07-08 season [U17] Galleries

Chinner at Home - Well Hall : A good start - trys by Henry, Bryce, Cosmo, Ed (2) and Danny. Conversions, some from the touchline, by Michael and Danny. An excellent result for us and an enjoyable game to watch (Especially the first half) spoilt by silly indiscipline that cost us two yellow cards - we cannot afford this when in the league. Sorry about the fuzzy pics am using a 'kit' lens while my good one is in the repair shop.

Chinner at Home - Well Hall

A good start - trys by Henry, Bryce, Cosmo, Ed (2) and Danny. Conversi ...

Updated: Sep 09, 2007 10:45am PST

Old Dunstonians : Match report by Colin Carlin. “A tight game which Blackheath got into very slowly. The Old D's pack was well-drilled, their front row gave Blackheath problems throughout the first half - distribution was not helped by the absence of Michael P through injury. A series of penalties were awarded to the home side in the opening period, one of which was kicked to give them a 3 point lead though Blackheath responded just before half-time to level scores. In the second half Blackheath started to dominate and a change to the pack with a little more weight (Henry for Michael) tightened up the set scrum, the half-time 'chat' must have helped!!. The hosts were on the receiving end of much more efficient rucking and driving that enabled Danny to kick a couple of excellent drop goals. With Old D's on the backfoot Bryce broke their line to make a great individual try for Blackheath, ably converted by Danny. There were some ill-tempered collisions in centre field as both sides fought for domination at the loose, one of which which saw Andrew picking up a yellow card. :-( Against 14, Old D's pushed forward and went over in the corner for their only try ( conversion missed). In the final quarter the best play of the match by Blackheath saw a combination of forwards and backs running through the home side and keeping the ball alive (see the last sequence of pictures). It culminated in Ewan going over the line and under the posts making the conversion by Danny a formality.” Final score Old Dunstonians 8 - Blackheath 23. Tries - Redmill, Dickson, Conversions - Courtneidge x 2, Penalties - Courtneidge Drop Goals - Courtneidge x 2

Old Dunstonians

Match report by Colin Carlin. “A tight game which Blackheath got int ...

Updated: Oct 07, 2007 11:53pm PST

Gravesend at home U17 : Tries - Cosmo x 3; Chris x 2; Big Sam; Josh; James & Michael Conversions - Danny; Michael x 4. Final Score 55 - 5 Quote from the touchline pundit (NOT ME!!!): "Two spectacular tries by re-born flying winger Chris Hughes with the second being an out-and-out wingers try outpacing the defence to go over in the corner - oh! and some tries/conversions by other people".

Gravesend at home U17

Tries - Cosmo x 3; Chris x 2; Big Sam; Josh; James & Michael Conversi ...

Updated: Sep 23, 2007 3:22pm PST

Beckenham : Blackheath were fortunate that, on the day they chose to play their scrappiest match of the season to date, they came across a Beckenham side short of a number of players, meaning they had to start with 14 players and without a front row. This required the match going to uncontested scrums from the start, with only seven players in the scrum. Despite having a numerical advantage this seemed to affect Blackheath more than Beckenham although the Blacks started off brightly enough with Josh powering through the middle to score a try close to the posts, which was duly converted by Danny. A further powerful direct run by Sam L from close in meant that Blacks were 12 – 0 up after 11 minutes, the conversion being missed. After a protracted period for injury (dislocated shoulder to a Beckenham player) the visitors put together their best move of the match so far resulting in a try in the corner after some hesitant defending by the Blacks, to bring the score back to 12 – 5 at half-time. One of the issues here was that there were too many backs, each not sure of each others roles. The second half continued to be a scrappy affair brightened by a good converted try from Danny and another powerhouse run and try by Sam L making the score 24 - 5. Despite this further handicap Beckenham attacked strongly and forced Blackheath into conceding a penalty try which was converted bringing the scores back to 24 – 12. The collection of yellow cards does nothing for our trophy cabinate. In the final minutes the lack of numbers finally took its toll on Beckenham and Blackheath ran in two further tries bringing the final score to 36 – 12. All credit to Beckenham for a spirited and committed performance against all the odds with Blackheath showing a lack of discipline at times mixed with good individual skills. Alternative match report from Jonathan: Knowing we would be without Michael, Tim, Henry, Simon, Leo and the head coach, preparations for the match were then further thrown by the late withdrawal of Cosmo, and John Buckley - and the non appearance of Luke Elliot - leaving a squad of 16 players on the day. Any re-arrangements were then complicated by the need to play uncontested scrums with 7 packing down and a back line of 8 - cancelling any scrummaging advantage Blackheath might have had. Despite this Blackheath came out with the focus we have looked for at the beginning of games and played 15 minutes of strong rugby before proceedings were halted and momentum was lost due to a serious injury. Honorable mentions to Bryce filling in at scrum half, Matt who was effective throughout, Antony and Alan all of whom did good things in a difficult situation. All testimony to our large squad. (oh and we won a few line outs for a change but our discipline was appalling as usual - including the sin binning of Danny)".

