YOUTH U14 NEWS/MATCH REPORTS

Dorking-U14 45 Crawley-U14 5

This was not a performance Crawley will be proud of. Right from the kick-off Dorking showed more commitment and determination than their visitors. They dominated the match from the start, scoring three tries in the first quarter. They did the basics well, and it seemed that Crawley just weren't 'up for it'. Crawley were missing a couple of players on county duty but this does not account for the poor all round display. Adam Dobson did claw back some pride by crossing the line after 20 minutes but this was the height of Crawley's success. Dorking finished the half strongly and managed another converted try to make the score 24-5 at the half time whistle.

Both sides ended the first half with 14 men as tempers frayed and a 10 minute cooling off in the 'Bin' was required for both forwards. Dorking started the second half in the same manner and scored a try almost immediately with a kick and chase down the field as the Crawley defensive cover went AWOL. Harrison Dean continues to improve and in truth was the only forward trying to stem the flow. He managed a number of memorable tackles but he could do nothing to prevent the home side racking up a further two tries to run out worthy winners. Crawley's discipline again let them down finishing the game with another forward in the sin bin.

This was the worst game of the season so far for the Crawley outfit which has shown so much improvement. They have the opportunity to redeem themselves next week with a home game against Crowborough.

Squad: Eaton, Jarvis, Ollis-Brown, Cooper, Harding, Morgan-Smith, Gosling, Rees, Dean, Tyson, Lumley, Stooks, Morgan, Spurgeon, Dobson, Salthouse, Mitchell, Mansfield, Judd, Sawyer.

Edenbridge-U14 10 Crawley-U14 39

It was back to winning ways as Crawley ran out convincing winners on a cold and damp autumnal morning. They had to work hard for their victory, the home side kept plugging away and it wasn't until midway through the second half that the visitor's overall superiority really told. The game started well for Crawley, but cold hands and a wet ball meant that any continuity was interrupted by handling errors. But it was the same for both sides and after a period of pressure Adam Dobson broke through the defence from short range to open the scoring. After 15 minutes Crawley started to get into their stride and Ryan Harvey broke a number of tackles to take the lead to 10-0. Edenbridge were stung into action, they had only lost one game this season and were not prepared to let the visitors dominate, they benefitted from a couple of handling errors and before Crawley realised, the home side had levelled the score through two long range tries. In an exciting climax to the half Crawley hit back with an excellent try by Ben Westphal-Reed who was put clear by Alf Spurgeon, after some good work by the forwards.

Crawley started the second half determined not to let their advantage slip, the continuity improved and Edenbridge had no answer to the 15 man rugby the visitors employed. Nye Rees crossed the line after a deft off-load from Rory Cooper. Jonathan Salthouse crashed over after some enterprising play by Ollie Tyson. Dobson scored the try of the match after switching his angle and powered through a number of covering tackles, and Dominic Morgan jinked his way over the line. The last two tries were converted by Kieran Gosling.

A much improved performance from Crawley and achieved using the whole squad of of players. George Ollis-Brown and Ollie Tyson were given more pitch time and rewarded the coaches with some strong running. Harrison Dean continues to impress with his tackling. But it is the general attitude and good spirit that this side displays is the most encouraging feature. They have a strong fixture away against Dorking, lets hope the improvement continues.

Squad : Dobson, Eaton, Westphal-Reed, Harding, Mansfield, Gosling, Rees, Lumley, Cooper, Harvey, Davies, Morgan-Smith, Salthouse, Tyson, Judd, Sawyer, Dean, Ollis-Brown, Stooks, Spurgeon, Morgan.

Worthing-U14 32 Crawley-U14 10

Crawley came away from their visit to the south coast disappointed not have made a bigger impression. They started the match well, with a good succession of rucks and mauls and the home side did not touch the ball for the first five minutes. But there was no score and Worthing were allowed back into the match and looked the more threatening. Indeed they scored the first try of the match after an excellent off-load by their lively scrum-half to Rhys Thompson who touched down in the corner. True to their recent form Crawley came straight back with some strong running from Ryan Harvey. 20 minutes into the half some fast recycling by the forwards on the left was swiftly moved to the right where Ben Westphal-Reed gave Harry Mansfield the ball 25 metres out, Mansfield showing good technique, beat the first defender was awarded the try as he managed to cross the line with three defenders on top of him. Now Worthing wanted their lead back and started to 'up' their game, their front five forwards were working harder than Crawley's and they were now dominating possession. However, with five minutes remaining in the half, they were fortunate to take the lead after a knock on from both sides lead to their second row scoring try.

