LEIGHTON Buzzard's U17 rugby team have won the National Midlands Plate Final – and are setting their sights on claiming national glory.
The 27-8 win against Hereford in Coventry on Sunday now opens the next chapter of their currently very successful season.

The following report has been received from coach Rod Keating:
The first order of the day for the Buzzards was to select a starting 22 from the squad, with several players not quite 100 per cent fit before the side's biggest game so far.

Captain Tom Overton came through his fitness test, having been carried from the field a month ago in the first round victory at Matlock, his knee ligament problems being compounded by a nasty cut to his foot last weekend.

Lock Jake Norman unfortunately succumbed to a shoulder injury incurred during last week's rout of Bugbrooke. Winger Tom Hamper, four-try hero of the victory in the previous round against Dinnington, was unable to leave his sick bed, having contracted glandular fever.

Fortunately for the Buzzards, the squad has phenomenal depth and a raft of more-than-able replacements were available to fill any void.

Hereford won the toss and had the Buzzards under pressure from the off when they failed to field a simple kick-off. Hereford, with a juggernaught pack, clearly had only one thing on their mind, as they took the Buzzards on in the forwards at every opportunity.

The Buzzards' defence was sound and they continually pressured the ball at the breakdown. Hereford's slow driving play played somewhat into the hands of their smaller opponents, who were given ample time to reorganise and show their tackling prowess.

Buzzards stole the ball from Hereford on two or three occasions, but were then penalised for what appeared to be little more than being a little bit too good for their opponents!

Hereford missed an early chance to take the lead with a relatively straightforward penalty attempt.

Buzzards were unable to clear their lines and were pinned in their own 22-metre area for long periods.

Hereford dominated the territory, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not break through the Buzzard defence. The question was, who would crack first?

Buzzards stole the ball again and were harshly penalised for doing so and Hereford opened the scoring from 25 metres out. This clearly spurred the Buzzards on and they moved the ball quickly to Messum who made a half break and put winger Pratt away from the half way.

Pratt was brilliantly tackled by the Hereford full back two metres from the line with a try-saving tackle of the highest order. At midway through the half, it was clear that the Buzzards were much the better side with ball in hand.

Having weathered the opening storm, the Buzzards got on with business as usual, operating at a pace and tempo the Hereford team found difficult to match.

Pollitt-Evans was unlucky to be dragged down just short of the line after the Buzzards recovered a poor kick from the Hereford full back.
Braithwaite then stole the ball in contact and he sped away with Buzzards having a three-on-one advantage, 10 metres out.

Bizarrely, Braithwaite was adjudged to have been off his feet, and then sin-binned for the offence!

Hereford were now under constant pressure as the Buzzards upped the ante again. Clearly they were becoming increasing frustrated at their inability to bludgeon their smaller opponents into submission. In fact, it was the Buzzards who were now winning all the contacts, in both attack and defence.

Hereford were then guilty of a couple of unnecessary off-the-ball incidents, resulting in one of their players also leaving the pitch for 10 minutes with a yellow card.

Evans coolly slotted the penalty attempt from wide out on the right, with two minutes of the half remaining, to tie the score at 3-3.

Buzzards certainly knew they were in a contest, but they were rightly confident that they had the tools required to unlock the Hereford team in the second half.

The massive Hereford pack had started to creak midway through the first half, and Buzzards now continually drove Hereford backwards and pressurised their possession.

The Buzzard fitness and appetite for the game was now clear for all to see and it came as no surprise when they scored the first try of the day.

Pratt made a telling break from half way. Centre Earl was on his shoulder and made good ground before he offloaded to tear away flanker Lingard, who although being half tackled 20 meters from the line managed to stay on his feet and power to within a metre of the line.
Quick ball saw Wood with an overlap on the right, and Wood dived over next to the post to score with Evans then following with the
conversion.

Buzzards turned up the pressure again and shunted the Hereford scrum back at an amazing rate of knots. The front row of Evans, Cormie and Hunt then took the ball against the head, only for the referee to reset the scrum.

A massive drive from the Buzzards saw the ball shoot out the back of the Hereford scrum, where Messum was waiting to pounce for a
simple score.

Overton then left the field as his wounded foot gave out after a sterling performance. Buzzards had the luxury of replacing him with recent East Midland debutant Blake.

With 20 minutes remaining the Buzzards were now on fire.

Hereford tried in vain to break the deadlock as they now tried to move the ball. They had clearly not done their homework, as the fast moving Buzzard forwards and electric backs swarmed all over them. Their only respite was the occasional whistle, when the Buzzards were deemed a little too enthusiastic close to the offside line.

Hereford, with no effective forward options and a back line under constant pressure, elected to kick, bring the talented full back Janes into play, his catch at pace and outrageous dummy being a highlight of the build-up to the next try.

Quick ball from the breakdown saw Wood snipe. Janes then stepped into the scrum half slot and fed Messum down the blind side.

With not a defender in sight, he sped into the corner from 35 metres. Lingard and Hunt then left the field to be replaced by Byard and Holmes, and these two made an immediate impact and were involved in absolutely everything from that point onwards.

Hereford threw caution to the wind as they tried to run the ball from every part of the pitch. The Buzzards defence stood firm and they could count themselves a little unfortunate to concede a try in the corner that any TV replay would have shown the ball carrier in touch by a considerable margin.

Buzzards bounced straight back from the kick-off and tore into Hereford. A poor defensive kick was gathered on the halfway line and some quick passing saw Braithwaite at full tilt, as he danced his way to the corner and then under the posts, conversion Evans.

Congratulations to the whole squad of 28, who can all reflect positively on this exceptional performance.

They now relish the opportunity of representing the Midlands Division in two weeks' time in the national semi-finals against the North Division winners, in what will no doubt be their toughest challenge to date.

The game will be held at Doncaster RFC on Sunday, April 19, and Buzzards heard yesterday (Monday) that their opponents on the day will come from Penrith.