A tough test for the Celts as Trojans visited Gosport Park

After the players observed a minute silence for the recent passing of lifelong club member David Lloyd, the game got underway with some big hits early on as both sides look to stamp their mark. Weather conditions were very good for Gosport Park with only a slight northerly breeze and a bit of drizzle in the air. The wet grass and rain made the ball slippery and there were handling errors from both sides. That made for a game for the forwards and the Celt pack was at full strength. Jake was causing early problems with his powerful runs and it was not long before he drove over from 5m to score under the posts. A great start from the Celts. Thomas Hutchinson added the extra 2 points.
Some sides heads would have dropped but Trojans came back strong after the restart and kept the Celts penned in their own 22 for pretty much the rest of the first half. The Celts could not really find a way out, kicking against the wind, chargedowns and some good play from the trojans set piece. Trojans thought they had scored after a nice lineout maul set up one of their players to run in only to have the ball stripped from him over the try line. Some fantastic defence from the Celts under immense pressure kept the scoreline to 7-0 at half time.
Halftime work-ons were to tidy up at the breakdown (too many infringements) and use the wind to gain territory. Both sides came out with renewed energy despite being low on replacements. It wasn't long before the Celts were defending their own 22 again. This time, from a Celts lineout, a Trojans player picked his line well and intercepted 15m out to go under the posts unchallenged. 7-7.
The Celts dug in after hat and played the territory game well to get up the pitch. Jake and Elliott were making a nuisance of themselves at every opportunity with some good rund a crunching hits. Due to the Trojans line speed, the ball rarely made it out to the wings but Michail nearly got in the corner as the Celts started to take control. A good last ditch tackle into touch stopped him but he repaid his opposite number a few phases later.
Today was really about the forwards. The Celts pack was immense and won nearly every scrum, even against the head. Front rows Jack Harrison, Michael Cromie, Morgan Clayton, Brieuc Soulayrac, take a bow; the scrum was solid. The lineouts still need some work but they played really well. A good clearance kick from Will May got the Celts into the opposition 22 where our pressure forced an offside infringement. Thomas Hutchinson confidently asked for the tee and slotted the three points to take the lead with 15 minutes to play. 10-7
That was the story of the rest of the game; a dominant Celts scrum, good territoral gains and take the opportunities when they come. Thomas took another penalty kick 5 minutes later to make it 13-7.
Tempers had been wearing thin throughout the game and the referee quite rightly had to give both teams a warning for ill discipline and unfortunately for Trojans one of their players was shown a yellow card in the final minutes for loss of control.
The Celts closed the game out after playing the final phase and once the time was up kicked the ball to touch.
Not a high scoring game but it showed how good both sides defence were to cancel out each others attacking threats. From a Celts forwards perspective, it was a great game! Well done to all the Celts and all the parents for their fantastic support.