Bishop 52 - 17 Seaton

The fifth match of the season saw Bishop welcome Seaton U14’s to pitch 2 on home ground. Seaton has always been a great competitive team to play against but always had the upper hand in final scores and Bishop knew they would have to work hard for a win!

The match started with a quick opportunity from Seaton who found a gap in the Bishop defence and were able to gain a try from an impressive break away run.

Now in previous years this would have been enough for Bishop to lose their confidence in conceding a try so quickly. But this year is different and Bishop quickly communicated their new tactics for a defensive line and retention of the ball at all costs.

Bishop's forwards worked hard to keep the ball in Seaton's half and closed ranks on any opportunity for them to push back. There was a clear size difference between the two teams with some big Seaton players. However, Bishop’s tackling was on point and this managed to knock the wind out of their defence, allowing Bishop the space to equalise the score within the first 20mins.

Once again, this season just shows how far Bishop U14’s have come as the tries and conversions continued to roll in and by half time the score was 17-5 to Bishop.

A half time talk focussed on keeping possession of the ball at all costs through the rucks and passing down the line. Seaton had capitalised on some easy possessions due to Bishop not being quick enough to secure the ball.

This was clearly listened to by the lads as the second half continued to see Bishop dominate over Seaton by keeping the pressure on with the attack. Bishop showed excellent rugby skills and continued communication to open the score gap further. The conversions by Leo and Ollie just show how their confidence continues to improve despite the pressure on the field.

In defence of the growing gap in the score, Seaton changed tactic to apply maximum force by using their big forwards to land two tries…well deserved! Bishop's reaction was to put the hammer down! They guarded the ball from the Seaton forwards and used their quick pace and to bring the final tries across the line.

The match showed fantastic energy from the lads across the board, attacking with intent on the wings, defending confidently in the 2nd row and continued fast pace from both the backs and forwards.

Worthy shout outs go to Leo & Ollie for their successful conversions. Freddie, Blake and Leo for their tries but also a huge well done to Daniel, Roli and Connell for their first tries of the season!

Man Of The Match goes to the machine that is Matthieu! His dedication to attacking from the front line took Seaton by surprise on several occasions and ensured the possession of the ball remained onside.

Well done to all of the team, that’s five wins in a row….AMAZING WORK!