Colts Reports

Matlock RFC Colts 16pts.

At the end of last season Matlock RFC faced the prospect of not being able to field a Colts team due to dwindling numbers. A great deal of effort went into recruitment and in all thirty six lads trained and played throughout the season for a place in the final squad. Many of those not playing came to support and whilst the result did not go the way of Matlock the commitment to training and playing for the whole of the season has been the pride of the coaches and supporters.

Two evenly matched sides took to the field and it was Kesteven who opened the scoring. Full Back Darryl Jones denied an attacker a try with a bone crunching tackle right in front of the posts but the offload gave Kesteven their first points. Matlock drove up the field to secure a penalty, calmly converted by Tom Morton. Another penalty by Morton in the home sides half brought the score to 7-6. Too often Matlock lost good possession and their slack defending gave Kesteven another score. The half ended 14 -6 to Kesteven.

Playing with the wind on their backs Kesteven opened the second half with a tactical kicking game. From possession deep into Matlock half the home side added to their points tally. A missed line kick was caught by the Kesteven left wing that ran unopposed up the sideline from 50 meters to score in the corner. At 26 – 6 the game seemed all but over. However a tactical change in the back line by Coach Dan Hooton produced the try of the day. From a scrum, Fly Half Tim McCluskey’s long pass found Mike Gunter, a graduate this season from the Colts to the Matlock First XV. At full pace racing for the line, Gunter was unstoppable, evading the tacklers to score. Matlock were back in the game. In quick succession Kesteven were penalised for two high tackles, one resulting in a yellow card for their second row forward. Skipper James Shooter, a tower of strength, produced his trade mark try. From 10 meters, taking the ball and with a quick tap drove over the line. At the final whistle Kesteven had taken their chances during the game and won this match. Regardless, Matlock Colts left the field heads held high knowing that the real victory was the superb achievement to get 16,17 and 18 year old lads not only developing and playing as a team but also having supplied players for the Senior sides for this and many seasons to come.

Matlock Colts XV 2007/8

T.Bestwick,J.Booth,A.Bowling,D.Byrne,J.Carlin,P.Carnell,L.Crofts,J.Farnfield,M.Gunter,

J.Hardy,A.Hood,F.Illingworth,F.Iseni,J.James,D.Jones,D.Killick,J.Kingman,P.Kirkham,

J.Mackay,T.McCluskey, T.Moran, T.Morton, A.Murrant,

H.Morton,A.Nadin,J.Newsom,N.Pickles,S.Robinson,M.Schofield,J.Shooter(Captain), J.Sixsmith,T.Stokes,B.Twyford,M.Webster,G.Whittaker,J.Woods.

Matlock Colts XV 5pts.

If ever a side came down to earth with a bump after winning a semi final the previous week, it was the hastily assembled Matlock Colts squad. The game was only confirmed late on Saturday night so text messaging managed to alert 17 players to assemble on Sunday at the inappropriately named Sunnyfields – the home of Buxton Rugby.

Matlock kicked off and immediately put Buxton under pressure. The home side absorbed everything that was thrown at them and against the run of play scored a runaway try from 60 meters ably assisted by the lack of commitment to tackle by Matlock.

After another passage of play by Matlock winger James Kingman hacked through a ball knocked on by a Buxton player to score in the corner.

Buxton pressured and again a well worked move by them and a gaping hole in the defence added 7 more points.

An honesty session took place during the half time interval and a revitalised Matlock took the game to the home side. Matthew Webster, shorn of his long hair yet maintaining Samson like strength, driving in the loose to gain good yards. Flanker Nick Pickles made some excellent tackles to thwart the Buxton attack. With the wind on their backs, Buxton chose to kick the ball deep into Matlock territory. Full Back Frankie Illingworth was secure under the high ball and confident enough to run the back at the pursuing attackers. Matlock tried to run the ball on every occasion but poor handling spilled the ball and Buxton hacked on to score the only try of the second half.

With the game coming to a close Matlock were awarded a series of penalties inside the home twenty two meter line. Buxton defended extremely well and ended the game victors. The NLD Plate final is two weeks away on Sunday 27th April and this match has proved to be the best reality check for the squad.

