Ipswich Agonisingly Close but YM Edge Local Derby

Ipswich Under 15s faced YM in the Suffolk Cup in a match which could not have been any closer in conditions which could not have been much more challenging. It was a day where commitment was critical and both sides could not have done more. The home side started with the gale force wind at their backs and quickly exploited that to kick forward and play deep in the YM half. On 5 minutes Ipswich gained an attacking scrum in the YM 22 just right of centre, that scrummage was won and Adam Rudolf exploited the smallest of gaps in the YM line to jink through to open the scoring for Ipswich, Sam Donnelly converted and Ipswich were 7-0 to the good. YM their credit defended like demons for the rest of the half tackling the big Ipswich runners and retaining ball well when they could to prevent any more Ipswich scores in the first period.

With the wind at their backs YM exploited the weather to drive forward at every opportunity, it was Ipswich’s turn to defend and they did that stoutly tackling every ball carrier in a series of short YM drives over nearly 10 minutes deep in their own 22. However, just when relief seemed in sight a banana kick into the wind blew back forcing Ipswich to concede a 5m scrum, YM executed a pick and drive for a clean try wide right and an excellent conversion levelled the scores. Ipswich attacked again working the ball forward against the wind before a turnover ceded possession to YM who drove forward with a series of well executed rucks before driving over the line to score a second try once again wide right, this time the kick went astray, 7-12 and Ipswich apparently with a mountain to climb in the teeth of a gale! Ipswich drove forward with Fred Bolton feeding forwards to drive on, Nate Wilson, Ayrton Seabrook and Dantay Ward all drove on before some good ruck ball was fed to Sam Donnelly who spotted the opportunity to sprint through a gap and speed clear of the YM defence to score between the posts with minutes left on the clock. Sam converted his own try and against the odds Ipswich were ahead with 5 minutes remaining. YM kicked on gaining territory before Ipswich conceded a penalty 25 metres out but centre on to the posts. YM converted that to gain a slender lead, Ipswich fought back but in the end time was not on their side and YM edged the cup match by the tightest of margins 14-15. Coach PJ Jordan lauded “a great performance in very difficult playing conditions, one which all Ipswich boys should feel justly proud of”.