A surprisingly dry Sunday morning saw the Under 12s host a large squad from Wolverhampton. With twenty or so players available for each club the morning was split into three to ensure everyone was given a chance to get some match practice. Again many of the Newport team had the added incentive of playing against their school mates.

 

The first fixture saw the strongest sides take the field and, as in previous weeks, this meant space was at a premium.  Newport's scrum appeared under pressure initially but this was down to the wrong balance and some positional adjustments soon evened things up. Wolverhampton's early possession produced some strong running, especially from their fly half, but whenever an initial break was made the Newport defence quickly closed the space to prevent the visitors making more of their opportunities.

 

 

 

 

Disappointingly much of Newport's tackling on the day was not low enough resulting in numerous mauls where the forwards had their work cut out against the larger Wolverhampton pack.

 

There was a similar picture whenever Newport made a break, Wolverhampton's defence cut down the available space very quickly.

 

 

 

 

Newport's management of the contact area was mixed - on some occasions they went to ground to set up ruck ball, but often they were held up and mauling ensued !

 

There was some good rugby played by both sides but the defences were well organised and there was little space for either team to launch a sustained attack.

 

Unsurprisingly the first match finished nil -nil.

 

 

 

The second match saw both sides make many changes - Newport making five changes in a six man scrum - four personnel, one positional.  Whilst there initially appeared to be slightly more space in which to play, it soon became apparent that the defences still had the upper hand. The match provided a good workout for Newport's less experienced forwards but still looked to be heading for a scoreless draw. 

 

 

However, Newport had a penalty near the half way line and unusually opted for an "up & under"! Alex Mayer got plenty of height on the kick and the Wolverhampton defence failed to deal with it. A fortunate bounce enabled Mark Richards to re-secure possession for the home side.  He drew the first defender,  passed to Hedley Baulf on the wing who used his speed and a step to beat the remaining defence and score the only try of the second fixture.  A good outcome from a dubious tactic !

 

 

 

The final fixture saw further shuffles in personnel with Newport making many changes in the back line - at scrum half, full back, centre and both wings. The match was again keenly contested but the strength of Wolverhampton's running proved the decisive factor with the visitors scoring three tries without reply.  Again a good workout for some of the players in only their second or third competitive fixture.

 

 

A good day with the rain holding off until near the end - but once again twenty six players in less than half a pitch limiting the posssibilities for both sides - however competitive matches which bodes well for the return fixture at Castlecroft in April.  Next week sees a much needed training session and a chance to work on some of the bad habits we've picked up in the last few weeks.