Under 15s Match Reports

Match report U15s v Fullerians B 06/02/11

On a very windy day, Ds U15s gave their emerging players a chance to shine in a development match against a strong Fullerians side. Ds kicked off playing into a strong breeze but managed to keep possession enough to give an early score to Robin Snelling playing at flanker. Two tries from scrum-half Sam Lee, and a conversion from George Jolly saw Ds comfortably ahead at the break 17-0.

After turning around with the elements in their favour, Ds pulled further ahead through an Ollie Clarke try, although he was injured in the process and took no further part in the game. Fullerians, who rucked magnificently throughout, pulled one back half way through the second half, but Lee's final try five minutes before the end saw his hat-trick seal the win. There were some notable performances by Stefan Eason playing at No. 8, Jarrad Jerome, centre and new boys Luke Shadbolt, Damian Bennett, Jason Doorne and Michael Nguyen.

Next week, Ds turn their attention back to the league where they play a must-win match away against league leaders Barnet in what may well prove to be the season's league decider.

Report by Alex Burnett

Match report U15s v Men's Own 23//01/11

This Sunday saw Dees travel to Men’s Own for a return fixture of a friendly game played earlier in the season in which Men’s Own had won 5 – 29, so Dees knew they were in for a tough game.

This was evident from the start as Men’s Own took control for the game scoring after only 3 minutes. That was the wake up call that Dees needed and they started to play a better game with some good passing but Men’s Own were coming off better and pushing Dees back into their own 22. Defending their line well Dees held them out and from a turn over ball Lewis Taylor ran the length of the pitch to score under the posts, with the conversion Dees were leading 5 – 7.

The game continued to be a well balanced game and Dees were playing well as a team, but some missed tackles enabled Men’s Own to score again, which they duly converted. 12-7. Dees fought back hard and it was not long before they had Men’s Own pinned in their 22. Dees went over a couple of times, only to have the hard work of Men’s Own rewarded by having the ball held up. A resulting scrum saw a good planned move between Klymyszyn, Jerome and Taylor, which saw Taylor go over in the corner. Honours now even 12-12.

Dee’s continued to push hard and spent a fair bit of time camped in the Men’s Own half, again it seemed to be scrum after scrum as Men’s Own tried to battle their way out. A penalty taken quickly was passed out to Ciaran Mills who drove his way over the line for Dees 3rd try. Harry Barter converted, making the score 12-19.

The speed of the game continued to increase, Men’s Own were not giving in and fought back again. After some good backs play they broke through the Dees line and scored under the posts, bringing the half time score to 19-19.

The second half continued as the first had finished, with real end to end stuff. Dees superior fitness started to show and they gained the upper hand, enabling more territory to be gained. Some great support driving play from Robin Snelling put Dees into a good position. At the break down David Tuffen screamed at Klymyszyn to go blind, seeing the chance of getting Taylor on a one to one. Tuffen got the ball, dummied a player and popped the ball to Taylor who beat his man and scored again. Barter converted and pushed the score to 19-26. The game continued and Men’s Own tried to keep playing but Dees seemed to have the upper hand, forcing them into many errors. Dees had to fight to hold Men’s Own out in the last few minutes but the game finished 19-26.

New boys Luke Shadbolt and Michael Nguyan both had great games, looking good for the future. The whole team played well, with fitness and team play shining through to win the game.

Report by Kay Klymyszyn

Match report U15s v Bedford Blues 16/01/11

Dunstablians U15s hosted Bedford Blues in the semi final of the Beds Cup. Dees, who are 2 divisions lower than Blues in the league, knew it was going to be a tough encounter. Dees had nothing to lose, playing into the wind, they went at the Blues right from the kick off. Bedford could not get out of their own half for the first 13 minutes of the game, with Dees tackling and disrupting their game plan. Every time Blues got the ball, Dees seemed to be pushing them back until a scrum was reset with the ref awarding the put in to the Blues. From this, Blues found some space and with just one missed tackle they went over in the corner. Again from the kick off Dees hit back at the Blues pushing them into their own half for long periods of time, but the Blues would not give up and defended every Dees attack. Slowly they worked their way up the pitch and from a 5 metre, 3 man, line out they manage to crash over in the other corner, leaving the score at 0-10 at half time.

