Redmen enjoy rout
Southwell Under-16s completed a successful four match tour of Canada with a 10-5 win against a strong Alberta province side.
They began with a 59-14 win against Abbotsford in British Columbia, and followed that with a 52-0 win against Kelowna and a 76-0 success against Calgary Irish, but it was the Alberta state side who provided their toughest challenge.
Alberta had previously been unbeaten this season, and it was a big step for the already tired Southwell players facing opposition roughly equivalent to their own Midlands squad level, and the Redmen were without injured skipper Dan Benson.
Despite their weariness, the Southwell side produced another fantastic performance and, although they didn’t produce a lot of tries, it meant that the Redmen completed their tour of Canada with a 100% record and some memorable scalps.
With the forwards and backs once again dominating their opposite numbers across the park, the Southwell side fought hard throughout.
The Under-16s man for man have always been ferocious tacklers but it was their huge improvement in quick counter-attacking and in the loose that stood out as they scored a try through prop Alex Smith which was duly converted by fly-half Sam Hedley.
Coach Charlie Anstey’s side survived a scare as Alberta finally broke through to score to bring the scoreline back to 7-5 with minutes to go, but some quick thinking by stand-in skipper Will Anstey saw the visitors decide to take a penalty kick at goal which Hedley held his nerve to slot between the posts to seal a fantastic 10-5 win and round off an excellent tour of the colonies.
Tour scores:-
v Abbotsford W59-14 Tries: Ollie Stanford (5) Ben Birch (3) Will Towse. Conv: Sam Hedley (7).
v Kelowna W52-0 Tries: Hedley 2, Alex Berry 2, Stanford, Birch, Jack Skill, Josh Hart. Conv: Hedley 6.
v Calgary Irish W76-0 Tries: Birch (3) Towse (2) Alex Smith (2) Len Jackson, Berry, Henry Perks, Adam Richmond. Conv: Hedley (8).
v Alberta State W10-5 Try: Smith. Conv: Hedley. Pen: Hedley.
Coach Anstey said: “I spent 18 years in Canada and I was ecstatic with the team’s performances. especially against my old team Calgary Irish.
“It bodes very well for the future of Southwell Rugby Club that we have this quality of talent coming through the ranks.”
Newark Rugby Club fitness coach Alex Chapman is putting his charges through their paces at Kelham Road in readiness for the new season.
Chapman (25) joined Newark last summer from Nottingham where he had worked alongside coaches Bob Fowkes and Bob Nashed before they joined the Midlands Two East club.
The sessions and advice from Chapman helped bring a new focus to the Newark team whose reward was to finish fourth in the league and to win the Three Counties Cup.
Chapman has now started another summer of pre-season training and said: “We had an edge on our rivals last season and must work hard to maintain that advantage.”
The fitness coach has now started a full time role at Nottingham Tennis Centre where he is in charge of fitness for academy players aged from eight to 17.
Chapman will continue to work part-time at Newark every Tuesday and Thursday evening.