Matlock Colts made a nervous start to this eagerly awaited fixture and had to absorb tremendous pressure from a big Ilkeston pack. After six minutes Ilkeston scored from a Matlock lineout. Turnover ball was hacked ahead and collected to take a 5 point lead. This seemed to settle to Matlock side who steadily gained ground and possession over their opponents. Fullback Daryl Jones skilfully gathered a high kick and returned it deep into Ilkeston territory. With no alternative under pressure from pursuing Matlock players, the Ilkeston full back carried over his own line. Matlock won the scrum and the ball was quickly in the hands of outside centre Luke Crofts. He opted to bring the ball back to the pack and evaded several tackles with a jinking run. Outside him in support was prop Matthew Webster, unstoppable from short range.

Right from the restart Ilkeston regained possession and were on the attack. Matthew Webster intercepted a pass and set of from forty meters to score. An Ilkeston defender in desperation attempted a high tackle on Webster only to be unceremoniously dumped to the ground. Amazingly the referee played no advantage and denied Webster his second try by whistling for a penalty for the high tackle. Ilkeston defended well as Matlock stepped up the pressure. By now the Matlock scrum and impressive ball winning performances by Tom Bestwick at the line outs were beginning to give Matlock the upper hand. Ilkeston conceded another penalty and Skipper James Shooter was rewarded for his quick thinking and his solo effort with 5 points.

The third try was a real backs effort. Mike Gunter appeared off his wing at outside centre and passed to winger James Kingman. Realising that he was not going to make the try line, Kingman drew the tackler before returning the pass to Gunter for a lead of 10 points at the half time whistle.

Matlock relaxed a little at the start of the second half and conceded a try through missed tackles. Daryl Jones clipped the upright with a penalty with the score remaining at 15 -12. Most tense at this stage were the coaches and supporters, pacing up and down the sidelines in an attempt to disguise their anxiety as an effort to keep warm against the bitterly cold wind. The players on the pitch stuck to the task in hand. Winning ball from an Ilkeston scrum 30 meters out, a well timed pass from Tim McCluskey put Jonny Sixsmith into space. Taking the ball at full speed he broke through the despairing tackles of the Ilkeston centres to score under the post. Ilkeston brought on their big guns and Matlock gifted them a score. There was a lengthy stoppage after an injury to Jamie James with Matlock now focused on defence. Josh Woods and Joe Booth tirelessly tackled oncoming Ilkeston forwards.

Ilkeston conceded yet another penalty in front of their own posts. Daryl Jones put the game out of their reach with a calmly taken kick.

At the final whistle all the walking wounded from the side line joined with the entire travelling squad to celebrate an excellent performance and a well deserved win. With the final against Kesteven at Kesteven on April 27^th, this level of team spirit, performance and a tighter defence will be needed to win.

On a bitterly cold March evening, the visitors from Farragut High School, Knoxville, Tennessee who were on a UK tour came to Cromford Meadows to play a couple of games of rugby under the lights against Matlock U16's and Colts.

The two games were played in a tremendous spirit, with great open flowing rugby from all sides involved, which certainly gave the large crowd of spectators plenty to cheer about, and to say that some of the younger boys from Farragut High had not previously played much rugby, they certainly provided good competition for the Matlock boys.The number of players who turned out for the home teams was tremendous to see, giving the Matlock Coaches the opportunity of fielding almost a different team in each half.

There was also added excitement in the period between the two matches when power supply problems meant the floodlights had to be switched off for a short while, never had the Meadows heard so many ghosts, ghouls and owls !

After the games had finished the visitors were well fed with stew and potatoes whilst the two squads exchanged memento's of the occasion and shared experiences around the differences in life, school and rugby either side of the Atlantic, and Farragut Coach Josh Holt thanked Matlock Rugby Club for their warm hospitality.

Although the scorelines from the two games showed the home teams scoring more points, there was no doubt amongst all who came along including the guests that the winner on the night was the game of Rugby.

Please go into www.sportsshots.co.uk and then click the box marked PAC and type in the following number: enter code, then click on rugby which will open Matlock vs West Bridgford. You will then have access to many action shots from this game.

