Sunday 6th April v Ely

U12s are playing Ely at home on Sunday. Please meet at 10am. The match starts at 11am.

Volunteers are needed for the kitchen.

Newmarket v Bury St Edmunds

Newmarket U12, 7 – Bury St Edmunds U12 A, 26

Although going down by 4 tries to one Newmarket put a magnificent performance and could have made the scoreline much closer but for a couple of try saving tackles by Bury on their own tryline. Newmarket started well with some good passing down the line after gaining the ball from an excellent tackle by Lewis Heap. Gwilym Davies made an excellent break but after the ball came loose an unfortunate high tackle by Newmarket gave Bury a penalty which ended in their first try of the match. Newmarket kicked off and the forwards chased the ball well. After some solid work by the forwards, Winger Ian Moffatt crossed the line for an equaliser for Newmarket, which was converted by Oliver Green. Some good runs by Daniel Dowling and Joe Stafford and fearless tackling by Aiden Cooper gained Newmarket some possession but the ball was lost and Bury went in for their second try.

Thomas Locke managed to stop Bury half way up the field with a strong tackle and Newmarket were awarded a penalty which gave back some much needed territory. The forwards continued to work tirelessly and good tackling by Jack Watson and newcomer Joe Metz hindered Bury but Newmarket were unable to stop two further late tries by the visitors that closed out the game

Newmarket U12, 21 – Bury St Edmunds U12 B, 7

Newmarket stepped up a gear in the second game, knowing they had been unlucky in the first. Some more good running by Metz with support from Chris Le almost took the ball to the try line early on. Some solid tackling by Joe Stafford and a great run up the touchline by touchjudge Simon Jeacock boosted spirits. A long kick by Bury was caught by Joe Stafford who ran the ball back deep into Bury territory but the first half ended with no score.

The second half saw an early try for Newmarket scored by scrum half Heap, which he also converted. Excellent driving by the pack retained the ball for Newmarket and Daniel Bristow crossed the line to score. This was converted by Joe Stafford. Some excellent running by Bristow, and Cooper resulted in Newmarket crossing the line once more but the ball was held up by Bury. Bury came back with one try as the packs began to tire but a cracking try by Thomas Locke towards the end of the match gave Newmarket their much deserved third try, sealing their win.

Sunday 23rd March: No fixture or training

Week off for Easter.

Next training session Tuesday 25th March at 18.45

Next match Sunday 30th March at home to Bury St Edmunds. Kick off 10.30am

Match result: Ely 5 - Newmarket 50

Playing 10-a-side on a small pitch, Ely’s first kick was caught by Lewis Heap. Heap passed to Aiden Cooper, Cooper to Oliver Green, Green back to Heap and in the blink of an eye the first try was scored. In horrible wet, muddy conditions and a howling wind Newmarket chose this match to start playing adventurous running rugby – and how well it worked. Within a few minutes of the re-start Heap was over again for his second try, this time following good runs by Dylan Allan and Thomas Locke. Newmarket were in a ruthless mood and when Daniel Downing was bundled into touch 5 metres from Ely’s line, Joe Stafford was on hand to steal the ball from the lineout and stretch the lead. Ely had no answer to the determination of the Newmarket forwards and good work by Liam John, Ben Jeacock and Oliver Sanusi-Bartlett allowed Chris Le to steal the ball at the ruck and crash through the Ely defence for his first try of the day.

For the second period Newmarket changed their entire team, but it made little difference to the balance of the match. Following an over-long drop out, Ely were pushed off the ball at their own scrum on half-way and Nathan Buckle picked up the ball and evaded the defence to score. In the deteriorating conditions play became a little scrappy with both sides making handling errors and infringing at the rucks. But again Newmarket pushed Ely off their own ball and this time Ethan Brown was on hand to pick up the points. However, Ely had the last word, scoring in the corner following a tap penalty.

In the final period Newmarket scored a further four tries. Three came from long-range runs by the forwards. First Jeacock proved unstoppable from a tap penalty, then Daniel Bristow ran in from the half-way line, before Le got his second of the day. Long passes from Anton Philips at scrum half set up a couple of good runs by Iain Moffat who made good ground. However, the backs had the last word. Gwilym Davies picked the ball off his toes on the half-way line and passed out to Stafford who swerved his way over to score Newmarket’s tenth try.

Dan Downing and Jack Watson were named joint men of the match for bone-crunching, try-saving tackles.

Sunday 16th March: Fixture at Ely (A)

U12s are away at Ely this Sunday. Please be at ground by 10am for 10.30 start.

Directions on Ely's website. Click here