Friday evening, 1st July 2011, saw Methley Rugby team travel to Castleford Rugby League Club to take part in a 4 team tournament. Having come third in this year 6 tournament last year with a year 5 team confidence was high. Methley (Harrison Scott (c), Jake McCaffrey, Charlie Dobson, Jordan Jepson, Ethan Noland, Annis Padgett, Georgia Scollan, Kyle Patrick, Tom Foster & Lewis Flockton) would be up against teams from Kippax North, Allerton Bywater and Swillington.
Methley were straight into action, playing their opening game against Kippax North. Methley made a great start passing the ball well and making probing runs every time they had the ball. In defence Methley were equally organised and committed making it very difficult for Kippax North to make any progress. Fantastic defence from Georgia Scollan and Ethan Noland allowed Methley to gain possession of the ball and build the first meaningful attack of the game. With Harrison Scott marshalling the attack Methley broke through Charlie Dobson down the right. Although tagged he was able to make a quick play the ball and the ball was spread down the line to Ethan Noland who sidestepped his marker and dived over in the corner. With plenty of time to go Methley knew that they had to keep their wits about them and set about defending their lead. Kyle Patrick and Tom Foster came on from the bench and helped the team with amazing chasing and diving tackles. Just after the half way mark came the moment of the game. Methley moved forward with pace and again, after another quick play the ball, Harrison Scott found himself with the ball. He broke forward at speed, beating two players and spinning past a third he scored a second try and Methley now looked comfortable. Annis Padgett replaced Georgia Scollan and Lewis Flockton replaced try scorer Ethan to help the team defend their lead. Although Kippax managed to sneak over for a try near the end, the final whistle eventually came and Methley were victorious 2 tries to 1. A great start to the tournament. Game one MVP-Ethan Noland.
Next up Methley took on Allerton Bywater. After their great performance in the first game Methley started the game with purpose and drive to go forward every time they had the ball. Once Methley soaked up some early pressure from Allerton Bywater a turnover allowed Jordan Jepson to move into dummy half and start to link up with Harrison Scott. With the Methley still only just off their own defensive line Harrison set off and again showed his pace. He burst through the line and went the full length of the pitch for an unbelievable solo try. A change of tactics from Allerton saw them try and close down Methley’s captain every time he had the ball. However Methley had several other aces up their sleeve! Strong running from Kyle Patrick and Jake McCaffrey allowed Methley to make good yards up field and then came the best handling move of the tournament. The ball came wide to Charlie Dobson who fed Harrison; he then drew his man and put Ethan Noland in in the corner. A great team try. With the team playing well Methley made changes and introduced Lewis Flockton who handled the ball confidently and ran with purpose. It was from one of Lewis’ great passes that Charlie Dobson managed to set off on a mazy run to score a third try and end Allerton’s fight. Or so they thought! Allerton came straight back and scored a great try in the far left corner and then came again at Methley. However Methley’s defence, brilliantly organised by Tom, Charlie and Kyle, held firm and kept them at bay until the full time whistle. A 3-1 victory for Methley. Game 2 MVP-Tom Foster.
After a 20 minute wait Methley’s final game saw them play Swillington. With Methley already certain of a place in the final there was a chance that complacency might set in however this thought was quickly dismissed as Charlie Dobson danced his way into the corner with the first attack of the game. This lead was quickly built on as good carrying from Annis Padgett, Kyle Patrick and Jake McCaffrey saw Methley move into Swillington’s half. It was from here that Jordan Jepson again linked up with Harrison Scott with the latter spinning his way through the defence to score Methley’s second try of the game. Whilst the year 6s had a break from the action Methley’s three year 5s (Tom Foster, Kyle Patrick and Lewis Flockton) were showing the opposition all of their skills. And it was after these three linked up that Methley’s third try came. A strong break from Kyle took Methley into Swillington’s half. Lewis then moved in and linked up with Tom who drew his man and fed Harrison the ball who had the easy task of strolling over for Methley’s third try of the game. Although Swillington finished strongly and did manage to score a try towards the end Methley’s defence was brilliant throughout especially from Georgia Scollan who made numerous tags defending her wing. Another 3-1 victory and a top of the group finish for Methley. Game 3 MVP-Harrison Scott.
The final, played on the main pitch at Castleford, saw Methley take on their opponents from the first game, Kippax North. The starting line up of Harrison, Jake, Charlie, Ethan, Jordan and Annis began nervously with a few handling errors but quickly settled into their rhythm. After a good break from Charlie Dobson the ball was fed by Jordan Jepson to Harrison Scott who broke threw a dummy and stepped through the defence for a Methley try. This however seemed to spur their opponents on. After putting three phases together they fed their winger who despite the diving efforts of the Methley defence managed to score and bring the scores level. As the game went on Methley constantly looked threatening. Ethan Noland reacted quickly to a dropped pass and managed to sprint half the length of the pitch for Methley’s second try but to the disbelief of the players and Methley supporters the referee disallowed it and brought play back for a Methley play the ball. Next came more frustration for Methley as Harrison Scott broke down the left wing. He beat his winger and evaded a second defender but was judged to be just in touch and again play was brought back despite Harrison having a clear run to the line. As the final whistle went the scores were still tied at 1-1. With Methley unbeaten throughout the tournament surely victory was theirs? Unfortunately not! Heartbreak for Methley as Kippax were awarded the victory as they had scored more tires throughout the tournament.
Despite the disappointment of the final everyone who played in the tournament should be very proud of the way they played; several comments were made by Castleford coaching staff about the fantastic way in which the team played. This of course made it difficult to choose an overall MVP however one player had caught the eye throughout the tournament. He led by example on the pitch and scored and created many of Methley’s tries. A real captain’s performance from Methley’s MVP-Harrison Scott. Finally, a massive thank you to all the parents who gave up their Friday evenings to help with transporting the children and showing fantastic support throughout the tournament.
No comments:
Post a Comment