PUBLISHED 04 October 2022
Following on from the success of the first week AKS rugby were back in action against Giggleswick, in contrast to last year, the weather was exceptional in the Yorkshire dales and so was the rugby. The U12 team continued to impress with their try-scoring prowess, running in 45-5 winners and with at 22 man squad all getting good game-time.
The 12s won 45-5 with all 22 players getting the same amount of game time in the three 20 minute periods of game. In the 1st third, AKS dominated proceedings thanks to some committed tackling from the likes of Will H, Owen, Will A, Frankie and Monty. AKS scored three tries in the early exchanges and then Giggleswick came back but were unable to covert in to points. Later in the third, Will H scored a strong, solo try, showing his power and pace. The second third saw Giggleswick rally their troops and for much of the half were actually leading through a fine try by their talented backs. AKS came back into the game later in the half scoring a particularly savoury try, thanks to great work by Frank and well finished by Monty. In the final third, AKS sprung back in to gear moving the ball well and scoring the corner on three occasions, a fine wingers try from Reuben expertly finished off, the final say went to Lukas showing his rugby intelligence dab the ball down for the final whistle. The match was played in a fine spirit, with all three of the thirds showing great enthusiasm and teamwork amongst our boys, not to mention an obvious enjoyment of the game itself, which was a delight to see. Honourable mentions: Will H, Monty, Owen, Hugo, Ollie, Isa, Reuben, Will A, Charlie T and Harry, but player of the match goes to Frank.
Meanwhile the U13s picked up where they left off last week with a fantastic team effort. The player had clearly learned from the Altrincham game and showed great confidence in their attacking play scoring some fantastic tries and with leadership across the pitch put in a stout defensive performance. The final score was 45-10 to AKS with tries came from David H (4), Tino G-P (3), Freddie B and Tom K, David H picking up player of the match for his power in attack and bone crunching tackles.
After a tough first week, the U14s trained well with Mr Daws and were up for their next challenge. With Ethan leading the change, AKS attacked with direct running, and then exploited the space which saw them run in 6 tries. The tackling was fierce and with much improved organisation in defence kept Giggleswick attack at bay and down to 2 tries. The final score 36-7 to AKS, with tries from Leo (2), Will (2), Matthew and Cody and conversions from Xavier x3. Player of the match goes to Ethan for his work rate and leadership throughout the game.
The U15s after a slow start las week, set off like a house on fire, keeping possession of the ball and much of the territory in the first half. This pressure along with strong tackling from Toks and Ted, allowed AKS to play without fear and as such wire looking very dangerous with ball in hand, this resulted in three good tries all converted. This saw AKS in the lead 21-7 at half time. In the second half, AKS took their foot off the peddle and allowed Giggleswick’ s strong runners to make headway and score a number of unanswered tries. Making the final score 29-21 to Giggleswick. Reflecting on the game Mr Jones said, “Today was proof of the fantastic ability of the squad, showing intensity and hard work in the first half and playing some scintillating rugby. However, this squad must have belief in themselves and each other, when things go wrong (and they will go wrong), they must work together to find a solution, instead of going quiet and looking for to others. It is purely a matter of confidence and one that we will iron out as the season progresses."
The 1st continued in their good form against an expansive Giggleswick team. In the early exchanges Giggleswick found space out wide making a number of breaks, but with superb cover tackling from Joe and Finn, they only converted one in to a try. As Giggleswick launched anther attack in the AKS 22, Finn read the pass from 10 and intercepted to run 45 metres to score (converted by Daniel). This seemed to wake AKS up and with strong running from Reece, Max S and Cameron, started to stretch the Giggleswick defence and wit was not long before Finn cut a line through the centres to score his second to the left of the post (converted by Daniel). Firmly in charge of the game Daniel continued to push the Giggleswick team back in to their half with his tactical kicking, this produced opportunity for Reece to show his power as he crashed through to the line and Joe has the final say of the half as her scorched down the wing to make the half time score 26-5 to AKS.
With the wind at their back AKS were confident going in to the second half, but it was Gigglewick’s turn to take the game by the scruff of the neck. With the pressure turned on them AKS gave a number of penalties resulting in a Yellow card for Aki, and this was what Giggleswick needed to get the points ticking over, scoring twice to bring the score to 26-15 and with all to play for. AKS managed to re group and through their attach were held up short of the line on two occasions. In the final minutes, Giggleswick scored again to bring the score to 26-20 and with three minutes to go, AKS were under pressure to get the ball back. Giggleswick from the kick launched their final attach making it to the half way, then a turn over from Mark gave Daniel the chance to kick the ball out and seal the win.
This was a good performance with a great improvement in defence, there are key areas what the squad will work on before the Lancashire cup game against Scarisbrick on Tuesday, but it is another great step forward for this young and developing team.