It was double celebrations for the Lambs on Sunday as their U18s beat Boys Club of Wales 40-13, scoring six tries and securing their third win of the season, whilst the U16s won their opening game of the season 22-15 against the same opposition after a stunning fightback in the latter stages.

The games were hosted back to back on Aylesbury’s wonderful 3G surface, the second visit of for the Lambs there this season.

U18s

The U18s scored three tries in each half, with a mixture of team tries and solo tries, born not only out of Fast and Free rugby but also from a vastly improved defensive performance.

The opening try took less than 10 minutes with Josh Hart (Denstone College) finishing off a wonderful team try that saw the ball passed and offloaded through plenty of hands, before a second try by Dekoye Coker (St Edwards, Oxford) minutes later which was completely individual, taking a bobbling ball on the backfoot around the halfway line before ghosting past a number of scrambling Boys Club of Wales defenders.

Just before half time the defensive improvement was seen as a hard press forced mistakes from the Boys Club of Wales before captain Matt Harris (Berkhamsted) picked up and ran free, before selflessly feeding Waddington (Woodhouse Grove) to dive over just before half time – taking in a 19-3 lead.

A slow half to the second half was livened up by Man of The Match Sam Newton (Durham) who made a sniping break from the half way line before rounding the sweeping scrum half and trailing winger and full back, another wonderful solo try.

The Boys Club of Wales then fought their way back in, scoring two catch and drive tries to bring the score to 26 – 13. However, an injection of pace from Milo Linney (Uppingham) saw another fantastic team try in classic Lambs style, this time started on their own try line. The ball moved between Newton and Linney before the latter made a clean break, feeding Alex Zenda (Pangbourne) to continue the break, in turn Zenda kept the ball alive in the tackle area, Linney popping up on the end again to take the ball clean through and feed Raef Yewdell (Sherbourne) with a simple two vs. one to complete the score.

At 33-13 there was time for one more score, again with defence turning to attack from some excellent pressure, a spilt ball in midfield was picked up by Pittman (King’s Taunton) who ran clean through to score, which he converted himself.

Final score 40 – 13 and another improved performance for the U18s who will go on to face Northampton Saints next.

U16s

For the U16s it was a tough but rewarding first outing. The team started well, despite only coming together as a squad for the first time an hour and a half before, and the boys’ desire to play fast and free was rewarded when they scored off a quick tap penalty, catching Boys Club unawares as James Cherry (Norwich), hooker, carried over for the first score.

After that, the Boys Club took over, physically controlling play and territory, as the Lambs lost control with loose passages of play; the Boys Club 8 smashed through the Lambs defense for a try after a strong BCW rolling maul. Boys Club maintained control of the first half and despite some valiant goal line defense from the Lambs, the boys from Wales scored a second try in the corner after some good phase play to take a 10-5 lead into the half.

In the early stages of the second half, the Lambs had all the ball but too many dropped balls and silly errors plagued their attack. BCW took advantage to score a rolling maul 10 minutes into the half and at 15-5, the young Lambs looked down and out.

However, a flurry of substitutions brought new life to the side and they were buoyed by a stunning solo try from skipper full-back Josh Davies (Mount Kelly), taking the ball deep in his own half he ducked and weaved all the way under his own posts.

The Lambs were now rejuvenated at 15-12 and built steady pressure. The relentless BCW defense held out, until one of the Lambs managed to wrestle the ball off the BCW 10 and flop over for a try to take their lead to 17-15 with 2 minutes to play.

It was then off the kick off that perhaps the moment of the match came. In true Lambs style, rather than kick the ball downfield and defend to preserve their lead, the Lambs attacked off the kick off, with Cartwright (Shiplake College) making a break. The ball was then recycled back to the other wing where the hooker Cherry (Norwich) found himself on the outside with 60m ahead of him, he went round the winger and sprinted down the touchline half the pitch to seal the game with a glorious Lambs try and a 22-15 win.

A great game, the Boys Club physicality was outstanding throughout and the spirit of the Lambs down, but never out combined with their endeavor to move the ball led them to an impressive first victory ahead of games vs. Worcester, Saracens and Irish Exiles.

Following the double header, Lambs National Director Alex Laybourne said:

“Today was a fantastic day of rugby for all involved, the players, staff and spectators. Two fiercely fought games showcased the ability these players have, on both sides and in both age groups.”

“Both Lambs sides looked to play ‘Fast and Free’ whilst the 16s also showed great character to turn the game around and get the win, and the U18s took more strides forwards. A massive thank you must go to Aylesbury RFC for hosting the double header, as well as the officials – with the team of three officiating over both games.”

Final Scores:
ISRFC Lambs U18s 40-13 Boys Club of Wales U18s

ISRFC Lambs U16s 22-15 Boys Club of Wales U16s

To see photos from the games, please follow this link: Gallery – ISRFC Lambs v Boys Club of Wales.

Photos via Colin Peachey & Jim Laybourne

Teams:

Remaining ISRFC Lambs U18 2017 Season Schedule:

Tuesday 28th February – Northampton Saints

Monday 6th March – Saracens

Thursday 30th March to Tuesday 11th April 2017 – Canada Tour

Saturday 1st April – Match Day 1 v Caplilano RFC, Vancouver

Monday 3rd April – Match Day 2 v Pacific Loggers, Seattle

Thursday 6th April – Match Day 3 v British Columbia Select XV, Vancouver

Sunday 9th April – Match Day 4 v Canada U18, Victoria

Saturday 29th April –Worcester U17, plus dinner. (Loughborough University)