Colchester Minis Festival Match Report

Ipswich RFC U12s had a successful Colchester minis festival.
The boys played out five games against tough opposition, managing to win twice, draw twice and lost only once on a cold day in Essex.

The Killer Bee's first game of the day drew them against Chelmsford - a tough first opponent by any margin and a side which had recently been too strong at Humber Doucy Lane. This time however Chelmsford were not to find it so easy, as the effort of the bees and their vastly improved rucking proved a good match for the physically intimidating team from Essex. The final score was 1:1 with the Ipswich try coming from the impressive Max Price, a recent signing for the Bees, who also was awarded man-of-the-match.

Our second game pitted the Bees against a very well-organised Hadleigh. The Bees had faced Hadleigh in the first match of the 22/23 season, and again the improvement in rucking and tackling was telling. This was the only game where the bees failed to score, but they defended well against an aggressive well organised opponent and can consider themselves unlucky to have not taken anything but pride from the game. Man of the match was Alex Hodgson with some impressive tackling.

The third game of the day saw the Bees take on Woodbridge. Having played one another only a fortnite previously both sides knew what to expect. The bees got off to an electric start, scoring a try from the kick-off through Full-Back Alex Hodgson, Woodbridge retaliated scoring twice, but were eventually pegged back by the scintillating skills of George Oswald as he produced one of his trademark runs to score the equalising try. Man of the match was Rua Place whose tactical nouse, laser-guided kicks and fearless rucking helped the bees to a creditable draw - which on another day could easily have been a victory.

The Bees’ fourth game saw them pitted against Clacton who were two men down, so in the spirit of the game we lent them two players to even up the numbers. The Bees ran in three trys to nil, two scored by the ever-dependable Seb Summers and one from Rua Place. The final score could have been higher, but credit to the boys who volunteered to play for Clacton, they certainly represented the club well with a great effort. Man of the match: George Crapnell.

Our final match saw the Bee’s take on Maldon, for what on paper appeared to be the hardest match of the day. However pre-match nerves were soon dismissed as the Bees ran out 4-2 winners against a tired-looking Maldon. Two trys again from Seb Summers, another try for George Oswald and a try for the impressively calm Bobby Warner sealed the victory. Man of the match: James Styles.

Overall a very good days work for the Killer Bees, with recent hard work and focus on rucking really paying off. It was good to see boys keeping their heads and playing within the spirit of the game throughout the afternoon.