The first half was pulsating to watch with two apparently well matched sides with luck favouring the home side, at 10-5 there was all to play for.

Worthing started the second half in a more determined mood and after some poor tackling were let in for a soft try after 35 minutes. Again Crawley came back and after a succession of quick penalties , Ryan Harvey finally found the defence lacking and touched down in the corner. The score was then 15 points to 10, but this was the last of Crawley's resolve as the home side forwards increased their dominance and they hit the visitors with a further three tries in the last 10 minutes to run out worthy winners.

Crawley had not played or trained for the last two weeks and it really showed. The front five forwards have to start to work as a units and show some aggression at the break-down, and the backs need to work on their alignment and learn to pass again. There were some decent performances from Harvey and Mansfield, who continues to improve at full back.

Squad : Dobson, Eaton, Westphal-Reed, Jarvis, Harding, Mansfield, Gosling, Rees, Lumley, Cooper, Harvey, Davies, Morgan-Smith, Salthouse,Tyson,Judd,Sawyer,Dean ,Ollis-Brown, Stooks, Mitchell, Spurgeon, Morgan.

Crawley-U14 73 Chichester-U14 0

Crawley approached their second league game of the season of the season with some trepidation, as they were heavily depleted due to half term holidays. Four of their first choice backs were missing, and after the confidence building victory last week there was a number of forced changes which would test the strength of the squad. However Crawley weren't phased and took the game to their well drilled opponents from the kick-off. It took just two minutes for new half back combination of Cian Morgan-Smith and Ryan Harvey to link up for the first score. Harvey crossing for the first of his four tries.

Adam Dobson, playing the centre for the first time, was the next to make use of the forwards hard work, touching down after Ollie Tyson had made some hard yards down the right wing. Harvey then picked up a pass from Harry Mansfield and raced 60 metres shaking off three tacklers to score under the posts. This really knocked the stuffing out of Chichester, their heads never went down, but were not really equipped to deal with Crawley in this rampant mood. The score was 32-0 at half time with all the tries going to the newly created back division. They were the beneficiaries of the excellent work being done in the forwards with the back row of Harrison Dean, Kieron Gosling and Nye Rees outstanding.

The second period was much the same as Crawley crossed for another seven tries, George Ollis-Brown and Tom Davis making an impact coming off the bench, whilst Robert Harding and Rory Cooper were menacing in the loose. Jonathan Salthouse was razor sharp on the left wing crossing for two long range tries. Morgan-Smith, Mansfield and Ben Westphalia Reed also got their names on the score sheet. But the biggest cheer of the day went to Nye Rees, as he rounded off his Man of the Match performance with the only forwards try of the day.

This emphatic victory bodes well for the league campaign, with the clash away at Worthing mid November looking to be a crucial fixture. If Crawley continue in this vein they should be looking forward to it with confidence.

Squad:Dobson, Eaton, Westphal-Reed, Jarvis, Harding, Mansfield, Gosling, Rees, Lumley, Cooper, Harvey, Davies, Morgan-Smith, Salthouse,Tyson, Judd, Sawyer, Dean , Ollis-Brown

East Grinstead-U14 10 Crawley-U14 38

Crawley continued their good start to the season with an excellent victory over local rivals East Grinstead. The win was all the more convincing as the home side play their league rugby in the division above. Crawley took the field determined to prove they have the ability and confidence to compete at a higher level and this friendly fixture was another chance to build towards the league campagne.

Crawley are not renowned starters, but right from the whistle their forwards dominated the game and it was the oppositions turn to suffer a rude awakening. The game was played in East Grinstead's half and the pressure was only relieved by desperate defence and the kicking of Ben Swadling, the home team captain. The home side could not sustain their defence in the face of the Crawley onslaught. The ball was being released quickly from the ruck and maul and Harrison Mitchell was sending a stream of passes from scrum half to runners on the open side. After a number of phases Ryan Harvey made a clean break to score the first of his four tries. The visitors then went 12-0 up as the wave of attacks continued and Alf Spurgeon crossed the line after some hard running from Adam Dobson, Spurgeon then converted his try. Crawley's concentration did lapse after some questionable refereeing decisions went against them, and toward towards the end of the half they let Grinstead in to score.

At half time Crawley led 12-5 and they started the second half determined not to hand the initiative back to the home side. Tom Davies came off the bench and immediately made a big tackle to disrupt any thoughts the home side had of a revival. With Scott Lumley dominating the scrums and breakdown, the forwards were giving excellent ball to the backs who ran in four tries in the second half, Ben Westphal-Reed touched down after some good interplay with Spurgeon, and Harvey added to his impressive tally. Again the home side managed a score but it was of little consolation as Crawley dominated all facets of the game.