Nottingham Colts 43

Great Performance - Disappointing Result

Nottingham brought along a strong and mobile squad for this encounter down at the Meadows, and although the result did not go the way of the home team, the overall performance of the Matlock squad, and of particular individuals, gave heart to the ever increasing band of cheering spectators for theses Colts fixtures, most of whom would have been on the pitch were it not for injuries.

Things did not look so great 30 minutes before kick-off, by which point there were only twelve players turned up, many of whom had not fully recovered from their performances the previous evening, but by the time the whistle was blown there was a full compliment, along with a couple of subs.

The game was open and flowing with both sides mixing equal proportions of strong forward drives, wide passing moves, and testing speculative kicking, with defence generally coming out on top in the majority of situations, with this then giving the team in possession another opportunity to set up a variation in attack. The real difference between the two teams was always in the last segment of any particular passage of play, where Nottingham delivered the final execution of their moves with the type of precision which delivers points, and Matlock could certainly take learning points from this as a means to improve their game.

Particular mention should go to Phil Carnell, Nick Pickles & James Shooter whose forward driving with the ball can only be described as awesome, the returning Tom Stokes playing a strong game in his first full match at prop, Frankie Illingworth, James Kingman, Johnnie Sixsmith & Jamie James for their tireless defence, and special thanks to Josh Dixey & Richard who stepped in to play at the last minute, and finally to Joe Woods for a splendid performance as referee.

As a bunch of lads brought together at the start of the season from U17's, 18's and 19's the Matlock Colts have improved tremendously over the last few months to now play and support each other as a team, and this improvement will need to continue in order to deliver success at the NLD Plate semi-final on April 6th.

"MATLOCK COLTS GO THROUGH TO THE SEMI FINALS OF THE NLD PLATE

West Bridgford Colts 12

Matlock Colts 7

Even though they lost this match narrowly Matlock Colts went through to the semi final of the Notts, Lincs & Derbys Plate by winning their group last Sunday. They achieved this with a squad hit by many injuries over the last few weeks. Against West Bridgford they played some of their best rugby this season so far, matching their opponents in defence and attack but more importantly keeping the scoreline to a gap of 5 points. By doing so Matlock top the group having scored more bonus points than the second placed team, West Bridgford, over the season.

Before the game Matlock lost 3 of their key forwards and 3 of their backs to injury. Couple that with players on holiday made Sunday's performance even better by the available squad led admirably by James Shooter, the captain, and man of the match, prop Phil Carnell who is fast showing his strength and skills in rucks and mauls.

Unfortunately the game was spoiled as a spectacle for both sides by an over zealous referee who dominated the game from beginning to end. Both sets of players found it very hard to concentrate under these conditions.

Within 5 minutes of the game starting West Bridgford scored with a breakaway try which in turn was converted. Matlock slowly but surely started to dominate forward possession and it was no surprise to see Captain James Shooter on the 20 minute mark take a quick tap penalty in the opponents 22 and drive over the line to score. This was converted by Daryl Jones.

The scoreline remained the same for about 40 minutes and in that time the game became fragmented, spoilt in the main by the whistle. During this period Matlock were far superior in their build up play. In fact they were unlucky on two occasions when both forward and backs playing some of the most exciting rugby of the season when the ball was passed from hand to hand only to see it break down short of the try line. On another day Matlock would have returned with a score.

Congratulations must go to the squad for this performance which will stand them in stead for the semi finals which will be held in Sleaford on Sunday 6th April. This season has seen a number of Colts graduate to the senior club XV with Mike Gunter leading the pack playing wing for the first XV the previous day against Scunthorpe. Tom and Harry Morton, Ben Tywford, Tom Bestwick, Jack Hardy and Luke Crofts have all recently turned out for Senior Matlock Teams with many more awaiting the call.

On Wednesday evening 19th March Matlock Colts will be hosting a visit to Cromford Meadows by Farrugut High School of Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. The school are currently State rugby champions and will be touring and playing three matches during their UK tour. The game will kick off at 7pm under floodlights and the Colts would welcome a big support. Matlock Rugby Club look forward to hosting the American party so why not come along and enjoy the game of rugby".

