Keighley 41 - Castleford 0

Keighley 41 - Castleford 0

Keighley u15s showed their full potential in this dominant game against Castleford.

Earlier in the season Keighley had been knocked out of the Yorkshire plate by the Castleford team.

From the kick off Keighley controlled the game, strong play from the forwards securing the ball and creating the space to release the ball to the backs.
This wasn’t a walk over though. Castleford put on a strong game and thwarted the Keighley advance on several occasions through a strong tackling game and great competition in the forwards in the ruck and maul. They never eased off during the game and there were several occasions where the Keighley defence had to be focussed and committed in their tackling to defend their line.

It was great to hear the team gelled as one unit with clear instruction and understanding prior to each phase of play in the match.

The strong cold wind created a number of issues for both teams, with some kicks going astray and cold hands dropping a small number of passes. Keighley learning from some early dropped ball and keeping the passes short and clean for the remainder of the match.

The forwards were led by example, with strong play in attack and defence from Tom Willson, Jack Wild and Sam Grant, all from the back row. The two props, Joel Crummack and Jordan Yaxley also having very strong games. These 5 influencing the focus and commitment in the rest of the pack.

Another strong game with every scrum won on our own put in, several being won against the head. A significant change in performance from earlier in the season.

The connection between the pack and the backs was expertly controlled between Matt Paul and Harry Gallagher. Clear and clean decisions being made to support the constant attacks being built against the Castleford defence.

The backs were also on top form, strength in the centres from Tom Oddy and Jacob Rankin, creating the force to break through the Castleford line on several occasions. Ryan Allen and Ni George on the wings available to take the ball on, out sprinting the Castleford wings to gain significant ground.

Castle ford relied on some strong kicking to clear their lines; however, Taine Lightfoot had a strong game in the full back position. His positioning couldn’t be faulted to return the Castleford kicks back to the point of release.

A huge game for everyone and an excellent team effort to win the game.

Match events as follows:

5:00 Jordan Yaxley scores a try for Keighley.
5:00 Tom Oddy misses the conversion.
Keighley 5 – Castleford 0

15:00 Tom Oddy scores a try for Keighley
15:00 Tom Oddy converts the try.
Keighley 12 – Castleford 0

18:00 Ni George scores a try for Keighley.
18:00 Tom Oddy converts the try
Keighley 19 – Castleford 0

29:00 Blake Saxby scores a try.
29:00 Jacob Ranking misses the conversion
Keighley 24 – Castleford 0

Half Time::

37:00 Tom Oddy scores a try.
37:00 Tom Oddy misses the conversion
Keighley 29 – Castleford 0

48:00 Joel Crummack scores a try.
48:00 Tom Oddy misses the conversion.
Keighley 34 – Castleford 0

59:00 Tom Oddy scores a try.
59:00 Tom Oddy converts the try.
Keighley 41 – Castleford 0
Full Time.

Match Honours::

Man of the Match – Joel Crummack
Voted by the ref and Castleford coach. Strong in the attack, breaking the Castleford forwards defence on a number of occasions. A storming 40 metre sprint down the wing, just prevented from scoring a second try. Finally, and most importantly, being a great ambassador for the game, focussed and aggressive in play but also showing great sportsmanship with humour and support for the opposition between the plays of the game.

Top Tackler – Matt Paul
A difficult award to make for the coaches this week. Tackling was exceptionally strong for everyone on the pitch. However, Matt never tired of tackling and continued to adopt the text book approach of tackling low. Even when Castleford presented their giant of a second row, Matt was not phased and was first in to bring the second row down with the text book tackle around the legs.

Coaches Award – Lewis Clegg
The performance from Lewis has improved week on week and this match saw Lewis deliver his strongest performance. Focussed in the scrums with a huge tally of scrums hooked successfully. Lewis has also become a greater impact in the ruck and maul, with a strong hit to clear the players away from the ball.

A great success for the full team. Development areas to take forward being the focus to ensure tackles are not missed. We had a very positive step forward with the number of tackles missed lower than previous games, we can still improve.