Smiths U15s beat battling Bredon in another Prince of Wales thriller

After last minute kicks previously settled a loss vs Ross on Wye and then another to beat Royal Wootton Bassett in preseason fixtures, Smiths Rugby U15s left it late again to make it 2 wins from 2 in the league vs visitors Bredon Star RFC. The 19-15 final score reveals nothing about the frenetic last 5 minutes that saw the lead change hands 3 times.

Smiths Rugby Under 15 breaking the line against Brendon Star at the Prince of Wales Rugby Stadium in Cheltenham

Conditions were a good test for the skills and attitude of the players a a steady wind drove light rain straight down the pitch for most of the game. With a large central area of the pitch described as 'heavy going' as well, the game was always likely to have plenty of attritional phases.

Bredon started with the wind at their backs and an up and under into Smiths 22 led to Bredon regathering and breaking through a scrambling defence to take the lead on 12 minutes to lead 0-7.  

For the rest of the half Smiths worked hard to make progress up the pitch and made light of the conditions to try and impose their wide game play. Loose passes and not resourcing rucks meant the home side didn’t make the most of the opportunities they had.  

Instead of getting on the scoreboard in the first half, it was a huge defensive effort that contributed towards the result. Smiths pack dealt with everything Bredon threw at them as they soaked up tackles, disrupted rucks and dismantled mauls to trail 0-7 at half time.

After a similar pattern to the 3rd quarter, scores came thick and fast in the last 15 minutes. Firstly Bredon took advantage of a couple of missed tackles wide on the left to take their lead to 0-12.

Smiths then came to life and applied real pressure with Bredon struggling to exit their 22 against the wind. Forward phases including strong carries by the tight 5 pushed on to Bredon's line and they finally broke when Number 8 Dylan Fox dived over from close range. Centre Ed Skelding added the extras for 7-12.

The next score came through Smiths backs with Wing Addison Betteridge touching down and Skelding again added 2 points for Smiths to take the lead for the first time 14-12 with less than 5 minutes to go.

A lapse in concentration saw Bredon take a quick restart to catch Smiths on the hop and regain possession. It was the visitors turn to work their phase play and were awarded a central penalty kick just outside the Smiths 22. With a 14-15 lead and time running out, Smiths would have one last chance to claim the win.

A long kick and good chase ended with a goal line drop out and once back in possession of the ball a couple more strong forwards carries dented the Bredon defence leaving some space on the left of the pitch.  

Smiths have been working hard to add some guile to their play and coach Sam Cook was pleased to see the training pay off,

'It was great to see us keep our heads right at the end of the game and use the ball instead of just crashing it up. Our Player of the Match was Monty Faulkner and he showed confidence and skill to in that moment to keep the ball moving with a pass out the back of the forwards pod.'

Flanker James Pickering was the beneficiary of the play but as he took the ball at pace he still had metres to cover before shrugging off a tackle to slide in out wide and seal a gutsy 19-15 win.

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Smiths 1st XV had a more stress-free league win away at Old Richians. Tries from Tony Moore, Ben Hawker x2, Jack Davies x2, Charles Peters, Dan Jarvis x2 and a try and 7 kicks from Oliver Aherne helped Smiths lead from start to finish. They move up to 3rd in the league in a very competitive top 5.  

Next week Smiths 1st XV are away at Cheltenham North in round 2 of the Counties 2 Championship Cup.