On a warm and bright day in perfect conditions for running rugby, Matlock Colts excelled in this match to put in a performance of power and pace that left the visitors reeling. Challenged to play open rugby, the first score came from a 5meter scrum. The Ashfield clearance did not find touch and was gathered by the safe hands of George Whittaker. The attack started off on the right wing and ended down the other wing after several passes with Mike Gunter crossing the line. Matthew Webster powered over for the second from a ruck formed after a line out. His second came from a similar attaching platform. Scrum Half Harry Morton scythed through the defence with a 40 meter break. At the ruck Phil Carnell drove forward allowing Josh Woods to score. The try of the day came from Flanker Joe Booth. Matlock broke right and Joe accelerated onto a pass that took him through the despairing tackles to run in unopposed from 60 meters. Two more points were added by Darryl Jones who was quickly back in the action to elude the challengers with a break and dummy putting Full Back Ben Twyford in the clear. Ben weaved his way through the defence to score try number 6 under the posts. Conversion by Darryl. Jack Hardy took the score to 39 points at the half.

Wholesale player substitutions did not disrupt the pattern of play and Matlock continued to attack at any opportunity. Nick Pickles scored from a quickly taken penalty 10 meters from the line. Fly Half Frankie Illingworth brought the League contest to a close at 50 points by passing to Luke Crofts whose offload to Darryl Jones put him over the line. Tom Morton slotted an easy conversion close to the posts.

Sporting Ashfield elected to carry on playing as there was plenty of time left on the clock. Three further tries scored by Tom Morton, Second Row Tim Bestwick and a superb solo effort by Frankie Illingworth concluded the proceedings. A note of thanks has to go to the Ashfield players who beaten but not disgraced, gave it their all to make a contest of this fixture.

In seeking tougher opposition after a series of easy wins, the Colts were grateful that Market Razen accepted the invitation and made the long journey for a first ever visit to the Meadows.

Twenty seven eager Matlock Colts were available to play in this fixture so it was decided to play three twenty minute sessions to give everyone game time.

Knowing the strength of the visitors Matlock stuck to the task of taking on a well drilled pack of forwards. Fly Half Alastair Hood broke through their defence from a line out with an excellent solo effort only to be tackled close to the line. Jonny Sixsmith continues to impress at centre and showed his pace and versatility in attack. Some excellent forward driving had the Colts over the line on two occasions only for the referee to deem the ball held up. Matlocks’ front five were not intimidated by the visitors and are growing in confidence at ever scrum. Prop Phil Carnell drove hard at the line only to be stopped by an excellent defensive combination. Matlock stuck to their game plan of direct rugby instilled in them by Coach Dan Hooton but throughout the sessions the same errors of losing possession in contact and a lack of physicality ultimately let them to concede victory.

Matlock RFC Colts 52pts

Sixsmith hat trick continues Colts try fest.

Bingham,short of players were loaned Colts from Matlock in order to complete this NLD pool game.

With the gale at their backs it took only three minutes for Matlock open the score. A smart centre move put Mike Gunter unopposed under the posts. Tom Morton converted the first of 5 for the day.

The Bingham pack worked hard all through the match to compete but were not able to stop Joe Farnfield breaking from a ruck for the second score. In very windy conditions handling was not easy and at a fumble by Bingham,Center Jonny Sixsmith broke free to run in his first from 60 meters. Another passage of open play with good handling saw Jamie James score in the corner. Tom Morton cooly slotted a difficult conversion. Jonny Sixsmith added to the score count with two individual efforts either side of half time to complete his hat trick.Full back Ben Twyford took over the kicking duties as Tom Morton was now playing for the opposition.

Bolstered by more Matlock players, Bingham never gave up the contest and much to the delight and applause of a growing band of Matlock supporters, scored a consolation try. Prolific try scorer for Matlock Mike Gunter donned a Bingham shirt but could not repeat his exploits against the fearless tackling of Dan Killick. Pressing the Bingham line, Matlock stole the ball at a line out and with slick passing by Josh Woods, Second Row Phil Carnell dived over the line for 5 more points

Constant pressure on Bingham forced another handling error and Fly Half Frankie Illingworth showed exploited the mistake with a good solo effort to round off the match with the final try.

Virtually assured of a place in the NLD Colts Plate semi final, tougher fixtures are being booked in preparation of that challenge.

