Match report from the club who had five Yorkshire players in the squad seems that they were not happy

A great honour for any player dreaming of becoming a lion no matter the age, but for these lads they proved themselves worthy amongst the few and fought against the best.
All these lads earnt and have worked their way up quickly eventhough these five are just u18’s. Bob Jowett, Kian Morgan, James Wilcock, Josh Wilcock and Jordan Paga have accumulated achievements and have played amongst the best already. These boys have represented Moldgreen for many years with the exception of Bob who has been here at the club for the past 4 years. The 5 lads were put forward for the trials back in November 2017, where 70 of the best trialists turned up for the first session.

Over the last 12 months the numbers in the training squad has been reduced session by session and the final 19 were informed yesterday. To have 5 players from one club is an amazing achievement and only goes to show how well the club is doing and that we are all pulling in the right direction. The boys have taken part in all the trial games this year, firstly playing against Lancashire in March followed up by a Northern England vs Southern England and culminating with the final game England vs Catalans. Key individuals that have made international level for Moldgreen include, Nathan Sykes, Paul Reilly, Craig Williams, Micky Diskin, Leon James & Luke James

Match Overview: England Colleges 0 – 92Australian School Boys

It started with a bang as the Aussies just hit the ground running, the England lads outpaced outmuscled and just out manned. It was a great spectacle to watch but only as a neutral would it be right. The tactics was more men against boys in which it showed and dominated the atmosphere despite fielding both strong teams. However this was to change as the Aussies quickly put points on the board in the first 20 minutes leading to a 62-0 first half onslaught. Key points was that the bench full of Yorkshire athletes was primed and ready to take field but weren’t enabled by the England coaches due to the bias of players. Furthermore reason to believe players playing massively out of preferred position to no beneficial reason of the team.

The second half was a different story as Bob bulldozed his way through the opposition in attack and defense which enabled England to actually have possession of the ball. From one up rugby of the Aussies they had to switch to playing out of the back which they did majestically to then hand of the majority of the outside backs scoring 90% of the time. A change was yet again needed thereby resulting in England putting on more Yorkshire lads creating a better platform for the players in attack and defense. Despite them playing out of position the Yorkshire lads were able to organise the England squad into some shape with the help of Kian, Josh and Jordan defending the all-out Aussie attack. In the second half it was the most promising as England held them to only concede 30 points in the second half. Kian immense in his tipping of the ball towards the line and dancing through the defence before providing quick plays for the attacking line. Josh helping sweep in defense covering both side of the Aussie attacking line. Jordans quick speed enabled England to get close to the line on numerous occasions but to no avail despite having a lot of possession and territory in the Aussie half.

An accurate demolition of a promising England side didn’t properly prove anything for the Aussie boys and it was more the way England came back into the game that showed true grit and determination. Further positives from this game will be the experiences that the England lads gained from playing against future NRL and Aussie stars at such a young age where they can build, learn and become legends in their own time. Time to mature, grow and develop as rugby players more importantly as a team. For our Moldgreen boys they shone above the rest when tested and toughed out probably one of the best displays at youth level for a while from the Aussies.

#WallOfWhite

I thought it strange that Connor Wynne didn't get much game time cos he was originally named at fullback, Liam Whitton was a late inclusion yet started and played most of the game.

Unless you are involved in the coaching set up, how can you be so sure?

Am I missing something here?

This game was against England Colleges. A warm up game for the two matches against the England Academy - the Australian schoolboys equivalent.

Yes, but they also played Yorkshire u19s earlier this week, and will play Lancashire u19s before the first game against the full England side.

That hooker, Gray (big lad for a hooker though!) turned the game on its head in the first 10 mins of the second half I thought. He was a class above and caused havoc around the ruck. Mustapha and Holroyd, as you say were fantastic. My MoM for Yorkshire was Mustapha, he ran the ball strong and seems to have a good engine - he didn't seem to tire much at all. McClelland looked sharp in the halves, but seemed to be playing too much for himself rather than the team in my opinion. Good turnout and an enjoyable game to watch. I'd recommend anyone who can make it to turn up to the Lancs game - it was a decent fivers worth of entertainment on Wednesday night.