Cup Success for the Under 14's

An unseasonably warm morning greeted the boys as they prepared for their first ever foray into the Somerset Cup with Castle Cary the visitors to Coleridge Vale. A strong squad of 22 assembled for the challenge with spirits and optimism high after their strong start to the season and that optimism was to prove well founded as a fine performance delivered another emphatic home victory.

This was a victory that owed a huge amount to the pack of forwards with Max, Harry, Lewis, Kieran, Adam, Sunny, Rory and Dane establishing a dominant platform with excellent scrummaging and an ability to disrupt their opponents set piece at will. There were also a number of occasions where Castle Cary carried the ball into contact and were held up by the forwards forcing a home side scrum.

That forward dominance gave the backs time and space to show their skills and running power and they used it to good effect with three early tries arriving, a brace for McKenzie (including one quite brilliant burst down the right touchline) and a great finish from Harry Lyon after some neat handling.

Dane crashed over for a fourth and an interception by Luke McLaughlin provided a fifth try before half time, all converted by Ethan to give the boys healthy 35-0 lead at the break.

Castle Cary never gave up and battled hard throughout the second half but another five tries were to follow. Ethan picked up a differing brace with one solo run from deep inside his 22 and one from a yard after great work by Dane, Dane added another try to his earlier first half effort in similar circumstances, Harry Lyon picked up his second with a storming run from inside his own half and Jamie Sandy powered over after a strong run close to the end for a well deserved five pointer.

With Aran, Lewis, Ben, Monty, Jacob and Pat all contributing well from the bench, and strong performances from Luke Palmer and Liam also, it was a good day all round for the lads who even started experimenting with some cross-field kicks, basketball style handling and through the legs flicks to give another glimpse of their full potential.

Next week brings a trip to Hornets in the Combination Plate and a real test for the boys to see just how far they have come, if they play to that potential then it has all the makings of a classic tie.