Celts break into Hampshire's top four!

Sunday 12th January 2020, KO 11am. Despite the recent rainfall an early morning pitch inspection proved the U13 Hampshire Cup Quarter Final could go ahead - New Milton (4) v Gosport & Fareham (5). The Celts travelled to New Milton on the back of recent vistories against Havant, Basingstoke and Alton however the feeling was still a little uneasy. New Milton have always played fast, aggressive rugby and have threats all over the pitch. The Celts were well aware of this - nothing was being taken for granted.
Two late injuries to Michael Cromie and Brieuc Soulayrac meant that Oliver Smith would be playing hooker for the first time with Henry Shaw as back up if required. A bit of last minute squad reshuffling and the Celts were looking good.
It was a bright, sunny and windy day but a very boggy pitch meant it was going to be a tough battle for the boys and hard going on the wet ground. Oliver Smith (c) won the toss and opted to receive from the KO and after the inital clash, Celts opted to gain territory with a downfield kick to touch from William May. New Milton came out of the block at the free pass and after missing the initial tackle, Kai Williams got into the ruck first and drove three New Milton players backwards. That was to set the tone for the day; get to the ruck first, keep low and drive the opposition off the ball. The ball came out cleanly in the end and three passes saw the ball in the hands of Charlie Fisher playing at outside centre. 30m out but full of energy, he burst down the line and raced away to score the crucial fist try. Good passing, good pace.
From the restart, New Milton moved the ball left, across the pitch, looking for space but Elliott Giles and William May kept them in their own half with some crunching tackles and when the ball went to ground, there was Ollie Smith and Henry Shaw to secure the breakdown. The scrums were fairly even and the 9's were going toe to toe. Kai Williams won another ruck in the centre before it was New Milton's turn to get in on the act, turning the ball over out wide on their right. Finding a 3v1 overlap, New Milton looked to release their pacy winger. Being the solitary wide defender, William May rushed up and made a fantastic interception. Also from 30m out, Will put his foot down and powered through, shrugging off a number of tackles to put the Celts 10-0 up after 6 minutes. What a start! Were the Celts about to lay down a marker for the tournament?
No. Not yet, anyway. 12 minutes on and the tide had turned....The New Milton backline worked their magic and unleashed their winger who had blistering pace and an awesome step. He crossed over for their opener and their tails were up! Within a few minutes, after sustained pressure, the ball broke to New Miltons tall centre who powered over from close range. All square. The Celts were clearly rattled as heads dropped and nerves crept in. The restart catch was dropped by the Celts and New Milton took advantage, sweeping the ball across the pitch when the Celts were not in defensive formation quickly enough and were punished by the rapid New Milton right wing - 15-10.
A very scrappy phase of play from both sides followed as it seemed the frantic opening 20 minutes had taken its toll on both sides. New Milton managed to turn the ball over in their own 22 and decided to run the ball clear but Elliott Giles had other ideas with a Lawes-esq tackle which dislodged the ball. The forwards pounced to secure quick ball. Aidan Bones, William May and Elliott Giles reacted quickly to switch the play and get the ball wide as Celts had a overlap. Charlie Fisher gratefully accepted the hard work done by the team and dived over in the corner. Jake Hoare was excellent putting in some really important tackles and forward runs. Max Court was a constant thorn in New Miltons side not just in the scrum. Jack Harrison was playing some clever rugby and making himself available off the breakdown.
With the first half nearly done, New Milton pressured the restart but a cool head from William May saw him sidestep the charge down and put his laces through the ball for Harrison Bennett to chase up the wing. Good pressure from Harrison and support from Morgan Clayton allowed the forwards to get up and secure the ball. "Wide" was the call as the overlap and space were on the left again. This time Thomas Hutchinson laid on a delicious pass to Charlie Fisher who, after two strong hand offs crossed over in the corner with three New Milton defenders attached to him. Celts had regained the lead before the break. William May kept New Milton in their own half for the last couple of minutes with some well placed kicks.
Half time 15-20. Celts to play into the sun and wind in the second half.
An early scrum in the centre of the pitch 5m out from New Miltons posts gave the Celts an excellent opportunity to draw first blood of the second half. The new-look Celts back line spread wide to draw the defence across the pitch. Harry Cromie fired the ball left to Elliott Giles who took the opportunity to take a step and drive through a gap for his first of the match. 15-25.
A beautiful kick off from Thomas Hutchinson and aggressive chase from Harry Cromie brought about a quick, pressured mistake from New Milton and Celts were back in possession. Some super work from Jack Harrison and Charlie Gregory saw the Celts edging upfield. When the ball finally came wide, the New Milton defence had not given up and brought down Joshua Fernandes just short of the line. Good rucking (again!) saw the Celts on the attack and William May and Thomas Hutchinson combined on the blind side to draw the defence across. Good work in the mid-week training focussed the Celts on the opportunities at the breakdown and Charlie Gregory spotted a quick pick and go from the ruck to cross over unchallenged - great vision! 15-30
Mistakes were creeping in on both sides as tiredness crept in. Lots of kick tennis to gain territory from both sides unfortunately just handed possession over. A lot of back and forth ended up with a G&F 22 drop out to clear lines. Another great kick chase from Gus Corbett kept the pressure on New Milton and a superb tackle from Thomas Hutchinson saw the Celts regain possession again. Using quick hands and good support, another chance was coming. Celts again spread the ball wide after a good carry from Peter Headley and support from Morgan Clayton. Charlie Fisher was there to pick the ball up off his ankles and step back inside then out to cross over for his forth and final try of the game.
Thomas Hutchinson was starting to run the show and scored a fine individual effort after stepping his defender and skipping out of the cover tackles. The pressure had lifted and Celts were having more success every time they touched the ball.
Another breakdown gave Thomas Hutchinson an opportunity to get the ball wide via Elliott Giles who unselfishly (yet again) distributed wide to the on rushing Joshua Fernandes who had come up from the back as practised. Harrison Bennett was yet again in support should he have needed him but the forwards had done the work up from to draw in the defenders. Josua crossed over for Celts final try. 15-45.
New Milton managed to get a consolation try in the last minute as tired legs showed the effort the boys had all put in for the win. FT 20-45.

The New Milton players played the game well and in the right spirits, demonstrating TREDS throughout. They are a credit to their club. As are the Celts who despite being up against big and fast opposition yet again came through on top due to hard work, team work and resiliance.

Oliver Smith was rightly named Player of the Match by the New Milton players - well done (maybe you will have to play hooker again!?!?)

Well done to all the Celts supporters who represented the club in superb voice. Not forgetting Michael Cromie and Brieuc Soulayrac who supported their team mates despite injury.

Thanks also to our main sponsors Deep Blue Financial Services https://www.deepbluefinancial.com/ who were in attendance for the win.

Well done to all Celts - it was not just down to the match day squad, its down to all 40+ players turning up each week and working hard to push the team forward. We are now a top four team in the county and every player should be proud to be a part of it - well done!

Onwards to Petersfield on 9th Feb for the Cup Semi Final - GO CELTS!!!