New Earswick All Blacks ARLFC - Under 14's

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥!

Massive congratulations to Seth who has joined the Bradford Bulls scholarship programme. This is a deserved reward for a young man who always gives 100% when on the pitch.

Anyone who reads our match reports will be familiar with Seth’s achievements, always scoring, always smashing the opposition in defence and always playing with a massive smile on his face.

Undoubtedly he is the complete package on the rugby pitch and the club are rightly proud of his achievement, well done Seth!

~ Coach Lee

🏉 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 - 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐁 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐯𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 (𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲) 🏉

Thanks to Alfred’s dad Chris for this epic review of Sunday’s match!

Sunday saw a big New Earswick squad travel down for the away leg against Birstall Victoria. We were really pleased to have two players making their debut, Jack pulling on the 20 shirt and TJ at number 15. Despite our record-breaking home win against Birstall, we knew that their squad had been bolstered by some players from Division One, making them the team to beat at the moment. Birstall’s compact ground made the windy conditions important as we faced off against what was literally a different team to the one we played in March.

New Earswick started from a tough position as Birstall’s well-placed kick off bounced into touch. They picked the ball up deep within the All Blacks’ half, which led to a quick try and a Land Rover thumping conversion: 6 - 0.

New Earswick responded well, Sam’s lofty hanging kick-off forcing Birstall to play from well inside their own half. Birstall’s new attacking style of play quickly became evident as the dominating force in the game, with their big forwards making territory before quickly taking the ball out wide to surge down the wing. Louie performed sterling defensive work on his side to prevent them scoring again. Their kick found Gethin and probing runs from Sam and Jas made ground, but New Earswick were caught out by the last tackle and relinquished the ball inside their own half. Excellent rugby intelligence from Evan as usual saw him get early tackles in and a fine tackle from Eddie earned a scrum. Seth tried to make ground but was obviously marked out by Birstall who managed to neutralise him for most of the game. Jas and Evan made more ground at full speed, and a neat pass from Sam unleashed Gethin who fought his way into Birstall territory. A high kick from Sam was expertly collected by Marcus to force Birstall to start their set deep in their own half.

Fast runs down the wings and brute force from their powerful new forwards quickly earned Birstall a good position and they exploited numbers on the wing to score. The conversion bounced off the upright, to bring the score to 10 – 0.

More quick and powerful play brought Birstall straight back into the game after the restart, and with quick passes they brought it out wide again. New Earswick were lucky that a mistake ended their set, but they responded strongly, with Arthur driving forwards into their half. The blustery wind caught Sam’s kick and blew it back into touch around the 30-metre line.

Seth and Arthur combined to force a knock on to earn a quick scrum. Seth, Jas, Arthur and Alfred made solid ground to push into their 20, and a neat kick from Sam was nearly taken by Marcus in the corner. Marcus put in another tackle to force Birstall to start from their try line. Strong defending forced them to kick, which was picked up by Oliver just inside our half. Arthur then made excellent ground, fighting through several tackles to put us within spitting distance of the try line, but unfortunately an error saw the All Blacks’ charge end with a dropped ball kicked out the back. Lewis caught their restart and surged forward. Further efforts from Arthur and Louie earned ground, but another mistake ended our set early.

They came out strong from the scrum, but Eddie once again held up a forward twice his size who dropped the ball in front of Seth. Seth scrapped his way past a couple of defenders and put down New Earswick’s first try. Sam converted to make the score 10 – 6.

On the restart a good kick saw us deep in our own half. Jack earned valuable yards forcing his way powerfully against their big forwards, but they held us in our own half for our set. It wasn’t long before one of their big lads forced his way through and deposited the ball behind our posts, which the same player then easily converted. 16 – 6.
The rest of the half saw excellent rugby on both sides. Jas took a ‘soft tissue’ injury, but after an excellent kick and chase from Lewis, made his response with feeling.

Birstall started the second half at full pace, with Louie and Declan putting in excellent tackles to stop a breakaway try. They exploited this momentum, and TJ had to make a try-saving tackle as Birstall risked a sixth tackle run. Our restart did not make much ground before a mistake turned the ball over inside our ten. They once again went out wide and scored and then were successful in the conversion: 22 – 6.

On the kick off, a cunning kick from Sam, was just a fraction too short. They surged forward on the restart, with Lucas putting in a text-book tackle to halt their charge. But, once again, they deftly passed out wide and scored and converted: 28 – 6.

With a bit of a buffer, Birstall were now able to take some risks and really test our mettle. Their big forwards continued to challenge our ability to tackle, and they once again romped a try into the corner: 32 – 6.

Despite being dominated, the massive All Blacks never gave up, the boys urging and supporting each other audibly on the pitch. A rare mistake from them saw Sam’s kick bounce into touch on the restart. Evan, Sam and Lucas each tried to charge through their defensive wall, rattling them into more mistakes, but not making headway. Sam tried again but was held up over the line. Finally, we took a leaf from their book, passed it out wide to let Seth sprint over the tryline in the far corner. Sam’s kick was on target but fell a couple of feet short: 32 – 10.

An error on our part handed them the ball on the restart. Stalwart defence from Dexter and Lucas held them up but once again they surged through to score and convert: 38 – 10.

