Rugeley were the first visitors to Cooke Fields this season for the u13s, who were keen to put in a strong performance after a very tough opening away fixture last weekend at Wolverhampton.

The fixture was only hastily arranged 48hrs beforehand, due to the original u13s opposition informing us midweek that they were not able to field a team for the match. As a result of this last minute fixture planning, Rugeley arrived slightly under strength and needed a few willing Lichfield players to bolster their numbers.

Rugeley made the much better start to the match, confidently collecting the Lichfield kick-off and quickly returning the ball at speed through the heart of the Lichfield defence. Some last ditch tackling on the Lichfield try line was needed to keep Rugeley at bay. Following some great work at the resulting breakdown by the Lichfield forwards, the home team regained possession and looked to move the ball into space.

The recent u13 training focus has been on providing better support to the ball carrier in contact, maintaining attacking depth and using the full width of the pitch to create and then exploit gaps in defences. These aspects of play were all evident on the pitch and Lichfield began causing the Rugeley defence some serious problems. As the Rugeley defence struggled and began to tire under the continual pressure, Lichfield ran in a series of unanswered tries and were seriously stretching the tiring Rugeley defence

Some great reflections at half-time by the Lichfield players meant more of the same after the break - excellent communication and team spirit combined with some tough tackling by the whole team prevented Rugeley staging any kind of meaningful comeback.

Although Rugeley did eventually breach the Lichfield defences to score, the ball was carried over the line by a Lichfield player turning out for the opposition, which provided some consolation.

Overall, a very positive performance by Lichfield u13s; plenty of attacking rugby on show alongside some resolute defending.

A special mention also for the willing Lichfield u13s players who were happy to reverse their playing shirts and join the Rugeley u13 team for the day.