Players, coaches and parents left north staffordshire with a hard fought win - which qualified the U16's squad for a semi final berth on 29th January.

Feedback from the coaches for the players:

You started the game so well applying pressure straight from the kick off, keeping Leek pinned into their 22 for the first 5 mins of the game forcing them to eventually kick possession away. This set the tempo of the game, with continued applied pressure throughout, forcing errors from Leek and not allowing them to settle and develop their game.

You showed dominance in the set piece, particularly at scrum time. And your dominant rucking kept Leek on the back foot not allowing them to secure any quick ball and when you were in attack, your rucks were so quick and you moved the ball away so quickly, Leek didn’t get any time to set their defence. There was great continuity from you and great interplay between the forwards and the backs. You really went through the phases, putting into practice exactly what you’re trained to do every week. It was great to see.

9 times out of 10 you chose the right option in the right area of the field, and at the right time. You exited our 22 when you needed to. You kicked for touch when required, you pressured at scrum time in their 22, and in attack you were precise and effective.
You didn’t allow Leek to settle and get into any kind of rhythm which was a credit to the pressure you applied all game, you continually unsettled them.

This was probably your most complete performance this season against very good opposition that you’ve never beaten in 10 years. We need this level of performance from you, from now until the end of the season. The communication and intensity need to be maintained at this level, in training and for every match.

The takeaway from the coaches from this game would be for you guys to watch the match on VEO focussing on what went well and to try to replicate that in training and look to improve in areas you feel might need tweaking, but overall Lads you were really impressive and it was a pleasure to watch, both Coaches and Parents were beaming with pride at the end so well done all.

This level of performance couldn’t have been achieved by the team on the day without the continued commitment of every player in the squad, you win together and you lose together, and so for the Lads not actually playing on Sunday, well done too, you’re only as strong as the sum of your parts, never forget that.

Next week we have our seventh and final league game against Wolverhampton - the whole squad will travel and play.