May 10, 2008

Gloucestershire U20s 26 Yorkshire U20s 17

Gloucestershire upset the form-book at Twickenham when they beat favourites Yorkshire with a performance of relentless determination and sound defensive commitment that the White Rose side could not cope with in the final of the National Under 20 Championship.

Yorkshire went into the game having cut a swathe through the North, but the men from the South West were made of much sterner stuff and exerted a level of pressure that their opponents had not experienced this season. They did not react well and fell below the high standard they had set for themselves.

Gloucestershire could not have wished for a better start. After only 53 seconds they went ahead when a clearance kick by fly-half Jonny West was charged down and lock Jack Robson was on hand to gather the loose ball and dive over.

Fly-half Tony Wicks converted and then extended his side’s lead on 17 minutes when he landed a penalty after a Yorkshire offence at a ruck.

Yorkshire gradually began to settle and though the Gloucestershire defence held firm to keep wingman Alex Orr out at the corner, they were not so successful when second-row Dominic Parsons plunged over from close range for West to convert.

Gliucestershire responded by taking play back into the Yorkshire 22 with some strong running and good support and when the White Rose men could not resist handling at a ruck under their own posts, Wicks added his second penalty.

There was worse to follow for the defending champions. After 34 minutes they failed to deal with a Wicks cross-kick and this the second-row John Hennessy claimed the touchdown, Wicks converting to leave Yorkshire trailing 20-7.

First-half injury time brought an exchange of penalties by Wicks and West, leaving Yorkshire 23-10 adrift going into the second-half and badly needing to recapture some of the form that had brought them to the final so emphatically.

There was no immediate shift in the shape of the game after the restart as Wicks nudged Gloucestershire further ahead with his fourth penalty and Gloucestershire continued to frustrate Yorkshire’s hopes of getting back into  the game with a solid defensive performance.

Having shredded less able defences in en route to Twickenham, Yorkshire looked strangely shapeless and indecisive when confronted by a much sterner test, although they finally claimed their second try in the last minute of the game when they created enough space on the left for flanker Gavin Jones to score, centre Luke Gray converting.

Despite playing 14 minutes of injury time, in which Yorkshire were mostly on attack, Gloucestershire held their composure to the last to earn a deserved victory.

“People said we couldn’t do it, but nobody told Gloucestershire that,” said coach Paul Morris: “We were dismissed – there was no hope for us today. We couldn’t understand how Yorkshire could be such. But we came here and played them off the park.

“Being underdogs didn’t affect our preparations. We thought we could win, we thought we would win.

“We wanted a fast start and we got a fast start. Tony Wicks, our fly-half, was outstanding, but they all were. There’s a great rapport with the spectators and the support today was great. But when you’ve got a side that goes out and plays with 100 per cent of everything they’ve got, it’s not hard to support them. Everybody in Gloucestershire should be proud of this team.”

Yorkshire coach Anthony Posa acknowledged Gloucestershire’s superiority on the day, but insisted that his side were prepared for a serious test.

“I talked to the lads before about the need to be accurate and today we let ourselves down in that department, especially in the collision area and the lineout.” he said: “Once Gloucestershire got their lead they defended really well and were very well structured.

“Their defence was outstanding and their back-row did really well. We hadn’t met that kind of quality before. The key thing now is that the boys are prepared to learn from it.”

Yorkshire U20: H Duthie (Harrogate); S Bottomley (Leeds), T Stimpson (Dinnington), L Gray (Wharfedale), A Orr (Sandal); J West (Rotherham), J Gill (Wharfedale); A Ross (Rotherham), T Young (Harrogate), A Goodwin (Selby), J Brady (Pontefract), D Parsons (Sheffield Tigers), N Carter (Harrogate), G Jones (Huddersfield), R Burrows (Rotherham) capt.

Replacements (all used): S Rodgers (Dinnington), C Reakes (Sandal), S Maycock (Rotherham), P Altham (Wharfedale), K Dannatt (Hull Ionians), D Metcalfe (Harrogate), T Cokell (Wharfedale). T: Parsons, Jones.  C: West, Gray.  P: West

Gloucestershire U20: S Hawley (Dursley); C Hawkins (Hartpury Coll), R Winchie (Dursley), J Lister (Stroud), O Winterbottom (Dursley); T Wicks (Lydney), J Williams (Lydney); G Porter (Pertemps Bees), A Howells (Lydney) capt, C Bundy (Cinderford), J Hennessy (Matson), J Robson (Cinderford), J Preece (Pertemps Bees), C McNeil (Cinderford), B Morgan (Cinderford).

Replacements (all used): J Cresswell (Dings Crusaders), M Baker (Lydney), M Hurdle (Old Patesians), R Townsend (Hereford), W Foden (Hartpury Coll), S Arnott (Lydney), S Morris (Stourbridge).

Referee: A Hartwell (RFU).  T: Robson, Hennessy.  C: Wicks 2. P: Wicks 4