Try fest at Ashfield from the Matlock forwards

JUNIOR RUGBY - NLD PLATE

ASHFIELD COLTS............0

MATLCOK COLTS............46

After last weeks victory over West Bridgford it was imperative that the Matlock Colts squad kept up the momentum winning away from home and scoring at least 4 tries to give them a bonus point. This they achieved against a plucky Ashfield side who saw one of their players sin binned half way through the second half for a high tackle on Jamie James who after some attention played on with greater determination.

The game was played in dry overhead conditions on a playing surface fit for running rugby.

* The game was only 2 minutes old when forward Jack Hardy scored an unconverted try in the corner after an excellent drive from the pack. Score 0-5

* 10 minutes later saw James Shooter take an excellent pass from the backs to go over for another unconverted try. Score 0-10

* A few minutes later and not to be out done by his fellow forwards, Nick Pickles, scored a try in the corner with some help from his forward colleagues. Winger George Whitaker then strolled up to place the conversion between the posts. Score 0-17

* After some excellent back play from their own 22 Matlock won a line out 5 metres from the opponents try line. The line out was won by Matlock and with their strength and determination found James Shooter crossing the line with the pack 'supporting' him. George Whitaker converted a difficult kick from the touch line to take Matlock into an excellent lead at half time and a bonus point achieved.

Half Time 0 - 24

* The second half started identical to the first after only 2 minutes when the backs came into their own with some excellent passing skills and Luke Crofts acting as the playmaker. This passage of play then lead to a line out to Ashfield. Matlock then put pressure on the opponents and as a result Tom Bestwick flicked off the top to scrum half Tom Morton who darted through for an unconverted try in the corner. Score 0-29

* Nick Pickles who is fast developing into top rugby player then picked up a ball from the base of an attacking scrum to score in the corner. Score 0-34

* This was followed on the 64th minute with try number 3 for Nick Pickles. He won clean ball from a line out on the half way line to 'brush' past a number of Ashfield defenders and score in the corner, Score 0-39

* Then on the 70th minute the 'man of the match', yes a back, Luke Crofts, inter passing with his back division to score the last try of the match and number 8 under the posts. Scrum half Tom Morton converted.

Final Score 0-46

Matlock Colts squad travel to Bingham on Sunday 27th January with the desire to top their league. Thanks must go to the dedication of the Colts coaching staff, supporters and Dan Hooton who as a part time coach with the Colts is recovering from a horrendous leg injury whilst playing for the Matlock first XV. A special mention must go to Colt Mike Gunter who scored on his first team League debut against Ampthill on Saturday. A number of Colts are now playing regular 2nd and 3rd team senior rugby for the club which can only be good for the future of Matlcok RUFC.

Come on Matlock Boys!

'Report by Braveheart on the Battlefield' (more than a match for Barry on the Bench)

13/01/08

Matlock Colts RUFC 21

West Bridgford Colts RUFC 0

Matlock Colts went into this Notts, Lincs & Derbys Plate match knowing that this would be one of their toughest games of the season so far.

Matlock from the moment the whistle blew never gave the opposition time to settle as they went into a 21 point lead after 25 minutes. Both forwards and backs were in harmony and it was no surprise to see Matlock score within minutes of the game starting. Scrum half Tom Morton received the ball from a perfect lineout call and darted through the West Bridgford defence and with the help of the Matlock pack scored in the corner. With the wind and rain closing in, fly half Darryl Jones, kicked a difficult conversion to make it 7-0. Matlock's second try, soon after, saw Mike Gunter run through a number of West Bridgford defenders to score under the posts. Again fly half Darryl Jones converted with ease to make the score 14-0. The third try was a delight to watch from the sidelines after some sterling forward play when the ball was offloaded to scrum half Tom Morton who delightfully chipped the defenders for Jonny Sixsmith to collect on the full and score in the corner. The resultant successful conversion kick by Darryl Jones was most difficult with the wind swirling across the pitch. All those watching thought that the flood gates would open but this was not to be as Matlock took the foot of the pedal and allowed the West Bridgford forwards to come back at them. On the 30 minute mark Matlock's winger Dan Killick was outrageously sin binned for 10 minutes for an alleged stamping offence but as this is rugby union both player and supporters accepted the referee's decision. As a result of this incident Matlock's new found determination repelled wave after wave of West Bridgford attacks with pack leader James Shooter carrying out some sterling work.