Dees, again, started off on the front foot. The scrimmaging was fantastic, even managing to take a ball against the head. Again, sadly, another good backs move by the Blues enabled another score in the corner. Hooker, David Tuffen, was having to hook extremely well with a scrum that was being pushed back metres, to enable scrum half Josh Klymyszyn to get good ball out to Jarrad Jerome. Jarrad made good use of the wind and put Dees down into the Blues half at every opportunity, and at the line outs Harry Barter started to dominate. Unfortunately, despite all the hard work, Dees could not get the ball over the Blues try line and again, the Blues fought back and managed to break the Dees back line to run a try in under the posts, which they converted. Dees played for pride for the last 5 minutes and some crunching tackles from full back, Toby Mead, to try and hold the Blues out, but again they turned the ball over at a ruck and worked the ball out to score again. Dees collected the missed conversion and ran up the pitch to restart, showing the spirit they had played the game in but, alas, it was not to be and the final whistle blew with the score at 0-27. All 22 Dees’ players should be proud of their performance against a powerful Blues side.

Report by Lynn Tuffen

Match report U15s v Finchley B 21/11/10

Dees travelled to North London for this development game against Finchley’s ‘B’ team. This was a chance to try-out new signings, Michael Nguyen, Damiean Bennett and Luke Shadbolt and also an opportunity for the more experienced players to try different positions.

Dees started well from the kick off and after some good rucking from the forwards, scrum half Kealan Afford, picked up the ball from the back of the ruck and powered through to score the first try of the match. Due to no kicking tee available, David Tuffen bravely attempted a drop kick conversion in high wind but narrowly missed the posts. Finchley caught Dees napping on the restart and quickly levelled the score with a try in the corner. A kicking tee was found but Finchley failed to convert in the strong wind. It was apparent that both teams were equal on ability and experience and this made it a good game to watch for the spectators. Play was end to end and it wasn’t long before Dees had a chance to take the lead when Finchley give away a penalty right in front of the posts. George Jolly made the penalty kick look easy and put Dees ahead 5-8. Once again, Finchley quickly answered back and scored another unconverted try after some good moves from their backs. Finchley had the upper hand going into the interval leading 10-8.

Second half and Dees piled on the pressure with a wave of attacks. Their hard work paid off with some good work from the forwards giving No.8 Charlie Burnett the opportunity to pick and run from the scrum to score Dees third try which Jolly easily converted. Substitute Sam Lee had replaced Afford as scrum half and it wasn’t long before Lee picked up the ball from the back of the scrum and ran through the Finchley defence scoring under the posts for another easy conversion. Dees started to look the stronger side and new signing, Bennett made some strong runs through, pushing Finchley further back in defence. Bennett would have scored on his debut if it hadn’t been for a superb try stopping tackle from Finchley’s full back. Finchley defended well and an error from Dees let them run from their own half to score under the posts but once again failed to convert. An excellent run of moves from forwards Charlie Medhurst , Stefan Eason and ultimately Daniel Dullaghan to score his first try for Dunstablians. George Jolly unable to convert from long range. It seemed that Dees were sitting comfortable now with the score at 15-27 with only 10 minutes left but Finchley were not giving in and once again retaliated with another unconverted try. Although Finchley increased the pressure on Dees defence it was too late and Dees were the eventual winners, 20-27.

A great game to watch and some promising performances especially from Dees new signings. Now Dees eagerly await their next league game against Barnet in a top of the table clash

Report by Kay Klymyszyn

Picture by Damiean Bennett

Match report U15s v London Welsh 14/11/10

Dunstablians U15s played their second league game on Sunday, hosting London Welsh. The game started with a minute silence that was impeccably observed by both teams, coaches and supporters. Dees started well and within the first 10 mins were awarded a penalty which they elected to kick for goal, although this was narrowly missed. The game was played at a pace and with both teams making several mistakes it was end to end. London Welsh were a strong side with some tall lads, making the lineout a difficult task. Dees slowly got the upper hand and spent quite a while camped in the London Welsh half, but still littered with mistakes Dees could not make this pressure count. Dees made some big tackles, notably from Fly Half Jarrad Jerome, and stopped many of the London Welsh’s attacks. Although another defensive mistake meant they were awarded a penalty which they kicked and the first half ended with Dees 0 – 3 down.