Beckenham

Blackheath were fortunate that, on the day they chose to play their sc ...

Updated: Oct 21, 2007 4:51pm PST

Dartfordians : David Parr's match report: Having already won all six of our previous league matches this final game should have been a good way to sign off 2007. However Dartfordians had clearly come with every intention of upsetting our league clean sheet. I’m not going to try to give a long match report, but what I will say is that Darts really tried hard to upset the form book, in fact they scored more points past us than any other team in the league.. three tries, and had they finished the match with 15 players maybe they could have caused an upset. All I will say is that we did enough to complete the victory and everyone knew we could do better… as they say, “sometimes you have to win ugly” and this was one such time. Final score 34 – 19 to Blackheath. Thanks to our players: Simon, Matt, Sam L, Ewan, Andrew, John, Bryce, James, Michael, Danny, Cosmo, Jack, Ed, Chris, Tim, Sam D, Sam W and Mark. Thanks also to Dartfordians for a really well contested match, thanks to the ref, Simon Warren who controlled the match well had a really good game. Thanks to Colin for organising some excellent pizzas.. a brilliant idea. That is us done for 2007… played 7 league games, won 7 league games, we have played some excellent rugby those result and deservedly we sit proudly at the top of our league. Next stop is the “knock-out” stages. Well done lads, see you on 6th January. Have a great Christmas and New Year . David

Dartfordians

David Parr's match report: Having already won all six of our previous ...

Updated: Dec 20, 2007 5:02am PST

Sidcup : Colin Carlin's match report. Blackheath U17s went just down the road to play a key League match against local rivals Sidcup. These matches have proved difficult and tense in the past but the Blacks started where they finished off their previous league match and pressured Sidcup from the outset. Good sustained pressure, playing down the slope, paid off with Sidcup looking nervous and a sustained onslaught culminated in a penalty being conceded and converted by Danny. Further aggressive forward play and explosive running from the backs led to a second penalty again converted by Danny. The pressure being exerted didn't lessen and there was a superb break and powerful run by Cosmo who offloaded to Josh. With plenty still to do it was the Josh of old who straightened his line and went through the Sidcup backs for a try. This was unconverted but the Blacks went into half-time 11 - 0 ahead, after a long hold-up for treatment to two Sidcup players who had both taken knocks to the head. Sidcup started the second half using the slope to gain some momentum and after a penalty was conceded in the Blacks 22, they converted to bring the score back to 3 - 11. This was followed by a period of excellent defence as Sidcup battled to go over from 5 yards out but they were held out by the Blacks. Blackheath, through some excellent place kicking, then went back on the offensive and a further penalty extended their lead. The forwards were in control at the set pieces and further good work secured the ball 20 yards out for Danny to pop over another dropped goal to finish off an excellent match. The U17s have now won 6 out of 6 in the league and play their final match at Well Hall next Sunday. Come along to cheer Blackheath on to win the league with a perfect record and enjoy high quality rugby. New camera and dull weather didn't dampen spirits - an excellent game to watch ! [Jerry]

Sidcup

Colin Carlin's match report. Blackheath U17s went just down the road t ...

Updated: Dec 09, 2007 10:30am PST

Folkestone Quarter final : A long trip on a half empty but comfortable coach, thanks for arranging Colin. Took a while to get going but we dominated the lineout, the acrobatics of Ewan showing his tenacity and skill in the pictures but the lifters Sam & Henry did really well; the set piece was invariably rock solid although we were not deemed to be so good in the rucks and mauls, our penalty count needs to be improved upon. Although we scored first (Cosmo) following deft handling in the centre, we also weathered a concerted encampments by the home side in our 22, but defended well - half time score 3-5. The end result, 3-15 was the result of a whole team effort where many aspects of our game began to click together, it was topped by two excellent copybook and almost identical trys by Cosmo, both times he ran round not just his opposite number who had defended well throughout, but also three others. From the photographic aspect, it would have been good to get try-line pictures, I’m never standing in the right place – but then it was a narrow in-goal area & the dead-ball line was a fence and the Eurostar! Photos by Chris & Jerry

Folkestone Quarter final

A long trip on a half empty but comfortable coach, thanks for arrangin ...