Another short kick off from Sam didn’t quite work out. Arthur and Evan halted them, and Dexter was able to scoop up a loose ball for a turnover, from which Lucas won us a penalty. We took ten, and Lucas again charged hard into them. More hard work followed, and Seth was able to wriggle through several tackles to score his customary hattrick. Sam was once again on target but couldn’t find the required length in the blustery conditions: 38 – 14.

Re-energised, our boys found some speed on the kick off with Arthur and Jas making them work by charging at pace. An injury delay cost us our momentum though, and a mistake turned the ball over to them. Jas and Oliver put in important tackles, but they beat us once again with width. Another good kick and it was 44 – 14.

In the dying moments of the game, their knock-on was quickly scooped up by Alfred, who shrugged off two tackles and floored it to score his first ever try. It was wonderful to see how elated the rest of the boys were for him and spoke admirably of their commitment to each other. Sam converted comfortably as the whistle blew, so the game ended 44 – 20.

This loss sees the All Blacks drop to fourth in the league, a point behind Hunslet, two points ahead of Birstall who have a game in hand. With a tough match against second place Siddall this Sunday and Seth clearly being marked as our biggest threat, the boys will have to dig deep if they want to reverse the recent spell of losses. We all know that our boys - no matter the conditions, not matter the score, no matter the opposition - will fight for themselves and each other until the final whistle blows. All Blacks are massive.

🏆 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 - 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐁 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐯𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 (𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲) 🏆

Before sharing these awards, I wanted to say a massive well done to TK and Jack on their debuts. Great first game from both boys!

𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬’ 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫
Several players were mentioned in the votes, but both agreed this was Jas’s best game as an All Black. Some strong runs and some great defensive efforts. Well done, big lad. Sponsored by All Aspects Roofing Haxby, York Ltd

𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫
Whether it was the great defensive effort he made or sympathy for a shot which made his speech very squeaky, the supporters also chose Jas as their player.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫
The boys love a first try for any of their teammates, so Alfred scooped this award. Well done! Available to sponsor.

𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫
Birstall selected two players for us as their MOTM.

Probably not his greatest game with the boot, but another tireless display and good distribution from acting half, Sam. Sponsored by Fosters Jewellers York.

Still learning the role, but had his best game there yet, with some great passes as well as taking the line in. Well done, Lewis. Sponsored by East Rudland Construction Ltd.

~ Coach Lee

🏉 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐞𝐞’𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 - 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐁 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐯𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 (𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲) 🏉

Our away day woes contributed to yet another loss in West Yorkshire.

It was a much-changed Birstall Victoria team, but they still played with the same energy and passion to get the ball out wide as they always have.

The boys were warned to expect a tough encounter, and our morning was probably summed up as we left the ball to bounce into touch from the kick-off. This probably summed up our day, with our boys making too many mistakes, something we couldn’t afford to do against a very tough Birstall team.

With Seth scoring in the first half and Sam adding the extras, at 16-6 at half-time the match was still in the balance. However, the second half resulted in too many mistakes, and Birstall were in no mood to be forgiving.

Seth grabbed two more tries and Sam scored one more kick, but the highlight of the half was the finishing play, with Alfred being the first player to respond to a loose ball. He raced over untouched from the halfway line to score his first-ever All Blacks try.

A final score of 44-20 leaves much to work on before our next game.

~ Coach Lee

📸 courtesy of Chris Waring

Tough loss yesterday but massive well done to Jack and TK for their debut ❤️🖤

𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 - 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐁 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐯𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬

Another trip over to West Yorkshire this weekend, with a visit to Birstall Victoria.

It’s always a tough game against Birstall who, regardless of the scoreline, don’t stop playing until the final whistle.

Whilst our boys are on a two-game losing streak, Birstall recorded a morale-boosting victory over Hunslet last weekend.

In a season where we’ve sometimes struggled to field a team, this week we’re in the predicament of having “too many”, with our boys travelling in numbers and 18 lads available.

So this week may well see debuts for our big-money rugby union transfer, Jack, and our off-season football signing, Tom (TK).

Good luck to both boys on their debut.

All Blacks are massive…
🖤♥️🖤♥️🖤♥️🖤

~ Coach Lee

🏆 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 - 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐁 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐯𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟑𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐲 (𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲) 🏆

𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫
Our left edge got attacked a lot on Sunday and after a shaky start it was tightened up and with a moment of brilliance in catching a short kick and returning the ball with interest, the supporters chose Eddie as their MOTM.

🏆 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 - 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐁 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐯𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟑𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐲 (𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲) 🏆

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫
Numerous boys received votes this week, which is always nice and although pushed closely by Marcus (who had his best game yet), the boys obviously appreciated the hard work and tough tackling (again) of the powerhouse that is Evan.

🏆 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 - 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐁 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐯𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐔𝟏𝟒’𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟑𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐲 (𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲) 🏆

𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬’ 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫
On a tough day, the coaches votes went to 5 different players, so the top 2 both get a mention.

As always, Seth put in a monstrous effort in attack and defence. Clearly the opposition had done their homework on him, but a great performance. Sponsored by The White Swan, Newton upon Rawcliffe.

Gethin worked hard at full back, made numerous last ditch tackles and was as reliable as ever in stopping the opposition from scoring. More pleasing was his positive communication, talking to his team mates and encouraging them, great effort and great commitment. Well done Gethin. Sponsored by Upside Down Design.