The second half started slowly, but very like the first with end to end play. Eventually the pressure from Dees paid off and Charlie Burnett picked the ball up from the back of a ruck and went over to score the first try of the game, this was converted by Harry Barter. Dees now had the upper hand and slowly put the pressure on London Welsh. London Welsh held well and kept Dees from scoring several times by holding the ball up over the try line. Again Burnett managed to emerge from a pile of bodies and used his strength to score again, this try was not converted.

Welsh would not put their heads down and again pressured Dees straight from the restart. With Dees knocking the ball on, Welsh took the advantage and pushed forward. Again ill discipline within the Dees gave away a penalty on the 22 and the quick thinking Welsh captain tapped the ball and ran a try into the corner. This was not converted.

The game continued with Dees having most of the ball but they did not seem to be able to make this possession count. Welsh seemed to pin them in their own half until a loose ball was picked up by Sam Lee and he passed the ball to Lewis Taylor who managed to outrun the Welsh defence to score under the posts. Barter quickly converted the try and Dees ran back for the restart, knowing that another try would mean a bonus point. Unfortunately this was not to be as handling errors turned the ball over again and the game was called up.

Final score 19-8.

Dees know that they will need to improve on this game before their next league match against Barnet on 28th Nov.

Report by Kay Klymyszyn

Match report U15s v Northampton Men's Own 31/10/10

The Dee’s U15’s hosted Men’s Own, from Northampton on Sunday. Due to school trips and injuries Dees played the game as a development one giving other players in the squad more of a game.

So with players out of position Dees received the ball from the kick off. Men’s Own were obviously a strong team and started to dominate holding Dees in their own 22 for quite some time. This territorial advantage paid off when, with a few missed tackles, they scored and converted the try.

Dees started well from the restart and held their own, with some great tackling managed to gain some ground and held Men’s Own in their half for a good 10 minutes. With some fantastic srummaging from a makeshift front line of, new boy, Harrison Coady together with Charlie Medhurst and Stefan Eason the Dees started to gain control of the scrums. Medhurst was superior against the head and this formed a solid basis for the backs to work from. Unfortunately Dees could not capitalise on this advantage and Men’s Own regained the upper hand, scoring again just before half time, 0-14.

The second half saw Dees start strongly and some good work kept the game quite even. Some great work around the scrummage from scrum half Josh Klymyszyn disrupted any game plan that Men’s Own had but they kept fighting and managed to score again. 0-19. Dees would not lie down and kept fighting, holding their own and making ground but they again could not make the pressure count. Their defence was great and Men’s Own set up camp on their 5 metre line crashing over twice but without scoring. Once they had the ball held up by David Tuffen and the second time they were forced over the dead ball line. Men’s Own would not be pushed over and eventually they managed to get the ball wide and run another try in right out by the corner flag. 0-24.

Dees once again rallied and with some great link up play between forwards and backs they started to make ground. Still scrummaging well meant that they had a basis to work with and their dogged persistence paid off when some quick thinking and hands from Billy Wagstaff gave Ciaran Mills the space to run into. He held the ball well and handed off several players to crash over in the corner. George Jolly took command of the conversion but narrowly missed. 5-24.Then Dees worked hard to contain the efforts of Men’s Own, but they had given everything and Men’s Own managed another try right on the final whistle leaving the final score as 5-29 to the visitors.

The Dees team worked well together and the coaches should be proud of the way they stayed determined and conducted themselves, as a team, on the pitch

Match report U15s v Grasshoppers 17/10/10

Dees kicked off their league campaign playing against Grasshoppers, West London, on Sunday. After being promoted as division winners in the last two seasons, Dees knew that this season division 3 would be a different standard of rugby. Grasshoppers were promoted last season with Dees and were also responsible for their only league loss in 2 seasons, beating them in the last game of last season. Dees were fielding a slightly weakened side due to a couple of injuries and boys unavailable, then they were hit when during the warm up they lost 2 more players due to reoccurring injuries.

