Hornets youngsters impress against the cream of Wales

HORNETS Under-16s welcomed the Boys’ Club of Wales to The Nest and ran out 34-19 winners.

Their visitors are a representative side made up of some of the best players in South Wales and Hornets showed that a team of individuals can be outplayed by a well-organised and determined settled side, as Hornets beat The Boys by six tries to three.

Hornets scored first from a line-out, the ball was delivered to the back of the maul to Holyday, who with his pack, pushed The Boys over their line for a superb try.

Soon after, Humphris moved the ball wide through Foroughi and Solomon. Turner chipped through and Hornets were close. A scrum five and Holyday bulldozed over for another, converted by Humphris.

The third try came after some outstanding interplay by the forwards and when close, Ben Eades stretched out to put the ball down on the line for an excellent score, again converted by Humphris.

After the break, The Boys began to play some fast rugby of their own, but when the ball was dropped in midfield, Taylor pounced and scampered to the corner for a classic counter-punch try.

The Boys again stepped up and were rewarded with two tries, but Hornets were in control and Richardson charged down a kick to score to cap a fine performance.

The Boys scored again, but Hornets had the last word when Holyday completed his hat-trick try right on full-time to make the final score 34-19.

The Under-13s travelled to Bristol on a cold day to play Kingswood for the first time. With a slightly depleted squad, Hornets started slowly and Kingswood ran in a few tries.

Hornets had to borrow two Kingswood players to even up the numbers and in the second half, Hornets came to life as the borrowed players inspired them. Hornets scored five tries in the second half with a hat-trick for Tom Hooper and two tries scored by the guest players.

It was a high scoring and entertaining game which Kingswood won 56-33.

With 45 minutes of rugby planned over three games, Ebbw Vale started strongly and it quickly became apparent the Under-9s would be facing a day of tough tackling against the strong-running Welsh.

With both teams defending well, it was guaranteed to be a close game which Hornets managed to snatch by a single try.

The second game saw Hornets off to a flying start and pull a couple of tries clear, which was a lead they maintained to the end.

As with the first two games, game three was full of hard running, support play and big tackles, but Ebbw Vale worked hard to gain a lead which they maintained.

The Under-15s travelled to Old Bristolians and returned with a narrow 12-7 victory, despite missing some players.

Back row players Ieuan Walter, Tom Bailey and Callum Leonard were outstanding, well backed up by scrum-half Casper. They spent the majority of the first-half in the hosts’ half, but could only score one try by Bailey, converted by Josh Cooke.

After the break, Old Bristolians hit back to score a converted try, before Hornets Charlie Camper scored an excellent try for the winning score.

Props Conrad and Lewis Rickwood had fine games, as did fly-half Dan O’Dea and centres Cooke and Camper. Man of the match went to Liam Preston.

WESTON Under-7s travelled the short trip to Cheddar and the hosts put out two teams one with three players and the other with four.

Meanwhile, Weston had two teams of four, so the first game was three against four and to Cheddars credit it was a fairly even encounter. The hosts started brightly and were soon on the scoresheet with Oakley Neville being a constant threat with some fine runs.

Weston broke through with Samuel Morgan scoring several tries and his twin Oliver supporting well. Corey Morrissey provided good back-up and all three players getting on the score sheet.

The second game saw an even four versus four and this is where Weston seemed to step up a gear with Morgan scoring some fine tries. Sam Bishop also scored, while Corey and Oliver put some good moves together, but man of the match went to Samuel Morgan.

The Under-12s put in a fine effort on a full-sized pitch at Cheddar as these two equally matched teams arrived at a stalemate. A second game allowed Weston to make many changes to their line-up, including a debut for Marcel Ledniowski.

Lottie Dadds was unfortunate not to score when standing unopposed, she was just a little too far away from Hayden Main, whose run had created the chance. Alfie Calcutt and Matthew James both ran strongly, while Weston impressed the Cheddar coaches with their rucking, which saw them turn the ball over several times.

Charlie Harding showed great form with ball in hand and consistently beat his bigger opponent in the scrum. Several players could expect the player of the match award, but this week it went to Morgan Taylor.

The Under-6s were away to Cheddar, playing an older side on a cold Sunday morning. This did not stop them putting in some great performances and showed some improvement in all areas.

First to get them off the mark was Dillon Drinkwater, who was strong in defence. Jacob Rumble was on hand to add to the score, while Frankie Moore and Harrison Lees linked up well with Harrison putting in some great passes to put Fred Sweet and Drinkwater through to add to the score.

Some great defensive work from Moore and Lees stopped the home team running away with the game with Drinkwater and Rumble finding good space against a strong Cheddar side. Sweet was most improved player with some great passing and running throughout.

A Mothering Sunday meeting at Cheddar produced some impressive performances from both teams as William Bamsey opened the scoring for the Under-9s by sprinting from the halfway line.

Cheddar responded immediately and tries by Ben Donachie and Aarron Cocking were quickly matched as both sides put in strong tackles, not allowing their opponents the luxury of running space.

Three all at half-time and Weston’s defensive line stayed solid with excellent performances by Remo Harness and Henry Ward. Tom Collard finally scored to give the visitors the edge.

Cheddar dominated the first-half of the second match, but Weston rallied in the second half, finishing with a well-worked try in the corner.

The Under-13s travelled to Keynsham to take part in their Super 8 tournament. With a line-up of seven other strong sides to compete against, Weston were keen to show their skills.

First up was South Gloucestershire side, Thornbury. Weston made good use of the ball and saw their efforts rewarded when Paterson crossed the line. Not to be outdone, the Weston pack were keen to show what they could do and with a sure pass from Biggs and carries from the likes of Braidwood and Chamberlain, Connolly was able to dart over to score as Weston won 10-5.

Next up were local rivals Nailsea & Backwell. They were a tougher job and despite a brace from Pearce and another from Paterson, the game ending in a 15-15 draw.

Finishing the pool were the hosts Keynsham, who were dispatched with scores from Toogood, Marshall and Paterson.

Having won their pool, Weston were pitched against the much-fancied Winscombe. The match was, as expected the toughest challenge of the day and despite a try apiece from Pearce and Paterson, Weston were narrowly defeated 10-15.

Weston should hold their heads high after the performance they gave and credit given to the immense work put in by the likes of Kingston, Howells, Morton-Bool and Turner.