Keighley power sinks Ilkley – Twice!

Keighley Under 9’s v Ilkley Under 9’s at Ilkley
6th December 2009
Match 1
Team
Jack Rodborne
Harry Gould
James Field
Harvey Bird
Will Halliday
Zac Scott
Aaron Wilson
Joss McArthur
Lennon Curr

Match Report – GAME 1
Headline
Keighley power sinks Ilkley – Twice!
On a very wet pitch at Ilkley, Keighley firmly stated their intention when straight from the first whistle Jack Rodborne powered through a startled Ilkley defence on the Keighley left only to step into touch on the try line.
From the resulting line-out Keighley pressured the Ilkley back row into a series of handling errors which led to 2 scrums in quick succession and the power of the Keighley forwards showed its potential with Harry Gould laying off to Rodborne who blasted through the Ilkley defence to score.
Ilkley 0 – Keighley 1 – 1 ½ minutes played.
Keighley then laid siege to the Ilkley try line and were denied 2 tries in quick succession with first Rodborne and then James Field being bundled into touch 1 yard out by some resolute Ilkley defensive work.
From the 5th Keighley scrum inside as many minutes, Lennon Curr playing at scrum-half for the first time this season dummied his counterpart and ran diagonally thorough a static Ilkley defence to score Keighley’s second legitimate try of the half.
Ilkley 0 – Keighley 2 – 6 minutes played.
Keighley continued to pepper the Ilkley try line and only resolute defence from the Ilkley forwards kept the rampant Keighley players at bay. However Ilkley rallied and from some good cross field interpassing following a couple of missed Keighley tackles, the Ilkley centre powered through on the right to run almost unchallenged on the right to halve the deficit.
Ilkley 1 – Keighley 2 – 9 minutes played.
From the re-start Ilkley seemed to take heart and started to push down both Keighley flanks but the power of the Keighley forwards with some ferocious tackling as usual by Will Halliday and by debutant Joss McArthur was always telling and with great anticipation by the Keighley backs always looking to latch onto loose ball it was always going to be tough for the Ilkley side.
However they remained strong and repelled another Keighley attack to finish the half only 1 try down.
Half Time – Ilkley 1 Try – Keighley 2 Tries
With everything to play for Keighley started where they left off in the first half by laying siege to the Ilkley try line but to their credit Ilkley did not stop and the occasional long pass to either flank seemed to unsettle Keighley from time to time.
Keighley pressure forced another scrum on the Ilkley 5 yard line and from the quick feed, Halliday evaded some desperate Ilkley tackles to score in the far right corner.
Ilkley 1 – Keighley 3 – 18 minutes played.
From the restart, again Keighley overpowered the Ilkley backs who tried to hold the ball up and Zac Scott’s quick reaction to a dropped ball saw him take 3 Ilkley players to ground and Field was unlucky not to be awarded a try when the loose ball was judged to have been knocked on.
From the 5 yard scrum an inspired Curr sneaked in on the blind side unchallenged to score his second try of the game on the left.
Ilkley 1 – Keighley 4 – 21 minutes played.
With the freezing rain making handling uncertain, the Keighley forwards continued to batter the courageous Ilkley defence and a mistake at an Ilkley lineout allowed Rodborne to feed Halliday to score his second in the right corner
Ilkley 1 – Keighley 5 – 26 minutes played.
From the re-start whistle the powerful Keighley forwards drove the Ilkley pack towards their own line and a panic pass out of a ruck saw Harvey Bird latch on to the wayward ball to tap down his first try for Keighley on his debut.
Ilkley 1 – Keighley 6 – 28 minutes played.
The teams cancelled each other out in the last 2 minutes with some spirited tackling in midfield and with the last play of the match, Aaron Wilson who had made excellent progress coming in from the wing was forced into touch within 2 yards of the beleaguered Ilkley line.
Final Score
Ilkley 1 Try – Keighley 6 Tries
Scorers
Jack Rodborne – 1, Lennon Curr – 2, Will Halliday – 2, Harvey Bird – 1
It was Keighley who made their size and positive application count winning by 6 Tries to 1 against a slightly dispirited but none the less very game Ilkley side.
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Match 2
Team
Jack Rodborne
Harry Gould
James Field
Harvey Bird
Will Halliday
Zac Scott
Aaron Wilson
Joss McArthur
Lennon Curr

Match Report – GAME 2
Keighley started their second match where they left off in the first. Despite only having 9 boys and taking only a 5 minute break after the first match, Keighley’s experience of the treacherous conditions encountered in the first match along with assured handling by their forwards particularly meant that only 2 passes from the off saw them 5 yards from the Ilkley try line when Harry Gould ran ½ the length of the pitch before being despatched into touch by 3 Ilkley backs.
The first 5 minutes of the half then saw Keighley camped on the Ilkley try line but unable to turn their weight and size advantage into tries with both teams swapping penalties forced mainly by handling errors caused by wet cold hands.
From a lineout on the Ilkley left Keighley a steal and good quick ball by Aaron Wilson fed Lennon Curr to score in the corner.
Ilkley – 0 – Keighley 1 – 6 minutes played.
Both teams again swapped possession with Ilkley for a short period looking the brighter team but a mistake again from the scrum, pounced on quickly by Zac Scott was then converted by James Field who shrugged off the challenge of 2 Ilkley players to score in the right corner again.
Ilkley 0 – Keighley 2 – 8 minutes played.
Keighley then piled on the pressure and had 3 tries disallowed in as many minutes for knock-on’s but they didn’t have it all their own way as Ilkley were quick on the counter and only magnificent tackling by Will Halliday and Harvey Bird prevented Ilkley getting on the score sheet.
Scrappy play was only to be expected in the wet cold conditions but Jack Rodborne again set onto a loose ball to power over unopposed on the left for Keighley's 3rd try of the half after 11 minutes.
Ilkley 0 – Keighley 3 – 11 minutes played.
From the restart with the Keighley forwards pressing Ilkley into mistakes, Field was forced into touch 2 yards shy of the try line and from the resulting line-out, Ilkley failed to clear and Gould burst through on the stroke of half time to score Keighley's 4th try of the game.
Half Time Ilkley 0 – Keighley 4
The second half went fully according to plan as Keighley consolidated and gave nothing away with the whole team playing some excellent rugby, taking advantage of any opportunity to capitalise on mistakes.
Curr, not for the first time in the match out-foxed his opposite number to scurry over from a well earned Keighley scrum in the 22nd minute.
This was followed in quick succession by 2 tries, one from debutant Joss McArthur who powered through 2 tackles near the Ilkley line to score his first and then the ever vigilant Halliday who forced his way over the line shortly after a making a try saving tackle.
Ilkley then resisted all Keighley pressure and played their best rugby of the match to put the now tiring Keighley boys under pressure down the centre.
The last 3 minutes were played out by 2 tired teams who did their best to overcome their opponents but with Keighley pressing home their score line advantage, Ilkley held on and didn’t concede again – battered and beaten but with their heads held high.
Final Score
Ilkley 0 Tries – Keighley 7 Tries
Scorers
Lennon Curr – 2, James Field – 1, Jack Rodborne – 1, Harry Gould – 1, Joss McArthur – 1,
Will Halliday - 1
“The boys showed great spirit today despite being 4 players short of our normal squad and all of them settled well into both games in very difficult conditions” said Coach Nigel Curr “At times in the second half we played some of our best rugby of the season” he added. “However, Ilkley despite the score-lines battled well and were very game opponents.”
“Next weeks’ game away against Wharfedale is a big one for us and I think we can now approach it with some confidence knowing that we will have a full squad to choose from” added Coach Neil Scott.