Our mighty Under 13s have had a busy start to the season with four games against Fordingbridge, Portsmouth, Fareham Heathens and Alton. Each fixture has produced an average of TEN tries per game, showing that their start to life in competitive rugby has opened with a bang!

Petersfield faced Portsmouth on the 28th October in a 12 try game, here is what John wrote in his report:

The clocks went back, giving everyone an extra hour in bed, yet the coaches and players were chomping at the bit to get started on a bright autumnal day.

Portsmouth brought their strongest squad in preparation for the upcoming Hampshire Cup, while Petersfield put out an experimental team, with 50% of the squad playing their first competitive match, while a number of players were away exploring the war graves of Europe.

Petersfield set up to receive from the kick-off.

A great passage of play initially saw George take contact before Henry B offloaded to Michael, who made a great 30m run before being tackled into touch, putting Petersfield in a strong attacking position.

Portsmouth dominated the first couple of scrums with a much heavier pack. However, Petersfield quickly adapted and held their own in the scrum and adjusted the defensive lines to chase down any loose balls. Good runs from Henry and Zach helped drive the team forward.

Portsmouth scored the first try from a set piece and followed quickly with a well-worked second.

The wingers swapped sides to cause havoc amongst the Portsmouth defence. William B broke five tackles before an offload, and a superb run down the left wing from Michael, who had clearly been watching a combination of Strictly Come Dancing and Chris Ashton, led to a great try with his rapid change of direction.

Portsmouth came back strong, using their big power players to burst through.

A clever bit of footwork from the Portsmouth team led to them kicking a ball from the 10m line over the try line to score.

An accidental offside ruled out a second try for Petersfield after Angus made a superb run and fly-hack to get over the line.

Portsmouth continued the pressure with further scores and one on the half-time whistle to make it 6-1.

At half-time, a number of changes were made.

Petersfield were dominant in the second half and spent the majority of it camped in the Portsmouth half, controlling both the forward and backs plays.

Some great kicking from Henry M from the halfway line constantly put Portsmouth under pressure. This was supported by structured play from the scrums to get the ball out to the backs.

Four knock-ons when trying to score cost Petersfield dearly, resulting in four disallowed tries. However, Petersfield were relentless in fitness, passion, and determination, scoring four superb team tries from Reuben, Dan, Thomas, and Ned in the second half. With only one score from Portsmouth, it led to a thrilling end to the match.

Congratulations to Portsmouth on the 35-25 win overall, and we very much look forward to round two in the new year.

Portsmouth Player of the Match: Fly Half
Petersfield Player of the Match: Michael

Over the weekend, the Under 13s looked to bounce back from their narrow defeat to Portsmouth as they faced Alton at Anstey Park. Here is how that fixture played out:

A development U13 team took the short trip west to play a friendly with Alton on Remembrance Sunday.

Alton won the toss and chose to receive the kick.

A fast start by Alton, who were passing well, and multiple missed tackles let Alton through to score two early tries.

Alton were encamped in the Petersfield half for the first 15 minutes, and some great tackling from George P, George B, and Joby stopped the score increasing.

Continued pressure from Alton and a number of bad choices to kick from Petersfield led to another two Alton tries.

Petersfield woke up and started playing some good running rugby with good handling and offloading, leading to multiple line breaks. This resulted in a great 70m run and try from Henry L.

Phenomenal tackling from George B and Joby, with some great jackling from George P at full back, kept Alton at bay. The pressure from Alton was consistent and resulted in three further tries in the first half, made easier by multiple missed tackles.

Half-time was 35-5.

Half-time gave Petersfield time to regroup and bring on the full subs bench. The energy and pace went up a couple of notches, and Petersfield started well applying pressure. Great offloading and straight running led to George P getting over the line.

Alton chose to receive the kick and picked the ball up on the 22, and the winger ran the full length of the pitch to restore the gap to 30 points.

From then on, it was all Petersfield. From the kick-off where Max caught well and offloaded, in the scrum, at the breakdown, or in open play, Petersfield were driving forward and got over for multiple scores from Angus M, Freddie, Alex G, and Michael to reduce the score to 40-30.

Petersfield continued the pressure with good kick-offs to put Alton under sustained pressure. With a number of high tackles going in, resulting in Petersfield free kicks and good rucking and offloading, led to two more scores from Freddie and Michael, bringing the score level at 40-40 with just one minute to play.

The clock went red in open play, and Alton were in possession of the ball on their 10m line. A great offload and a 50m run along the touch line led to a winning try from Alton.

A great day of rugby with Angus B, Joby, and Charley H all making their debut for Petersfield, and a number of others playing their first ever competitive match.

This weekend, the Under 13s are back in action and on the hunt for their first win of the season as they face Eastleigh at Penns Place! If you're around, get yourselves down for the 10:30 kick off and cheer on the lads!