27/01/08  Readingensians (A)  Friendly  W 34 - 7

Having said that we only had 14 on Sunday, on the long journey to Red's !!! We started against their "A" team & quickly went ahead with a cracking "tunnel" ball in the backs that allowed new player Dan Jack to shoot over. The good news is we seem to have freed up the backs & we attacked through the forwards & out wide - excellent. Gareth Preston then scored pouncing on a mistake. Reds then came back to score after a sustained attack , & despite driving over the line three times Trojans couldn't score before half time 10-7 up. Reds put on a complete B team in the 2nd half & our 15th player turned up (after 2.5 hrs on the road!) however we were back to 14, when one of our players was injured! As you would expect Trojans dominated the 2nd half, playing rugby the proper way, playing a 14 man game, passing & attacking space - maybe the message is getting through. Wingers Alex Williams & Callum Bladum scored as well as  prop Elliot White, put in by his fellow prop George Scott! Johnnie Smyth scored off a quick line out & he & Toogi Long both converted one try. 34-7.

20/01/08  Petersfield (A)  Friendly  L 12 - 19

Again started very well with the wind ,the forwards monopolising possession for the first 15 minutes. We scored two tries through George Watts from an excellent maul & a penalty try ,after another good maul. Troy Cusack converted one giving T's a 12-0 lead. The backs were finding it difficult, holding onto the ball (& not passing) & taking contact which prevented the ball getting wide ,so the score stayed 12-0 until half time. We had a good turnout so brought on 9 different players & made 2 positional changes. Four of the front 5 were all new players !!!  Petersfield had agreed to bring on their 3 development players but decided they wanted to win the game !! Anyway the new guys all gained valuable experience in the second half & fought hard with strong encouragement from the sidelines !! Petersfield scored 3 tries to win 19-12 however I think our development boys had the moral victory & hopefully will come back.

13/01/08  Eastleigh (H)  League  W 31 - 0

Started strongly with a gale at our backs & established a stranglehold on the game . The forwards were dominant, reigning in on the scrum to keep the game fluid & the backs began running well onto the ball. This led to two early tries from flankers Alex Williams & Johnnie Smyth, both converted by Troy Cusack. The pressure continued & Ollie Manger scored,Troy converting & Johnnie Smyth added another supporting the play as a flanker should.

26-0 at half time allowed me to bring on all of the bench for the second half. This disrupted the team at the start of the half & Eastleigh came into the game, although playing into the wind meant if you lost possession the ball got kicked back over your head. Nevertheless Alex Williams drove over from a penalty near the line to complete the scoring 31-0. 5 league wins out of 5.

25/11/07  Romsey  (A)  Friendly   W 37 - 7

With 12 lads at the Hants trials we took 13 to Romsey & played some great rugby getting the ball along the line all thru the match, admittedly on a fine day. Although Romsey gave us the space the less experienced lads took full advantage scoring 7 tries all by the backs, winning 37-7.

Try scorers were Callum Bladon (3), Toogi Long, Graham Harding ,Ati Peart & Gerry.

Matt Freeguard added the conversion.

18/11/07  Portsmouth  (H)  Friendly L 19 - 7

U14s played Portsmouth at home in a monsoon !! - Certainly it could be said some of our lads did not enjoy it one bit. Despite dominating the first half Trojans were held 7-7 at the half - a breakaway try for Portsmouth & a good finish by George Watts for Trojans ably converted from the touchline by Troy Cusack. We should have abandoned at half time - we did 15 mins later, after two Portsmouth tries when the Trojans waved them thru claiming they couldn't feel their arms ! - quite true ! Match ended 19-7 with half our team in the showers with full kit on crying ! We have always fared badly in cold /wet conditions - from U7's ?

11/11/07  Vectis  (H)  League W 10 - 8

We entertained Vectis in our Division 2 league match yesterday .Both teams were unbeaten going into the game. Trojans started the game well controlling territory & passing the ball out. The breakdown was a ferocious contest with both sides not backing down , which led to a number of penalties ,which Trojans used to attack. After a period of pressure, involving a number of attacks on the line Alex Williams scored half way out from quick ball. Troy Cusack added the conversion. After that Vectis came more into the game with their driving maul & close support play & one of their players escaped down the left to be dragged down just short or was he ? - where was  the video ref when you need him - our's turned up a little later & gave the try - no conversion 7-5 to Trojans. Again Vectis attacked & we made a mess of a high ball giving a penalty away 8-7 to Vectis. Now the rain was falling & Vectis were kicking with the wind. Trojans managed to keep them out until half time - phew !

2nd half was dominated by Trojans - after calming down at half time the boys got their rucking game going , controlled the ball & played the game in Vectis' s half .Tackling improved taking Vectis's maul out of the game. Trojans got an early penalty kicked by Troy Cusack which ended up the only score in a wet & windy 2nd half . Outstanding forward play by Jack Remnant & George Watts was thwarted twice by Vectis & the conditions didn't help the backs passing game. However 3 wins out of 3 will do Trojans running out winners 10-8.

We then had a Development game which Trojans won 5-0 with a try by Zak Harvey.

14/10/07  Gosport & Fareham  (A)  League W 13 - 5

On a beautiful day, more akin to cricket, we won the toss & kicked off. In a hectic start Trojans superior rucking gradually gave them the edge, although Gosport's line out & scrum slightly edged the tight battle. The backs pounced on an error to set up a position from which Ollie Manger scored down the blind side in the corner giving T's a 5-0 lead at half time.

The 2nd half kick off was dropped which gave Gosport an attacking position from which they eventually scored after some excellent defence on our goal line. Back came Trojans coming close on a number of occasions (having a try refused on a dodgy forward pass !!) until we kicked a penalty in front for 8-5 . We blew the kick off again (training point for Weds Nite !) but survived some furious pressure. We then controlled the game & played in Gosport's half with some intelligent decision making which led to our centres putting Sam Hudson away on the wing to scorch in for another try in the corner. The conversion just sailed under the posts for an excellent win 13-5 - phew

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This page last updated:  14 February, 2008