Sunday 1 February | Olney U16s vs Old Scouts U16s (EM Cup Semi Final)

... who have finally shaken the monkey from their backs and got a well-deserved victory over their nemeses Olney, with a thumping 37 points to 5 victory.

With strong belief they had the win in them, no-one saw the 30 point plus margin that brought delight to the travelling supporters and players. Knowing that game management would be the key, Scouts knew that every points opportunity must be taken and they did not disappoint. From the kick off a 30 metre driving maul ensued which set the tone for the Scouts forwards, who stayed to charge for the whole of the game from this moment on.

After 5 minutes Barry slotted a penalty to get the scoreboard ticking, however against the run of play and following a couple of swift waves of attack, Olney dotted down out wide to swing the lead back into their favour. With the extras being missed, Scouts disappointed they had let the hosts in, immediately went on the attack to which impressive hooker Lewis Underwood hit a superb line off Tom Holliday and crashed under the posts unchallenged. Holliday added the extras and Scouts now believed they were in control, although they could not rest for one moment, knowing how threatening Olney can be with ball in hand.

The next 15 minutes was all Scouts, although they had nothing else to show for their efforts as the home defence stood firm. With just a minute to go before the break, good hands in midfield following superb forward driving allowed the ball to be spun wide with full back Henry Dunn coming in at pace and dotting down out wide on the left. The extras were missed and the half time whistle went with Scouts 15 points to 5 up, although was a 10 point margin going to be enough as Scouts were to be playing into the wind for the second period?

The half time talk set the tone for the teams' second half battle, knowing that which either team took control of the first 7 minutes of this half would go onto win the game. Just 1 minute into the half and following immediate Scouts pressure the ball was won by the Scouts forwards who drove forward for territory, allowing Holliday to change direction and go right to put Jarrod van der Westhuizen into space, who unselfishly drew his defence and put flying winger Kurtis Dorks into the corner. Elation all round for Scouts as they stretched their well-deserved lead by a further 5 points.

It was at this point that confidence was high and the visitors were applying all the pressure playing all the rugby in the hosts' half. As Olney desperately kicked for safety, to their horror and Scouts’ delight it was fielded by speedster Dorks on the half way line and he exploited the open space and ran in from over 50 yards out, no extras were added, but at 25 points to 5, surely this was to be Scouts day.

Just a couple of minutes later, the home side’s heads dropped completely as Dorks completed his impressive hat-trick, again out wide on the right.

As the game entered its final 10 minutes, tempers frayed and sadly a loose punch was thrown from an Olney back row right in front of the ref, who had no option but to show a red card. Scouts resisted the temptation for involvement, staying strong wanting to see this fine victory out and this they did when left winger Bradley Small dotted down and Christian Barry added the extras as the final whistle blew.

This was by far Scouts best performance of the season and one which proved that they have matured as a squad over the course of the season. Congratulations to all involved, it was a superb and very well deserved victory.

Result: Olney 5 – 37 Old Scouts
Tries : Dorks 3, Underwood, Dunn, Small
Pen : Barry
Cons : Holliday, Barry