The game started with Dees putting Hoppers under pressure with a good starter kick forcing them to catch blinded by the sun. Grasshoppers then won the ruck and set about putting the Dees under siege in their own 22. It was a reoccurrence of last weeks game with Dees being held captive in their own half. In one rare visit into the Hoppers half, Dees won a penalty which captain Harry Barter elected to kick. Even the Referee commented on how far out the ball was, but Barter put the ball down confidently. Unfortunately he did not manage to score, putting the ball to the right of the uprights, but it laid down a gauntlet to the Hoppers that he could kick penalties from their half. Dees tackled well and managed to keep the Hoppers from scoring. Then with some good defensive play Sam Lee found himself in possession of the ball and ran through the middle of the Hoppers defence slipping free from one tackle, losing his boot in the process, but still managed to make it to the try line first. He scored the first try as he was tackled over the line. Barter took no time in converting the try from straight in front of the posts. Again Hoppers came back at Dees putting them under pressure, but this time Dees managed to win some ball and started to play more in the Hoppers half. Again, after some good attacking work they were awarded another penalty which, this time, Barter made the Hoppers pay by scoring 3 points. The half ended 0 – 10.

The second half started to go more of Dees way but Hoppers still made them work for every ball. They were putting every scrum under pressure and making Dees play the ball very quickly from behind a backward moving scrum. Line outs were a different story and Barter was winning most of them giving the backs a better foundation to build from. The backs kept working hard, moving the ball quickly through the hands and working the spaces. This hard work paid off when Lewis Taylor got the ball in a bit of space and managed to get himself going running around the Hoppers defence and scoring a try out by the corner post. This time Barter did not manage to convert the try. The Hoppers did not give up the fight and kept coming at Dees. Their big prop appeared to run straight over a ruck and out the other side, clear to Dees line, until Toby Mead managed to tackle him as he went over the line causing him to drop the ball. Hoppers kept going forcing the ball out into touch and then forcing a knock on, giving them a scrum 5 meters out. Their hard work paid off when on the final whistle they managed to go over for a try, which they converted.

Report by Kay Klymyszyn

U15 v Grasshoppres 17/10/10 picture by Paul Richardson

(more pictures at Chiltern Photographic - see Home page for link))

Match report U15s v Leighton Buzzard 10/10/10

Being able to field a full strength team for the 1st time this season, Dunstablians turned up to play Leighton Buzzard in the cup. Captain Harry Barter won the toss and tactfully gave LB the ball and chose to play uphill first. Dunstablians were sure that if they could hold their own with the wind and slope against them they would be able to make the most of this in the second half.

The game started and LB basically camped out in the D’s half, putting their whole team to the test. But D’s held firm and managed to repel wave after wave of LB attack. It took several big tackles and good counter rucking for D’s to get any relief. LB kept going and even when D’s got the ball they could not manage to get out of their own half, until after a late line out just outside the D’s 5 metre line. Harry Barter caught the ball cleanly and the backs got the ball to Jarrad Jerome who used a fantastic clearance kick, cross field for Sam Lee to run onto. Sam jumped above the LB defence and caught the ball to run half the pitch and score a try under the posts. This was converted by Harry Barter to go in 7-0 up at half time.

The second half was a complete change of fortune with D’s camping in the LB half, using the wind and slope to their advantage. Several cross field kicks put LB under pressure and eventually they paid off and D’s had a ruck just short of the line. Harry Barter used his long arms to reach over and put the ball down, he then converted his own try to put D’s 14-0 up.

The game continued in a similar vein, LB defending well but slowly the D’s forwards wore them down. A fantastic flowing forwards move, showing great support play saw the ball go from Billy Wagstaff to Harry Barter, to David Tuffen who fell a metre short only for the fast thinking Barter to pick the ball and put it down over the line. Harry had a fantastic attempt at the conversions from out wide, only to see it bounce off the post.

The final score 0-19 to Dee’s.

Report by Kay Klymyszyn

Last seasons results here