Kingswood U8s v Wells

Kingswood U8s arrived at Wells off of the back of a great result at North Bristol. Their new opponents were unlikely to make things easy for them however; the only previous meeting between the two sides ended as a hard fought draw with the two sides evenly matched.

Game 1

As seems to be a tradition for Kingswood sides, the away side started slowly, quickly falling behind to some wonderful play from Wells. It didn't take long for the home side's tactics to became clear, with a single player proving to be the main strike runner, running onto the ball at pace and exploiting gaps in the Kingswood defence like a knife through hot butter.

Whilst Kingswood were struggling in defence, it had to be said that so were Wells. While Kingswood were struggling to hold onto one player, Wells had the impossible job of holding back an entire team. Not relying on any one player, Kingswood were able to keep the home side guessing, continuously varying their play and runners.

Kingswood were displaying more of the behaviours that they had shown at North Bristol, with direct running dragging in defenders before quickly passing the ball out wide; in one sublime move, Joseph Sheridan and Joshua Pharo took it in turns to run straight at the Wells defence, moving the ball on faster than the defence could realign. With the ball released to Vinnie Bush, he darted between three Wells players (don't ask how, no-one was entirely sure how - he sort of twisted this way and then that way and suddenly he was out the other side) and was sprinting for the line. With a single defender left, Vinnie timed his pass perfectly to the supporting Callum Ball who darted into the corner.

The second half proved much of the same, with Kingswood struggling to hold Wells back while defending yet unparalleled in attack, with both Charlie Cooke and Drew Lewis using their pace to slice through gaps between defenders. However, with time ticking down and Kingswood trailing by one, it looked like Kingswood were going to suffer defeat. At least, it looked that way until Kira Brown gained possession of the ball. Running from deep in her own half, she managed to slip two tackles before finishing her lung bursting run in the corner amidst ecstatic cheering from the sidelines.

Final Score Wells 18 v Kingswood 18

Game 2

The first half found Kingswood with a host of chances to steam ahead, but failing to find the finishing touches. With Wells starting to make mistakes, the away side had plenty of possession but for once were unsure what to do with it. In a move synomous with the half, Kingswood found themselves within a few meters of the try line, yet a loose pass found its way into the hands of the opposition, who promptly ran the length of the pitch to score. In defence, Kingswood were starting to make Wells work harder; yet after doing all of the hard work in winning the ball back, the team in blue and brown seemed to then run out of ideas. The whistle went for the half-way stage with Kingswood down 6-5.

Half time saw Kingswood rotate the squad and a quick pep talk from the coaches. You could say that it was a masterful tactical decision by the coaches combined with a passionate speech (go on, why not), but whatever it was, it worked. Kingswood came out all guns blazing, Oliver Gabriel diving through the middle of the Wells defence, Caspian Broome scoring twice in quick succession, Callum Ball and Kira Brown both providing great support and being rewarded for their efforts with tries: Kingswood all of a sudden had the upper hand and some great defence from Jessie Mahoney and Charlie Cooke ensured that they weren't going to let it go. The final whistle went and Kingswood had managed to overturn a deficit into victory.

Final Score - Wells 14 v Kingswood 16

A well earned team victory, with almost every player in the team scoring at one point or another. Player of the week went to Kira Brown for a superb all round performance in only her third match for the club.

As a final note, it could be said that the difference between the sides proved to be the supporters. For any neutral at the ground, they would've been surprised to learn that Kingswood were the away side, such was the magnitude of support (both in terms of sheer numbers and volume) from the visitors. There can be no doubt that the encouragement from the sidelines urged the players on to greater efforts. It was also a pleasure to witness the well-natured support for the opposition's team as well, so well done parents!