The U16 B Squad visited Haslemere, a single-squad team we've not played at 15-a-side, and where the Bs have struggled previously against mixed sides, our strength and experience in-depth helped us to a worthy draw in a game we could have won. We welcomed five new players to the squad:

Dylan Warren
James Grey
Zach MacDowell
Ben Douglas (MoM)
Morten Wynde

All five boys played with commitment and passion and all five should be pleased with their first start.

We also welcomed new coach Steven Douglas, who is a great addition to the FRUFC coaching family.

The game was played over 4 quarters, with coaching points throughout, at the request of Haslemere who had a mix of A and B players, some coming back from long lay-off or injury. They were under-manned, so we loaned them our talisman, Henry Mason, in the first half and new player, Morten Wynde in the second. Our thanks to both of them for their sportsmanship.

Haslemere started stronger than us and were able to dominate in the first quarter due to (in part) our rustiness and some players getting used to new positions. Charlie Wickens, playing at his favoured scrum-half position was excellent throughout and made fast ball available from some patchy rucking. Our backs struggled early on to straighten up in attack after getting some very good possession, so our flyers on the wing Paul Dakunimata and Tyler Buckley were driven out instead of having space to run into. Defensively, we were caught out a couple of times, with Haslemere taking advantage of an overlap; their left wing, who had a great game, ran in an easy try. 5-0 to the Blues. A very quick conversion and it was 7-0.

FRUFC listened to the feedback from the coaches at each break and although we could have been far more aggressive in the pack, we rucked better and tackled well. My notes from the game have 'good tackle', 'strong tackle' written all over the page. In particular, Ben Douglas came away with our Man of the Match due to his ferocious tackling throughout, but all the boys have returned with a desire to stop the opposition.

Our scrummage and line-outs were very good. Aside from two handling errors in two lineouts, we won them all. We also took 3 against the head in the scrum, forcing a penalty from Haslemere on two occasions from a very solid foundation. Gav and the forwards coaches have taught the boys well. We were streets ahead technically in the lineout.

It was cat-and-mouse for the second two quarters, and the game looked lost with 5 minutes to go, when Ollie Gutierez popped up on the blind following a great drive from Paul D. Ollie rode one tackle and his momentum (and a cheeky wriggle) took him over for a try. 7-5. It's a testament to a great host team that allows a referee to say "I can only referee what I can see" and accept their decision with grace. Hats of to the Haslemere massive.

Ben Willoughby, a keen footballer, stepped up to take a tricky conversion to level the game under pressure. Cool as a cucumber, his unorthodox kick cleared the bar, still rising. 7-7 and the crowd went bonkers.

We fought off a valiant last attack by Haslemere in the remaining few minutes and held on to our draw.

Haslemere have a great set-up and were fabulous hosts. A real pleasure to visit. As always our thanks to the brilliant parents who are such a positive force from the side.