Year 10/11 Rugby: Purbeck 26 Blandford 5
Purbeck took to the field in a beautiful sun-lit afternoon to take on a very big and dynamic Blandford side which promised to me a significantly better challenge than the previous two games. Purbeck started brightly, dominating the early territory in the opposition half, but not being able to turn possession into points due to not being able to get the ball over the line in the ‘red zone’. Blandford were very physical and good defensively, with some momentous collisions in the midfield through dominant tackling. Purbeck had an excellent chance halfway through the first half when Ernie Trent offloaded the ball to Henry Brown, with the referee deeming the ball travelling slightly forwards and disallowing the try. Eventually Purbeck found the break through, with a big carry and offload from Kane Adams down the centre of the pitch created space for the Purbeck backs to gain valuable metres towards the try line. After a couple of forward phases, the ball ended up in the hands of Joe Ward, who powered through two tackles to score to the left-hand side of the posts. This was successfully converted by Liam Lee. 7-0. It was then Purbecks turn to defend their own line. Initially the Blandford centre was clean through to score under the posts, but for Charlie Johnsons full stretch tackle to bring him down. Purbeck then scrambled their defence to eventually stop the Blandford winger from scoring in the corner, albeit slightly high hence the penalty given. Blandford then set up a charging run with their biggest player, in which Liam Lee and Oli Evans drove backwards forcing him to knock the ball on. Purbeck turned the ball over and cleared it to go into half time 7-0 up.
The second half really was end to end stuff. Purbeck started well, spinning the ball wide and making numerous breaks through Euan Dallimore and Henry Brown. Eventually pressure was turned into points, with yet again a double tackle from Oli Evans and Liam Lee, successfully ripping the ball from the opposing player 5m out to score with one big reach. Liam then converted to get his second kick of the afternoon. 14 – 0. Purbeck then were put under significant pressure from Blandford, especially with Purbeck down to 14 after Regan Norman having to come off injured after a huge collision in midfield. Purbeck defended their line courageously from a 5m lineout, but pressure eventually turned into points, despite the best last-ditch efforts of Joe Ward and Ethan Williams-Hall in getting under the ball to hold the try up. 14-7.
The last 10 minutes was pure Purbeck domination though with them really showing their resilience, mental toughness and continuity as one unit. The amount of sheer big tackles, rucking and support play from the boys really made me feel proud as their teacher. After some quick feet by Jaq Myers, stepping two players he then was tackled by a Blandford player who didn’t wrap his arms. This was then tapped quickly by Jamie Gordon who picked out Liam Lee with an excellent pass who resultantly paced down the left-hand touch line. He then chipped the oncoming fullback, gathered his kicked and offloaded to the ever-present Kieran Barton to score under the posts to seal the victory. Liam Lee slotted his third conversion of the afternoon to make it 21-7. With one-minute left on the clock, Oli Evans returned the kick off with pure strength, speed and power up the middle of the field. This set free the dynamic Euan Dallimore to whip the ball to Henry Brown who sprinted through the remaining 40m to score under the posts. Ironically, the easiest kick of the afternoon was charged down from Liam Lee’s boot!
Overall a fantastic afternoon of rugby, from a group of boys completely mixed from year 10 and 11, working hard towards a common goal. Their unity and drive really shone through and they fully deserved the win. A special mention to Kane Adams who was ‘Man of the Match’, for a very dominant performance all round the park in both attack and defence. The boys will then go on to play Corfe Hills School on Tuesday, 3.30pm Kick Off at Stade de Purbeck.
Full Time: 26-7.
- Kane Adams
- Gabriel Korczowski
- Oli Evans
- Joe Ward (vc)
- Regan Norman
- Charlie Johnson
- Ethan Williams-Hall,
- Ernie Trent
- Kieran Barton,
- Jamie Gordon,
- Jaq Myers,
- Euan Dalimore,
- Henry Brown,
- Pita Kaikadavu,
- Liam Lee (c)
- Jonny May