Bank of England U13 0 - 29 Wasps U13A

Wasps scored 5 tries while keeping Bank scoreless. The Wasps forwards dominated the early exchanges with strong running and powerful rucking from Francois Gouws and Umar Ullah in particular ensuring that Bank had limited possession. When Bank did have the ball, Wasps closed down quickly and allowed them little space to run.

A couple of early scoring chances were wasted by Wasps who spent too much time running down the blindside rather than spinning the ball out to the backs. However, after a period of sustained pressure from the forwards the ball was held up over the line, and Max Young powered over from the resulting scrum.

Soon after this breakthrough, aggressive running from a breakdown and a well-timed pass from Noah Jarvis enabled winger Tomas Wood to get round the defence and score the second Wasps try in the left corner. Wasps were now dominating the scrum with Alex March winning a number of balls against the head.

It was not long before the forwards created another opening and Max Young went over for his second try, converted by Noah Jarvis. At the end of the first half Bank had the better of the possession, but despite being camped on the Wasps try line the defence held firm and the teams turned round with Wasps ahead 17-0.

The second half started well for Wasps with strong running from Noah Jarvis, Julien Goodman and captain Thomas Mumby creating space through the centre as Wasps worked hard to deliver the bonus point fourth try. The forwards continued to retain territory and a strong mazy run from Alex March breaking off from a maul allowed him to score under the posts, converted by Noah Jarvis.

The Wasps fitness started to tell in the last 10 minutes of the match as Bank were not allowed out of their 22, and new recruit Battista Lammoglia finally drove over for Wasps fifth try just before the final whistle.

With a number of the backs playing out of position, and no competitive matches so far this season to test themselves, the team can be extremely proud of the way they played together. The scrum was rock-solid and the counter rucking impressive on the day. If we can spin the ball out to the backs and become more effective in the tackle, then the team will develop even further.

Ian Mumby

Wasps U13A:

Back Row: Charlie Metcalfe, Alexander Balgarnie, Battista Lammoglia, Julien Goodman, Thomas Mumby, Noah Jarvis, Alex March, Max Young, Matthew Power, Francois Gouws

Front Row: Conrad Murphy, Oliver Beyrich, Oscar Powell, Bertrand Lazare, Ryan Parkinson, Tomas Wood, Alex Lopez, Umar Ullah