LEIGHTON BUZZARD U11

Fourteen Buzzards left a wet and windy Leighton Buzzard and travelled to Banbury RFC to be rewarded with a pleasant sunny morning of rugby.
Buzzards battled from the off and strong scrumming from Noah Heath, Harry Gaskin, Greg Tubby, Tony Carmichael and Kieran Hawkes won the majority of the put-ins. Scrum Half Amber Walsh controlled the game well with some good passing.

Fly half Chris Tydings tackled well and provided some intelligent kicks. In the centre, captain Ryan Eaton was giving everything as usual and made some crunching tackles. Jordan McConnell supported well as outside centre and the wingers Jack Wears and Owen Crossan ran well and defended superbly.

Full back Joe Conlon held the last line of defence well and started several attacks. Kitty Woolger came on and showed some great passing and Adrian Gallie also came on and got into some good positions. Two lapses gave the home team two tries but the result could have easily been the other way.

Second match, Buzzards continued to dominate the scrums which gave them the base to play their passing game with some good off loads in the tackle by several players including Heath, Tydings, Walsh, Crossan and Carmichael.

An old fashion up and under from Conlon nearly set Wears away and quick passing nearly set Gallie through. The pressure paid off when Hawkes crashed over the line following some strong Buzzards rucking. Gaskin showed his determination by ripping a ball from a line-out and not allowing the opposition to rip it back despite having three players on him. Just before half time, the home team managed to find a gap and got their try.

Second half, Eaton came on and led his team by getting involved in every tackle, ruck and attacking runs. Woolger also came on and supported well on the wing. Despite the heroic efforts, Banbury managed to score again to win the match. Great performance from most of the team today but Walsh was awarded Buzzard of the day. The team would like to wish 'get well' to Andrew Harris-Smith and Jake Nossiter who were both missed today.

WASPS 10 LEIGHTON BUZZARD U16 17

Buzzards travelled out of their normal area with a first trip into London to face a Wasps side. As the junior side are linked to the Premiership team, concerns of a one-sided game were laid to rest as Buzzards returned home with a 17-10 victory to secure their fourth consecutive win.

From the kick off, Wasps had the majority of the possession for the first 10mins and Buzzards were pinned in their own half as Wasps continually attacked.

Buzzards held firm with strong tackling from Ryan Bailey, Callum Hunt and Jack Green and reduced the attack distance. When Buzzards had possession they moved the ball through the hands and kept possession well with good confidence.

Good rucking by the forwards ensured healthy ball retention, and from the half way line, a reliable Neil Kilby fed Charlie Holmes who exploited a hole in the defence to create an overlap, Holmes passed to Matt Johnson and his timed pass hit man of the match Arran Perry, who broke three tackles to crash over the line for his fifth try of the season with 15 minutes gone.

Wasps could not reply but were strong and the effort was continuous, but credit goes to the back row forwards of Kieran Bolton, Matt Amey and Mitch Fraser with some strong tackling and defensive play.

Buzzards were also winning scrum ball with the strength provided by the second row of Christopher Parker and Ben Latimer.  

Buzzards started to control the game with good possession and the ball getting out to Jack Blumsom on the wing to open up his speed.

Buzzards were continually moving closer to the Wasps line, but turnovers forced Buzzards back. A large number of penalties went Wasps way but on numerous occasions failed to reach touch allowing a secure Will Smith to catch every kick and with his speed and agility returning the ball back into Wasps territory.

Leading 5-0 Buzzards needed a bigger cushion as Wasps showed signs of getting back into the game, so it was perfect timing when a great move from the backs saw a break from Holmes brought to a halt around the 5m line, offloaded at the right time for Alistair Hills to score under the posts. Smith converted the conversion right on the stroke of half time to make the score 12-0.

Changes were made at half time, bringing on James Bachelor, Jonny Moriarty and Ashley Walsh to add to the already confident Buzzards side.
Buzzards started strong with penetrating runs from Walsh in the second half but Wasps were getting stronger and showing signs of a comeback with good back movement and forward play.

Buzzards had a lot of possession but could not get through the rejuvenated defence of Wasps; it would have to take something special to get through. Something special did happen – passes through the back line found Ben Latimer who passed inside to winger A J Hills who fed a supporting Arran Perry who took the ball at full pace, Perry tiptoed down the touchline to score a 50m try and his second of the day.

At 17-0 up Buzzards were flying. Wasps' determination to not give their visitors a clean sheet put pressure on the Buzzard backs, after powering through and persistence they got their deserved try to make it 17-5, Wasps scored again with two minutes to go to finish 17-10.

All credit goes to both sets of teams and fans as this was played in a great atmosphere as mutual respect and etiquette was observed. Not only did Buzzards win the game they also won some new friends.

