Aldeburgh v Colchester 4s
9th November King’s Field
Result: Aldeburgh 15 Colchester 29
We may never know what coach, Paddy Allen, said to the team at half time but by the end we were reaching for the cliché that this had been a “game of two halves”. What he said at the end was that this was a game that Aldeburgh could have (and should have?) won.
On a beautiful Autumn day, Aldeburgh started well, taking an early lead through a James Cook penalty. From then on it was hard work. Colchester totally dominated the set scrums, caused all sorts of problems in the line out and maintained unrelenting pressure. The tackling was resolute on both sides as was the recycling of the ball in the loose.
Eventually Aldeburgh ran out of tacklers to let in the first Colchester try which was followed by one from a rolling maul following a line out in the 22. The fierce defence lead to a warning from the referee about the number of penalties being conceded which in turn lead to a yellow card for Aldeburgh just before half time. A half time score of 3-10 was a credit to Aldeburgh’s defence but it was hard to see how this could be maintained.
Early in the second half, Aldeburgh gave away a soft try through a missed line out throw giving Colchester’s second row an easy trot to the line. At 3-17, it was not looking good. Once restored to a full side, Aldeburgh showed great enterprise, passing the ball along the line under our own posts, kicking long, chasing and gaining a five metre scrum at the other end. From then on, Colchester could not get out of their 22. After sustained pressure, James Ledger went on a storming run from 20 metres, breaking through three tackles to score under the posts.
Aldeburgh’s dominance continued. After several rucks, a penalty was conceded which Aldeburgh ran, recycled and finally released Freddie Burgess (in an unaccustomed position on the wing) to dive over. At 15-17 with five minutes to go, it was game on.
But for Aldeburgh, it was not to be. The Colchester outside centre, who had been a threat all afternoon, finished off a series of moves with a try which was quickly followed by a final try from Colchester’s backs.
Although a disappointing result, it was a competitive match, great to watch and well fought to the end by both sides.