Well what can one say of the second half suffice to say that there were many positive moments as well as handling errors. One such error saw what can only be described as amazing!!!! Matlock were on the attack in the opposition's 22 when Matlock's centre, who will remain nameless, had his pass intercepted by a West Bridgford defender who then took off like a gazelle. He was surprisingly tracked by Matlock's prop, Webby (Matthew Webster) whose agility, speed and determination brought the player down 1 metre from the try line. Webby will no doubt have to have the best part of a week to recover. This amazing feat kept the opposition score to zero.

Matlcok Colts then camped for the remaining period of the second half camped in the opposition's 22 but just could not penetrate their defence to put a more realistic score on the board. Matlock Colts have played a lot better and lost but with this grit and determination can see them go the whole way and win the 3 Counties Plate Competition

Bingham Colts 0

The opposition unfortunately travelled to Matlock with only 12 fit players and before a ball was played it was decided by both sets of officials that Matlock would be credited with the points in this Three Counties (NLD) Plate competition.

The decision was then taken, in the true spirit of rugby, to play the match as a friendly with Matlock's large squad supplying 3 of their own players to Bingham in each half.

On one of the wettest days at the Meadows Matlock took the lead early on when forward Nick Pickles intercepted a pass to run in an unopposed try. This was followed by a procession of tries from Gunter, Jones, Newsom and Twyford to put the game beyond reach by mid way through the second half.

All credit must go to the Bingham players who stuck to their task and to Matlock for playing some impressive rugby, but as we all know there is room for improvement.

Matlock's next Plate league game will be against Ashfield away from home on Sunday 16 December and it is hoped that the squad can build upon this with training on Sunday morning at Cromford.

A four try haul by Mike Gunter was further enhanced by an all round team performance.

Not even a tempestuous down pour could dampen the growing confidence of the Matlock pack who took on a big Uttoxeter side intent on bossing the game. At a 5 meter lineout in the hosts half Matlock stole the ball and with fast hands through the backs, delivered the ball to Gunter. Unstoppable on a charge, his trade mark pile driver hand off took him past the despairing defenders to open the scoring. Matlock kept up the pressure and created a platform for the three quarter line to attack at every occasion. Luke Crofts broke the gain line with pace and forced Uttoxeter to concede a penalty close to the line. The ever alert Colts Captain, James Shooter, took a quick tap and ran in the second try unopposed. Contributing to the overall territorial advantage by Matlock was the intelligent kicking by Fly Half Alastair Hood.

Facing the elements in the second half Matlock continued to dominate with the Back Row of Josh Woods, Shooter and Jonny Sixsmith, dangerous in attack and robust in defence. Mike Gunter snapped up his hat trick score from broken play late into the second half. Matlock pressed their advantage with Frankie Illingworth turning over possession and sprinting for the line, his try denied by a brave tackle from the Uttoxeter full back. Try number four for Gunter was a poacher’s try snapping up a loose ball close in after a final attack from deep inside their own half by Matlock. An excellent win with congratulations to all the squad for playing their part in the victory.

Despite having most of the territory and possession in the first half Matlock failed to dominate the visitors and allowed them to move the ball wide. No cover defence gave the Ilkeston wing an unopposed 40 meter clear run to secure 5 points. Matlock kept up the pressure and from a succession of rucks close to the line, Second row Alex Murrant drove over.Darryl Jones kicked an excellent conversion to take the lead. Other opportunities to score presented themselves to Matlock but were wasted by not exploiting the overlaps created. Half time saw Matlock down by only two points.

An invigorated Ilkeston side pressured Matlock from the kick off but Matlock drove the ball back at them from a scrum with Number 8, Nick Pickles forcing his way towards the line to set up a ruck. Prop Fatmir Iseni gathered the ball and despite a robust challenge placed the ball to give Matlock the lead. The home side lost concentration and were gifted a soft try to Ilkeston from a ruck when Matlock failed to offer any defence. Despite the efforts of substitute Fly Half Tom Morton and Centre Luke Crofts to penetrate the defence, Matlock were too slow at the rucks, allowing Ilkeston to turn the ball over to their advantage. At the final whistle a dejected home side left the field knowing that handling errors and a lack of physicality had cost them the victory.