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Sat 23 Sep 2023
Tupton RFC A
Colts (U17&U18)
15:00
Tupton Colts 24 Ilkeston Colts 38
Andrew Evans26 Sep 2023 - 15:24
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Ilkeston Colts XV win away
Tupton Colts 24 Ilkeston Colts 38
The Green Army travelled up to Tupton on Saturday for an early afternoon kick off, as always there was a very warm welcome and the usual very friendly atmosphere, a great Club to visit.
The afternoon started disastrously for The Elks with Connor going over on his ankle before the game, subsequent x-rays have shown a fracture which will see him miss at least 4 weeks!?
So, a challenge laid down, someone had to step up and become the main lineout jumper and also cover the amount of ground that Connor does in a game! Step forward Sam Ford, he won his lineout ball, tackled non stop, and ran himself to a standstill, when he was replaced his face said it all, I’ve played rugby for a long time and very rarely have I seen someone look so tired when given a rest, a great effort Sam?
The game started with Ilkeston playing down the slope, they pressed from the beginning and were soon in control of the game.
However, Tupton defended brilliantly and their counter rucking nullified the Elks possession as we slipped into old habits of attacking in 1’s and 2’s instead of pods of 3.
Another challenge for the guys to overcome which they did by just slowing the game down a little and making sure our attacking pods were set before releasing the ball, soon everything that we had been working at in training was going well and bar a couple of handling errors we could have been 3 scores up in the opening 10 minutes. Another injury problem with Oli taking a blow to his ankle caused a little shuffle of the backs and it started to look like it could be a frustrating day.
The sign of a team that is maturing is how they adapt to obstacles put in their way, we had already overcome front row issues with Tommy and Finn Wooley stepping up and putting in a great shift each, our lineouts were working well without Connor, and now our backs were having to operate without our regular 10.
The lads stuck to it and got their rewards, Fin found holes in their backs defence, Isaac always looked dangerous in possession and any attack by Tupton was nullified by excellent tackling and, when needed, very good clearance kicks.
As always a kick is only as good as it’s chasers and Rory in particular followed every kick up, one of which he covered over 80 metres to pressure the full back resulting in a turnover and try in the opposite corner.
This saw the start of a period of Rugby which was easily the best we have played this season and leading up to halftime we were in a comfortable lead.
A word of warning was given to the lads at the break that the slope was going to make things easier for Tupton and if we eased off the big boot of their 10 would put us under a lot of pressure. And for 15/20 minutes that was the case! We lost shape and discipline and conceded 3 tries in a short space of time as our attack became too narrow allowing the big Tupton pack to play, had we continued getting our pods wider they wouldn’t have been able to compete with the extra work needed.
It began to look like the missed chances in the first half would cost us dearly, step up Sam Evans with a little bit of genius following his own chip over and collecting the bouncing ball to out sprint the Tupton defence, a bulldozing run from Dan Poxon got him a well deserved try and gradually we got control of the game back.
All in all a very satisfying victory with our adapted scrum formation working very well, our tip on’s in the pods allowing extra width and finding gaps, and options from the lineout working very well with excellent throwing in from both Jacks.
Many contenders for Man of the Match with Sam, Braidon, Tommy, both Fins, Isaac and Rory, Sam Ford and Alex giving great displays, the Tupton guys awarded it to Paris for battling away at the base of the scrums and breakdowns and gradually getting the forwards back on top when things began to slip.
Lots to work on at training Tuesday and a bit of a chat about how we managed to turn what should have been maybe a 50-10 victory into a 38-24! All credit to Tupton and we look forward to welcoming them to The Stute later in the season?
The Green Army travelled up to Tupton on Saturday for an early afternoon kick off, as always there was a very warm welcome and the usual very friendly atmosphere, a great Club to visit.
The afternoon started disastrously for The Elks with Connor going over on his ankle before the game, subsequent x-rays have shown a fracture which will see him miss at least 4 weeks!?
So, a challenge laid down, someone had to step up and become the main lineout jumper and also cover the amount of ground that Connor does in a game! Step forward Sam Ford, he won his lineout ball, tackled non stop, and ran himself to a standstill, when he was replaced his face said it all, I’ve played rugby for a long time and very rarely have I seen someone look so tired when given a rest, a great effort Sam?
The game started with Ilkeston playing down the slope, they pressed from the beginning and were soon in control of the game.
However, Tupton defended brilliantly and their counter rucking nullified the Elks possession as we slipped into old habits of attacking in 1’s and 2’s instead of pods of 3.
Another challenge for the guys to overcome which they did by just slowing the game down a little and making sure our attacking pods were set before releasing the ball, soon everything that we had been working at in training was going well and bar a couple of handling errors we could have been 3 scores up in the opening 10 minutes. Another injury problem with Oli taking a blow to his ankle caused a little shuffle of the backs and it started to look like it could be a frustrating day.
The sign of a team that is maturing is how they adapt to obstacles put in their way, we had already overcome front row issues with Tommy and Finn Wooley stepping up and putting in a great shift each, our lineouts were working well without Connor, and now our backs were having to operate without our regular 10.
The lads stuck to it and got their rewards, Fin found holes in their backs defence, Isaac always looked dangerous in possession and any attack by Tupton was nullified by excellent tackling and, when needed, very good clearance kicks.
As always a kick is only as good as it’s chasers and Rory in particular followed every kick up, one of which he covered over 80 metres to pressure the full back resulting in a turnover and try in the opposite corner.
This saw the start of a period of Rugby which was easily the best we have played this season and leading up to halftime we were in a comfortable lead.
A word of warning was given to the lads at the break that the slope was going to make things easier for Tupton and if we eased off the big boot of their 10 would put us under a lot of pressure. And for 15/20 minutes that was the case! We lost shape and discipline and conceded 3 tries in a short space of time as our attack became too narrow allowing the big Tupton pack to play, had we continued getting our pods wider they wouldn’t have been able to compete with the extra work needed.
It began to look like the missed chances in the first half would cost us dearly, step up Sam Evans with a little bit of genius following his own chip over and collecting the bouncing ball to out sprint the Tupton defence, a bulldozing run from Dan Poxon got him a well deserved try and gradually we got control of the game back.
All in all a very satisfying victory with our adapted scrum formation working very well, our tip on’s in the pods allowing extra width and finding gaps, and options from the lineout working very well with excellent throwing in from both Jacks.
Many contenders for Man of the Match with Sam, Braidon, Tommy, both Fins, Isaac and Rory, Sam Ford and Alex giving great displays, the Tupton guys awarded it to Paris for battling away at the base of the scrums and breakdowns and gradually getting the forwards back on top when things began to slip.
Lots to work on at training Tuesday and a bit of a chat about how we managed to turn what should have been maybe a 50-10 victory into a 38-24! All credit to Tupton and we look forward to welcoming them to The Stute later in the season?
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