This was as good as Crawley have played against renowned opposition and the coaching team were impressed that they continued to play good open rugby in the face of some aggressive and provocative behaviour from the home side. New recruits, Arnold Judd, Gary Sawyer and Harrison Dean all made a good impression and will add strength to the squad.

Squad: Dobson, Eaton, Westphal-Reed, Jarvis, Morgan, Harding, Mansfield, Gosling, Rees, Lumley, Cooper, Harvey, Davies, Mitchell, Morgan-Smith, Spurgeon, Salthouse,Tyson, Judd, Sawyer, Dean

Midhurst-U14 10 Crawley-U14 15

Crawley travelled to Midhurst on Sunday morning for the first league game of the season. The visitors were chasing their first ever league victory but the conditions were atrocious, with driving rain and strong winds likely to make the match a lottery.

Midhurst chose to play downhill in the first half and took advantage of Crawley's notorious slow start to open the scoring after 10 minutes. This only served to fire up the visitors, who started to dominate the scrum and the lineout. Harry Mansfield was using any ball he received intelligently at full back, while Ashley Eaton was playing superbly in the forwards. Crawley eventually turned their domination into points, after a lineout win and through some good link play by Rory Cooper and Nye Rees, they created space for Ryan Harvey to go over in the corner.

With the scores level at half time, Crawley made some changes in personnel which disrupted their flow, and it handed the initiative back to Midhurst who again scored early in the half. The home side continued to pile on the pressure as they tried to increase their lead and kill off the Crawley resistance. A year ago that would have been inevitable, but this Crawley side has changed, and after some solid defence involving all hands, a relieving break was made to half way and it was Midhurst turn to suffer sustained pressure. Crawley's scrum had regained the advantage with the re-introduction of Brett Jarvis at hooker, and were re-cycling the ball quickly and after three phases the ball was passed out to Jonathan Salthouse on the wing who powered over the line with three defenders attached.

With the scores level a draw was on the cards, but Crawley weren't done, their forward pack could smell victory. The home side were overwhelmed and in disarray as Crawley regained possession and attacked the try line. With 3 minutes remaining on the clock it fell appropriately to Nye Rees, blind side flanker, who worked tirelessly all day, to drive over and score the winning try.

It was a great contest to watch, both sides must be complimented for trying to play open, running rugby in very poor conditions. Crawley's coaches Smith, Gosling and Harding were elated at the first ever league win which reflects the hard work and commitment shown by all concerned. The ambition is to now go on and compete for promotion.

Man of the Match: Harry Mansfield

Squad: Mansfield, Westphal-Reed, Spurgeon, Harvey, Dobson, Morgan, Stooks, Eaton, Jarvis, Davies, Cooper, Harding, Morgan-Smith, Gosling, Rees, Salthouse, Lumley, Tyson, Mitchell, Ollis-Brown, Hay.

Crawley-U14 0 Hove-U14 17

Crawley opened their season with a friendly fixture against a strong side from Hove who had won by more than 50 points in the similar fixture last season.

Sunday's score line suggests another easy victory for Hove, but this was a hard fought match with no quarter given or taken. Hove found a very different Crawley outfit from the one they outplayed easily last year. They struggled to put any moves together, as their possession was limited and of poor quality, whilst the home side ran the ball at every opportunity. This was because Crawley were managing to re-cycle the ball much faster. They were very competitive at the lineout, where Nye Rees only lost one ball in he whole match, and the scrum, where Brett Jarvis and Ollie Tyson both managed strikes against the head. But most impressive of all was the defence where Cian Morgan-Smith and Kieron Gosling made countless tackles, which forced the opposition to live off scraps.

Hove did manage a breakaway try at the end of the first half and another against the run of play half way through the second. The ball carrying and defence of their back-row was excellent, and was the difference between the two sides. In truth Crawley did not threaten Hove's line, but this did not detract from a superb, competitive game of rugby played sportingly between the two sides.

Crawley look forward to next week when they hope to register their first win against Reigate.

Squad: Dobson, Eaton, Westphal-Reed, Jarvis, Morgan, Harding, Ollis-Brown, Mansfield, Gosling, Rees, Lumley, Stooks, Cooper, Harvey, Davies, Mitchell, Morgan-Smith, Spurgeon, Salthouse,Tyson.