U16 XV Boys
Matches
Sun 23 Feb 2014
Wasps FC
U16 XV Boys
14
17
Marlow
Wasps just miss out in thriller

Wasps just miss out in thriller

David Popper23 Feb 2014 - 15:12
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https://www.waspsfc.co.uk/team

an intense affair in windy west London saw a repeat of the close encounter in December

The score doesn't quite say it all. This match was played at ferocious intensity. The game started with Wasps playing with the wind and should have been able to keep the opposition pinned back in their half. This wasn't to be as the Wasps players were continually blown up for off side infringements and the Marlow pack managed to just about keep up with their bigger and stronger opposition. Marlow's number 5 was a continual thorn in the side as he managed to tackle and rip the ball off the carrier which meant that Wasps' wave after wave of forward pressure was frequently halted through being isolated, or just too slow to go to ground and get the ball back. The first two tries were for Marlow and eventually Wasps' forward pressure started to count with a fantastic team effort and a try for Charbel converted by David.

The second half was always going to be difficult playing against the very strong wind and losing our excellent fly half due to injury. However, it was now clear that our forward domination was sapping the life out of Marlow and a couple of scrums were won against the head and a great forward try by Zico with the conversion meant that with 25 minutes to go Wasps were now in the lead.

Clever play from Marlow (and the continual whistle for off side) meant that Wasps were now camped in their own 22 for the remainder of match. Defence was awesome, Matt D and Sam T making tackles that belie their significant weight disadvantage. A cheeky kick through with two minutes to go and Marlow managed to take the match with a final converted try.

We've learnt a lot from this game:

We have the capability to defend for long periods.

Our pack can sap the life out of any opposition.

We need to play to the ref, even though we disagree.

Our scrum and line out are excellent and we should compete more at the opposition line out.

We have a fantastic team with excellence all over the park.

Small mistakes lose matches and this match was lost through a combination of these small mistakes, and not playing to the ref.

The league returns next week, so we are looking forward to getting the full squad together again for a strong performance.

Tries: Charbel, Zico
Conversions: David (2)

Man of the Match: Benedict White and Matt Delargy.

Mentions in dispatches: Great to see Jack D have another good game and a lovely interception. Philippe keeps improving and got a good game under his belt. The whole pack were amazing.

Match details

Match date

Sun 23 Feb 2014

Kickoff

10:30

Location

Team overview
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