Oxford Harlequins U13 v Bicester U13 – a view from the touchline

Fresh from glorious victory against Banbury last week, the boys were back on the pitch in the Plate semis against Quins.

As with last week, we were under pressure from the kick off and some well recycled ball shortly saw Quins take the lead with a score in the corner. The conversion was missed and Bicester restarted with gusto moving play into Quins' half.

This phase of the game saw good pressure from Bicester and they worked the ball down the line a number of times only for the centres and wings to be denied progress by the very fast Quins backs. Our handling wasn't perfect and we conceded a number of good attacking positions which released the pressure on the opposition somewhat.

Tom looked certain to score down the left wing but was felled by a trailing foot, which resulted in a penalty but we were unable to convert it into a score.

It took almost until half time for the pressure to count and Luke finally received the ball in space and used his afterburners to accelerate past the defence and score under the posts. Max hit the crossbar with the conversion attempt so we ended the half all square at 5-5.

The second half saw more of the same, with Bicester exerting pressure but not quite breaking through and Quins kicking deep and accurately for their backs to chase, until with 10 minutes remaining they broke the deadlock with a good drive to score near the post and kick the first conversion of the day. 12-5

Bicester immediately were on the front foot and the desire to win saw Ryan scoring under the posts, which was converted by Max - 12-12.

With less than 5 minutes remaining, the reliable Josh caught a high ball and kicked back with interest. The depth and awkward bounce of the ball, combined with the pace of the chase meant that Quins were under pressure on their own 22 when the referee blew for a knock on against Josh. This decision gave Quins a great field position which they converted – despite fierce defence – as they drove to score in the corner.

the kick was missed and the remaining couple of minutes saw Bicester camped at the other end of the field but unable to score. FINAL WHISTLE GAME OVER 17-12

Conclusions: Quins' game plan – kick and chase down - wasn't pretty but they were able to impose it upon us. Their backs were very quick in defence and their handling was sound when it mattered. Our pack had the edge in the scrums, but the opposition did enough to hold onto their own ball. Bicester were hesitant in the forwards at the breakdown and less than perfect with the handling and lines of running.

Whilst it is true that the final score was decided by a poor refereeing decision in an unfortunate position, even then it only denied us a draw not a win. If we had imposed our game plan like the previous 2 matches, we would have had enough points on the board for it not to matter.

Today's match was a very even contest and Quins should be congratulated for the way they withstood the pressure and used their assets.

For Bicester, the tackling was generally solid, Francois did well to secure loose ball at the base of the rucks, Josh was overworked at full back but was reliable as ever, and Oscar did some impressive tidy up work at the breakdown. I may be biased, but our loosehead sidestepping the Quins fly half was a moment to enjoy.

Advice from the non-coaching touchline? Forwards, don't hesitate! Full speed to the breakdown, make a decision about what to do while you're getting there and stick to it!

Report by Simon "Morrisman" Mansfield