Walsall u13s were the visitors to a very wet Cooke Fields on Sunday 23rd April for the final u13 home game of the 22/23 season.

The pitch team had done a great job to ensure the match went ahead after several rain storms at the end of last week, but the heavy surface and wet conditions would test both sides throughout the morning.

Walsall kicked off and managed to pin Lichfield into their own half for the first 5 minutes, eventually forcing a turnover within sight of the try line. A powerful drive from close range by the Walsall forwards then led to the opening try.

Lichfield responded well, looking to use width to get around the sides of a stubborn and well organised Walsall defence.

The Lichfield breakthrough looked like it had come from a familiar source…Lichfield scrum-half Daniel C slung a 15m cross-field pass to pick out Addison (inside centre) who beat the Walsall defenders with pace and power. Inexplicably the Lichfield u13 try-machine was correctly adjudged to have not placed the ball down over the line for a try that would have levelled the contest.

Walsall took advantage of this reprieve and added another 2 close range tries. They looked to be taking the game away from Lichfield, who were dominating both possession and territory but somehow unable to trouble the scoreboard.

Shortly before the half-time whistle Lichfield second row Theo T picked up a short pass and bulldozed his way over the try line from 10m out to give some reward for Lichfield’s near constant first half possession.

Half-time: Lichfield 5-15 Walsall

The second half continued with Lichfield enjoying the majority of the possession, this time with Walsall playing up the slope they were the team struggling to get the ball out of their own half.

Eventually the gaps in the Walsall defence started to appear as the relentless Lichfield attacking onslaught created some weary Walsall legs.

Lichfield replacements in the forward pack (Oli B, Leo and Fraser) exploited these gaps with their fresher legs, all combining well and propelling the team forwards from the breakdowns.

Lichfield found themselves level following a try from second row Joe W, with 10 mins left of the match and than ran in a further 3 tries to complete a fantastic second half turnaround.

Full-time: Lichfield 30-15 Walsall

The u13 squad travel to Old Halesonians for a festival next weekend to finish the season.

The coaching staff would like to thank the u13 parents for their magnificent support and patience this season. At times it has been extremely challenging to keep 35+ players happy with a rotational selection policy, but with the recent run of good form the signs for next season are extremely encouraging.