in to any further points and this meant that the greens would finish second and face Melbourne in the semi final. Final score Ilkeston greens 5 Paviors 10.

The blues came up against Mellish. A very tight half with the blues competing on an equal playing field with Mellish as the ball drifted from one half to another, however a couple of missed tackles in the centres allowed Mellish to break the deadlock and score. Half time Ilkeston blues 0 Mellish 5.
The second half saw Whitby continue to drive through the Mellish players, the forwards led by hooker Jack Walker competed and looked to be taking the upper hand through robbed scrums however Mellish broke to score a try against the run of play. However the heads of the blues team remained high as each player tried and challenged their opposite number. This was rewarded as the forwards drove Walker over the line to score. Now the pressure was on Mellish as Ilkeston continued to batter the Mellish defensive line however they went unrewarded leaving them in 3rd place and competing for the plate. Final score Ilkeston blues 5 Mellish 10.

A brief rest allowed both teams to take stock and take heart that both teams still had opportunities for silverware. Stage one was Ilkeston greens versus Melbourne. A very tight game which historically has always swung the way of the opposition but the greens immediately set out their stall to compete in every position. They even managed to nullify the centre who had stood out so well this tournament. The forwards drove up the pitch making valuable yardage, competing in rucks but a moment of loss of concentration saw the Melbourne forward break of a maul and score the only try of the first half. Half time Ilkeston greens 0 Melbourne 5.
Pressure was now on the Ilkeston side but they continued to play their game with every player playing their best however Melbourne were the only team to score in the half as they ran in two unanswered tries to result in Ilkeston greens finishing 3rd in the tournament and returned without medals. Final score Ilkeston greens 0 Melbourne 15.

The blues entered the final of the Plate against East Retford which on paper was a game would be a very hard challenge however the proved how well they are developing together and only the lack of tackles did they ever look to have their line broached. On the two occasions of the half Retford were successful and scored. But rather than collapsing this turned the desire level up and the forwards started to blend well and apply pressure to the Retford players. This was rewarded when the opposition backs started panicking on their try line and the ball was thrown aimlessly away only for prop Richard Hunt to drop on the loose ball to score his first try of the season. Half time came as Whitby broke four tackles only to be brought back to the half way line due to an injury to one of the 'tacklers' but the whistle blew. Half time Ilkeston 5 East Retford 10.
Motivation was good however all that Ilkeston threw at East Retford through Gregor McIntosh, Fane Checkley and Ben Whitby was to no avail. Everything was being tried and unfortunately this brought gaps which Retford exploited, passing the ball to their winger to score two unanswered tries. The moment of the match was when the winger again broke from the half way line looking for his hat trick but was hunted down by Jack Walker who brought him down short of the line. The match ended with Ilkeston blues taking runners up of the plate competition. Final score Ilkeston Blues 5 East Retford 20.

The performance of the day however was a combination of both Ilkeston teams, the coaches and the spectators who highlighted the excellent attitude at Ilkeston rugby club as they were awarded the 'Fair Play Award' trophy for their performances all through the day from the secret spies. Ilkeston finally gained their first silverware of the season!

Man of the matches -
Greens - Robbie Boddington & Cameron Greenfield.
Blues - Jordan Rathbone & Jack Walker

Squad - Greens
Aidan Norris, Ben Middleton, Cameron Greenfield, Connor Connelley, Frank Hemingray, Felix Rasbusin, James Thorpe, Joseph Doughty, Jordan Pritchett, Niall O'Connor, Robbie Boddington, Tom Caines and Zack Lebeter.

Squad - Blues
Alfie Cox, Ben Whitby, Conor Corrigan, Fane Checkley, Gregor McIntosh, Jack Walker, Jakson Horton, Jordan Rathbone, Lawrence Ah Weng, Luke Moore, Richard Hunt and Tom Davidson.

Jon Doughty