SAINTS won this rearranged match in the drizzle at Thatto Heath with a less than sparkling 22-12 display mirroring the weather, writes Graham Henthorne.
The match had originally been down to be played on a warm sunny day and by the end, with the Saints hanging on, we all were wishing we could’ve turned back the clock.
There was no inkling of the second half demise as the Saints methodically took charge of the first period.
Despite losing André Savelio just prior to kick off the young Saints pack, with Phil Atherton again to the fore, just trundled over their older and more experienced counterparts.
Saints got the best possible start with a try after only 40 seconds. The Bulls knocked on Lewis Charnock’s towering kick off and four tackles later from the regathered ball Jake Spedding was dummying his way over in the left corner.
Olly Davies was the next on the scoresheet benefitting from Dave Hewitt’s great dummy. The scrum half shot through the line 40 out before feeding the supporting Davies as he got to the full back.
A sublime 40/20 from Charnock again put the Saints on the front foot and he slotted over the penalty in front of the sticks four tackles later as the Bulls found it increasingly difficult to handle the Saints.
Charnock then took a leaf out of Hewitt’s book with a show and go at the posts and was rewarded with the four points after great runs from Hewitt and Lewis Galbraith had got the Saints away from the line.
In your face defence forced the Bulls to again knock on and three tackles later Matty Fleming won the race to his own kick having seen the full back in the line and kicked into the vacant space.
Handling errors and a mounting penalty count kept the Bulls in it, however, and the Saints found themselves on their heels in front of the posts. But a big effort kept the line intact as first Charnock and then David Eccleston both made try saving tackles.
That was as good as it got for the Saints as the called for big second half never materialised. The Bulls gained in confidence and all the pressure they and the Saints were building for themselves culminated in two converted tries in the final ten minutes.
At this stage of the season in the battle for second place the win is the most important thing but with two local derbies coming up as the final two matches the performances will have to be much better.
Hewitt, Charnock, Atherton and the eighty minute man Matty Fozard were best for the Saints on a soggy day.
Match Summary:
Saints U19s:
Tries: Jake Spedding, Matty Fleming, Lewis Charnock, Olly Davies.
Goals: Lewis Charnock 3.
Bradford U19s:
Tries: James Thornton, Nathan Conroy.
Goals: Adam Brook 2.
Half Time: 22-0
Full Time: 22-12
Teams:
Saints:
1. Adam Saunders; 5. David Eccleston, 4. Matty Fleming, 3. Jake Spedding, 2. Lewis Galbraith; 6. Lewis Fairhurst, 7. Dave Hewitt; 8. Phil Atherton, 9. Lewis Charnock, 20. Joe Ryan, 11. Liam Cooper, 12. Olly Davies, 13. Matty Fozard.
Subs: 14. Jonah Cunningham, 15. Joe McLoughlin, 16. Chris Worrall, 17. Ross McCauley.
Bradford:
1. Brandon Pickersgill; 2. James Pickering, 3. James Thornton, 4. Ross Oakes, 5. Kyle Moore; 22. Brad Adams, 7. Adam Brook; 13. Jordan Baldwinson, 9. Callum Ogden, 10. Stephen Copeland, 11. Emmerson Whittle, 12. Mason Tonks, 8. Jack Georgiou.
Subs: 14. Nathan Conroy, 15. Michael Paul, 16. Niadh Currie-Clarke, 17. Kieran Walpole.
