Aldeburgh v Ipswich YM Hawks
23rd October - Queen’s Field
Result: Aldeburgh 24 Ipswich YM Hawks 17
Another Strong Win
A lovely day, two full teams playing positive rugby, plenty of supporters and the first home win for two years. A great afternoon on the Queen’s Field continued with good cheer in the clubhouse.
Aldeburgh got off to a fantastic start. Attacking from the kick off, a series of drives and quickly taken penalties led to quick ball at a ruck. Fly half, Ed Robson, floated out a superb miss pass to winger, Keiron Roberts, who, with his first touch in his first match for Aldeburgh, powered over for a try, which Ed then converted.
Aldeburgh continued to dominate with lively passing interchanges among the forwards. Another quick ball to Ed Robson saw him dummy then accelerate to break the tackle, dotting down under the posts. He then converted his own try. 14-0 up after ten minutes.
Credit to Ipswich YMs who then gradually clawed their way back into the match. In their first period of pressure, they gained a penalty in the Aldeburgh 22 then had several forward drives and mauls before getting the ball out to the backs who went over wide out. The conversion was missed.
An Aldeburgh try was ruled out for a foot in touch after a fine run by young winger, Adam Hateley. But Aldeburgh stole the line out, got the ball out to the backs where flanker, Jon Hunt, popped up to execute a lovely side step which took him over for another try. Surprisingly, Ed missed the conversion.
Ipswich YMs suffered some injuries which led to Aldeburgh’s Lee Buckle joining the fray for the first time on their side to avoid a mismatch in numbers. He joined in several times for both teams. A sign of the co-operative way rugby is played at this level to ensure that everyone gets a good game.
Despite their injuries, Ipswich YMs bounced back again to put Aldeburgh under pressure. The defensive tackling had been strong all afternoon but another move by YMs backs suddenly saw them run through. The missed conversion left the score at 19-12, closer than Aldeburgh would have liked after all their pressure. The final act of the first half was a penalty attempt at goal missed by YMs.
The second half was more attritional with both sides having periods of pressure without dominating. Aldeburgh’s set scrum was on top throughout but Ipswich YMs did well in the loose. The first period of pressure from Aldeburgh led to a series of forward drives and penalties until James Ledger burst through for his fourth try of the season in just three games. A starting line up in the centre of James and Freddie Burgess provided strength and power, perhaps without speed and elegance, but it worked.
Ipswich YMs’ forwards got them back into the game with a series of powerful drives ending with them bundling over the line. The conversion hit the post leaving the sides within a score at 24-17. Aldeburgh had definitely been the better side but all could have been lost when YMs’ full back, easily their most talented player, made a superb break from under his posts which finally gave them a four on one situation at half way. A try under the posts looked certain but the support runners overran, the single Aldeburgh defender put in a fine tackle and by the time the ball was recycled, Aldeburgh had scrambled back. They ended the match 5 metres from their own line.
It was promising to see new players joining and making an impact, as well as some old hands putting in a surprise, cameo appearance. Scrum half, Jed Gallant, was man of the match for another fine performance.