Big boys batter county cup chances
IT TOOK a defeat by last year’s national under-17 champions to send Market Harborough Colts out of the Leicestershire County Cup.
They lost a hard-fought and physical tie at Market Bosworth by 23-3.
Harborough started well, stealing lineout ball and dominating the scrummage, which clearly rattled Bosworth.
But against the run of play, Harborough had a clearance kick charged down and a race to touch the ball down saw Bosworth claim a try.
This unsettled Harborough’s rhythm and in the best play of the day, the opposition swept the length of the pitch, moving the ball on an inside switch to give them a deserved try.
Trailing 16-3 at half-time, Harborough felt they were not out of contention yet but knew they needed to score quickly and that didn’t happen, despite a committed performance. Too often they lost the ball in simple contact exchanges, while an increasingly confident Bosworth built on their lead to make sure of victory.
Harborough u13s 12 Derby 12
TALENTED visitors Derby equalised with the last play of the day to dash Harborough under-13s’ hopes.
Boosted by some convincing wins, Derby were hoping to avenge a loss to Harborough earlier this season.
Tireless tackling and fierce work at the breakdown helped Harborough clear their lines. From a Will Pollard clearance kick, they chased down the ball carrier and Sam Grahamslaw scored a try.
Soon after the break Harborough again broke through the Derby defence and smart hand-ling from the forwards allowed Finley Quaid to break free and put in Grahamslaw for another try, converted by Pollard.
The second score spurred Derby into action and they scored under the posts. And in the dying moments they pounced on a sloppy clearance, surged forward and claimed their last-gasp equaliser.
THE Forest was felled as Harborough under-12s visited an ever-improving Leicester Forest and returned with an overall victory.
The opening half of the first game was tight but Harborough found the first break, Huw Davies powering in for a try converted by Tom Pope.
Forest were level by the interval but second half scores from Harry Grimmett, Henry Povoas and Adam Stamp sealed a comfortable 24-7 Harborough win.
Harborough fielded several new and development players in the second game and soon trailed 14-0, but intelligent play from James Melody and Ross Primrose saw the latter reply with a try, which Pope converted.
Forest stretched their lead in the second half to 21-7 but they were made to fight for their win, superb tries from Sam Pindling and Melody narrowing the gap to 21-19 at the final whistle.
Despite a narrow defeat in the second game, Harborough outscored their opponents by seven tries to four, and 43 points to 28 overall.
A SQUAD from Harborough under-11s also travelled to Leicester Forest and played three games against the hosts.
Both teams made unforced errors in the opening encounter. In the second half Harborough seemed to gain the upper hand, forwards Ben Richards and Robert Tyas leading the charge, and Max Carpenter took advantage to crash over for the first try of the game. But a rare defensive lapse enabled the hosts to grab a 5-5 draw.
Much of the play in the second game got bogged down in the centre of the pitch and it ended scoreless.
But Harborough’s forwards were on top again in match three and debutant Charlie Poole’s break from the half-way line enabled Robert Tyas to nip in for the opening try.
The backs were also gaining space to run and Henry Bullock, Isaac Hudson, George Wood and Sam Bryant all made good ground, but it was again the forwards’ domination that put more points on the board, Ben Richards driving forward and Tyas again crashing over.
Gorman-Powell added a well-deserved third try to complete a 15-0 victory for the visitors.
A TEAM from the Harborough under-11 squad entertained Bugbrooke, a well-drilled outfit who took the lead straight from the kick-off and never looked back as they took the first game 5-2.
The pressure at times was relentless despite strong defensive efforts from Callum Boulter, Alex Delaney and Harry O’Connor.
Harborough stepped up a gear in the second half and following fine forward pressure through Boulter and Delaney, ably assisted by Charlie Hilton, Joe Brooks and Ben Evans, O’Connor darted over for a try.
This inspired the home team and after a series of strong rucks and mauls they were awarded a scrum near to the visitors’ line from which O’Connor bolted over for his second try. But Bugbrooke got the last score of the game on the final whistle to make it 5-2.
The second game was a one-sided affair with the dominant visitors winning 7-1. The Harborough consolation came when they took a scrum against the head and Conor Miller’s blindside break put in O’Connor.
THE Green and Blue teams of Harborough under-10s also entertained Bugbrooke.
First up were the Blues, who ploughed on in the mud and made their tackles count. They were rewarded for their efforts when player of the day Josh Ford completed a fine solo breakaway try, although that was cancelled out by a try gifted by some rare missed tackles, giving Bugbrooke a draw.
The Green team – bolstered by some Blues members – showed the way as they quickly ran in tries through Douglas Ralston, Josh Ford and Elliot Coxon.
Bugbrooke countered strongly in the second half only to concede a fourth try, touched down by Ford. They eventually collected a consolation score but the Greens were comfortable 4-1 victors.
The most emphatic under-10 win of the day for Harborough came from the fired-up Reds, who crushed their Leicester Forest counterparts 7-1 with tries from Ollie Hoare (two), Jack Rowlatt (two), Will House, Tom Wainwright and Matthew Brucciani.
By contrast, the Reds were beaten 3-2 in a second game but they looked a tired side by now while Forest were able to field a refreshed team including rested players. Rowlatt and Morgan Potter ran in the Harborough tries.
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Weather for Harborough
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North
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Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
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