U12B Richard Hawkes Tournament - HKU2 Bowl Winners !

Match Report by Richard Perry

After dominating Group C in Round 1 with 3 from 3, HKU2 were promoted to group B for Round 2 where they found the competition hard going and were relegated back to Group C for Round 3 where they finished with two wins and a draw.

Ultimately this resulted in HKU2 being seeded 9th overall and top of the Bowl & Shield rankings.

Quarter Final vs HKFC4

A warm dry morning greeted the teams as they arrived at the Football Club grounds in Happy Valley for a quick warm-up before kick-off at 8am.

It was a scrappy start with the ball being turned over several times before everything settled. Mikey, George and Toby had strong runs into contact and gained significant ground through several phases and rucks before the ball was spun out to the left for Alex to run in the first try. Some good teamwork with the boys supporting the ball carrier and getting quickly in over the ball in the ruck.

The restart ended up being taken into touch. FC had the throw but ended up losing the ball forward. Sandy Bay put-in to the scrum which was regathered by Harry for a quick pass out right to Alex who was unmarked and ran in to score again.

The restart was gathered by FC who attempted to make a run for the line but their player was cut down in a smashing tackle by Toby. Some solid defence with a couple of mauls and a scrum to FC finished the first half.

The second half began well with Ted receiving the kick-off cleanly, driving up into contact and offloading to Aryx who took it further up, offloading to Harry who sprinted in for a try in the left corner.

Several excellent rucks followed with several phases resulting in Nico powering in over the line – too strong for the Football Club tacklers to take down.

Restart was untidy with some poor discipline on both sides with hands in the ruck. Ultimately there was no further score and HKU2 advanced into the Bowl Semi-final.

Full Time 4-0 to HKU2

Semi Final vs USRC2

The Tigers were an intimidating looking team with a boy the size of Jonah Lomu! This looked like it was going to be a tough game.

Sandy Bay’s kick-off was knocked on giving a scrum to us only 10 meters out. Toby took the ball into contact which was regathered from the ruck. Some quick passing left then right confused the defence allowing Ted to run through the middle to score as the ref tripped over a Tigers player running behind him.

The Tigers struck back through their big unit who lumbered in for a try in the right corner to level the score.

The restart was taken up the middle and into a maul then ruck, passed out left into another ruck but the ball spilled out and was gathered by the Tigers. The big lad had it and made a B-line for the right corner. Fred was having none of that behaviour, chased him down, wrapped the legs and the big lad fell like a forest giant at the hands of a skilled lumberjack! George collected the ball and spun it out to the right to Hamish who jinks and steps beautifully around the defence and makes a break for the right corner with Alex following in support. Hamish is chased down and tackled just short of the line, lays the ball back for Alex to pick up and go over to score.

The restart is picked up by Tigers who drive up the middle but spill the ball in an excellent tackle by Toby causing the turnover. Several phases with excellent passing and strong rucking follow as territory is gained and Ted punches through to score again.

Restart taken up by Tigers and Hamish chops the legs in a textbook tackle, Ted gets in to counter ruck and Fred scrounges the ball, some quick hands left then right confuse the Tigers and Fred slices through the gap to score. A Tigers player is down so there’s a brief injury break while he is attended to. The restart goes to their giant who escapes capture and runs in his second to finish the first half.

Tigers kick-off for the second half goes deep and is gathered by Mikey who takes it into a ruck, several phases follow with some lovely passing, Hamish offloads to Alex who sprints almost the full length of the field to score in the right corner.

The restart is scrappy and a knock-on gives Tigers the scrum, but they fail to capitalise, Nico is gifted an intercept and powers over to score.

From the restart the Tigers player trips over and Alex goes in to form the ruck, Mikey scoops it up and fires it back to Nico who charges in again.

A Sandy Bay knock-on give Tigers the put-in 5 meters from their line, but our boys drive in hard and win the tight-head, Toby snaffles it and runs over to score.

Full Time 8-2 to HKU2

Bowl Final vs VF2

Valley Fort 2 had beaten Football Club 3 and Flying Kukris to make it to the final, so we were expecting a challenging game with some real speedsters on their side.

What followed though, was a demonstration of just how far our boys have come and how they have improved in every aspect of their game. Excellent rucking, passing, offloads, line breaks, fending, tackling, scrummaging and supporting the ball carrier resulted in a try-fest to Sandy Bay.

Sandy Bay kick off deep, Valley run it up but Skye takes the player down and the ball goes backwards. They run the ball laterally, allowing Fred to tackle as they lose territory. George rips the ball and is in to score.

Harry’s drop kicks are beautiful to watch, Valley run the ball up but knock it on in a tackle. Our boys pounce. Safe hands and excellent rucking see the ball carried through several phases for Harry to run in for our second.

The restart is a perfectly weighted grubber by Harry down into the left corner. Valley struggle to gather, George gets in over the ball, rips it away and he’s over for the third.

Another grubber by Harry into the right corner, a Valley speedster picks it up and goes but he’s caught around the ankles by Ted and brought down. Valley win the ruck but it’s untidy, Alex slows them down as they try to punch through, they spin it wide but the pass is no good and it bounces backwards, is regathered and then kicked slightly ahead. A ruck is formed and Mikey drives over winning the turnover. Fred picks it up and the ball is quickly passed through the hands out to the right for Toby to score.

Harry’s dropkick is lovely, the Valley player fails to take it and it bounces forward off his foot, Hamish dives on it, Mikey seals over and Nico picks it up and charges down the left touch line to score.

Scrappy play results in a try to Valley, but they have a mountain to climb now if they want to win.

The restart is deep, the bounce is picked up and it is safely through the hands and passed to Aryx who powers down the right wing. He doesn’t quite have the gas to go all the way and is caught. The ball spills out backwards, Mikey swoops and is over the line to score and end the first half.

Valley’s kick-off goes deep again, gathered by Alex and Fred and handed off to Mikey who charges it up the middle into contact, lays it back for Fred who runs it right then spots a gap and steps beautifully off his right foot to jink around the defender. They catch Fred by the shirt and he spins around, handing it off to Nico. Nico is way too strong and finishes the job in convincing fashion.

The restart is powered up into contact by George who is held in a maul, but he manages to wrestle forward and eventually goes to ground with Mikey sealing in over the ball. Fred pops it out right to Skye and he is wrapped up while Aryx goes in to assist. Valley commit too many to the ruck, but it’s ineffective, Toby pops it to Aryx who dives in again.

Restart is allowed to bounce before being gathered. Skye makes two solid tackles to shut them down, Aryx grabs an intercept and goes to ground. Mikey picks it up and charges forward, it takes 4

of them to bring him down just short of the line, George seals off, Fred gathers and pops it up for Aryx who dives over the line again.

The final sequence of play sees the ball passed left and right as the team charge forward. The ball handling is very good and it is eventually Toby who picks it up from the back of a ruck, spots the gap and dots it down.

A brilliant display of rugby and a real team effort. Valley are demolished and Sandy Bay HKU2 are the Richard Hawkes Bowl Champions!!

Congratulations Boys, you are deserved winners! Well done!!

Final Score 10-1 to HKU2

Team Members

Alexander Davey
Aryx Rivera
Frederic Bernard
George Bulmer
Hamish Priest
Harry Walker
Nicolas Reichmuth
Michael Perry
Skye Gildner
Toby Chin
Ted Hui

Coaches

David Walker
Richard Perry
Seb Brian