LEIGHTON BUZZARD COLTS 50
NORTHAMPTON OLD SCOUTS COLTS 5

Buzzards entertained Northampton Old Scouts in a friendly fixture at Wrights meadow. Scouts, renowned for the quality of their junior sides, have produced many players for the Saints Premiership side and can boast world cup winners Steve Thompson and Ben Cohen, as well as the latest England sensation, Courtney Lawes.

Buzzards were not as sharp and focused in their pre-match preparation, as in previous weeks, and started the game in similar sluggish vein.

Scouts were fired up for the match and were clearly uninterested in what the young Buzzards may or may not have achieved. Scouts' pack had a real go at the Buzzard eight in the first scrummage and effectively disrupted the first scrum. Scouts tackled effectively and threw themselves fearlessly into the contact situations, making a number of telling tackles as Buzzards looked odds on to score.

The Buzzard forwards soon settled and pressurised their opponents at every opportunity, with a constant stream of possession and it was only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken.

Buzzards had three or four clear opportunities, but were guilty of some hesitant play and poor decision making, allied to a number of excellent open field tackles, particularly by the Scouts' full back. Buzzards drove to within a metre of the Scouts line and threw a speculative pass, a turn-over, two kicks and a fly hack later, Scouts scored a try against the run of play, in the corner for a 5-0 lead.

Buzzards settled, but were just not able to make the final pass count, or beat the hard-working Scouts defence. The Buzzards pack were now in complete command and shunted Scouts back at every scrummage. Scouts were leniently allowed to feed the ball, in order to retain possession.

Buzzards pushed them off the ball close to the try line, but were ordered to re-scrummage. Again, the Buzzard pack shunted Scouts back and scrum half Esdon flashed over for a deserved score, conversion Whitehouse, for 7-5.

The remainder of the half saw Scouts kick and kick again, using the wind and slope to best advantage, as they struggled to move the ball by hand.

Buzzards made a number of breaks from deep, but just seemed to be lacking a flash of inspiration to unlock the Scouts' defence. As the half drew to an end, Scouts had a series of scrums close to the Buzzard line, excellent defence around the fringes negated all Scouts' best efforts and Buzzards ended the half very much on top.

Buzzards' half time oranges had the desired effects and they started the half with a real bang. Quick ball, sharp handling and great pace saw Kempster streak in for a try wide on the right, the difficult conversion was just missed by Evans 12-5.

The remainder of the half was one way traffic as Buzzards maintained a high tempo and moved the ball effectively. Scouts, for all their hard work and commitment, were left chasing shadows, as the Buzzards literally tore them apart.

Kempster added a quick-fire second when he received the ball in acres of space on the half way line – he streaked into the corner for an unconverted score 17-5.

Adams immediately followed suit from 20 metres, when he spotted a gap close to, as Scouts tried to flood the outside channels with defenders. Evans slotted the conversion in front of the posts 24-5.

Scouts were now in real trouble, as they struggled to match the rampant Buzzards in almost every phase of play. Buzzards clinically upped the ante and went in for the kill.

Whitehouse cut through the midfield defence and scored from 25 metres, conversion Evans 31-5. Kempster completed his hat-trick when a deft chip to space saw him accelerate past the defence at break-neck speed and touch down close to the posts, conversion Evans 38-5.

Scouts refused to lie down, but were being run ragged by the young Buzzards. Byard (who had been unwell all week), was introduced and exploded into the game from the restart, as he caught and powered down field with a number of defenders trailing in his wake. The full back made a try saving tackle, but the Buzzards swooped in numbers and quick ball saw Adams glide in for his second, conversion Evans 45-5.

Byard collected the restart gain and in almost a carbon copy of his first break, he again scythed through the defence with real power and pace. Again the final defender managed to stop him, but the damage was done and quick ball saw the mercurial Kempster score his fourth wide on the right 50-5. The final whistle brought an end to Scouts' savaging by the predatory Buzzards, as they ended a second half of scintillating rugby. Buzzards will need to make sure they put together two halves of quality rugby next weekend, as they face arguably the top side in the Midlands at this level Old Northamptonians.

>> Well done this weekend to the following Academy squad members.
Mark Lingard & Sam Janes who played in the 1St XV's league game, away to Nottingham Paviors.

Ben Latimer from the Buzzard U16 squad, who has been selected for the Midlands Division U16s.

>> December 12 Away v Old Northamptonians.
KO 2:15. Meet 12noon, supporters welcome.
>> Training Tuesdays and Thursdays 7pm to 8.45pm.
>> New players of all abilities are welcome.
>> Visit: http://www.buzzardrugby.co.uk