Updated: Feb 05, 2008 3:36pm PST

Semi Final - Cranbrook : Blackheath U17s v Cranbrook U17s Colin Carlin's Match report “Best match of the season. Would have made a great final.” These comments made after the match summed up an exciting and close match, which saw both sides taking the lead at various times during the match. A converted try after 2 minutes by Blackheath was followed up within 8 minutes by a try by Cranbrook, which was matched by a second try for Blackheath. Cranbrook then scored a further try and a penalty to put the visitors into a deserved lead. Just before half-time Blackheath scored a third try through the forwards in the corner to edge ahead at half-time 17-13. At the re-start the first in a succession of penalties was conceded by Blackheath and Cranbrook closed the gap, then going ahead with another well-worked try to take the lead back 17-21. Blackheath started to use their hard-won possession by getting the ball through their hands with immediate results as they scored two more tries and kicked a penalty to forge 32-21 ahead. There then followed a bad injury to one of the Cranbrook players (we wish him all the best from Blackheath) and had to relocate to another pitch to complete the final 7 minutes. The extended break had disrupted Cranbrook but Blackheath remained focused and completed the match with a further converted try and penalty to win 42-21 and secure their place in the Final @ Aylesford next week. Blackheath MOM was Tim Smith for an excellent display at scrumhalf and thanks go to Cranbrook players, coaches and supporters for making this a great match.

Semi Final - Cranbrook

Blackheath U17s v Cranbrook U17s Colin Carlin's Match report “Best ...

Updated: Feb 18, 2008 12:10am PST

Barking (Chris' pictures) : Only the second half, guys. Had to cycle through the rain to get there, so be grateful. Does this make us Essex Champions too then? Marvellous. Bring on the Kent Sevens. Chris

Barking (Chris' pictures)

Only the second half, guys. Had to cycle through the rain to get ther ...

Updated: Apr 15, 2008 3:20pm PST

County 7s (+ NEW pics from Chris) : A nice day out on the Isle of Sheppy, the fog rolled in and ... we rolled out of the Quarters, only spluttered to play like a 7s team although individuals all played well!

County 7s (+ NEW pics from Chris)

A nice day out on the Isle of Sheppy, the fog rolled in and ... we rol ...

Updated: May 06, 2008 2:49pm PST

Kent League Final V Tunbridge Wells : Blackheath 13 Tunbridge Wells 6 These are for starters - many more to follow.

Kent League Final V Tunbridge Wells

Blackheath 13 Tunbridge Wells 6 These are for starters - many more to ...

Updated: Feb 24, 2008 4:16pm PST

London Irish : 25-22. A loss perhaps but Oh so close!... another couple of minutes and the result might have been different. We were with a depleted pack of our own up against a powerful and well drilled pack who were able at will to get set-piece ball and make ground - three London Irish tries came from rolling mauls leading from lineout or scrum, it was good to meet Seth again but not flanked by a pair of twins who were very skilled (and solid) props. However they were almost run ragged and during the last 15 minutes we had the upper hand in particular in the backs. It all started well with Danny's boot on target and after an unconverted try by London Irish, Michael sniped through some poor defence and outran their full back (normally a wing apparently) to score under the posts (with a summersault to impress red hated John ). The following 30 minutes either side of (and particularly just after) half time were a bit torrid, with the dominance of the LI pack producing trys... the last of which was very dubious.... (but that's another story)... James B., about to be substituted, decided to question the ref consequently received a red card for ‘inappropriate’ language. With 14 men we raised our game and with 7 man scrums played to our strengths on the day – ball out wide; we were able to break their line regularly with spectacular runs by Matt R and James S … and Danny …and Cosmo … and Leo! We may not have won but it seemed like a moral victory - we may have been missing 5 players from the Kent final, but this was all about a squad effort showing their mettle... WELL DONE!!!

London Irish

25-22. A loss perhaps but Oh so close!... another couple of minutes an ...

Updated: Mar 04, 2008 7:22am PST

Kent League Final vs Tunbridge Wells : We Won! Blackheath U17s are the Kent league Champions 2007-8. This was a tough game where every player made a huge contributions. Well done to those playing on Sunday, the reserves and watercarriers and those who have played throughout the league - a real squad effort. Just a foot note: Mark needs to teach some of his hooking skills to Danny if he wants to carry on taking lineouts.. Match report to follow.. Jerry

Kent League Final vs Tunbridge Wells

We Won! Blackheath U17s are the Kent league Champions 2007-8. This w ...

Updated: Jan 01, 2009 3:50am PST

TunWells Final at home. : 7 = 12. A good match between two strong teams. One of our best trys of the season was scored (by James) in the dying seconds of the first half with an equally difficult conversion that evened the scores at half time (TW's first try was an interception that at the time was agianst the run of play). The second half saw TW's excellent ball retention at second phase make the difference, their try (by No13) came from a series of well controlled pick and gos drawing our defence followed by a quick release of their backs. We were never out of the match and it was touch-and-go until the last whistle, our final ralley on their line in the last minutes came to nothing unfortunately. Well done lads it was a tough game and a tough one to lose but you never gave up and supported each other throughout (we still won the league though!)

TunWells Final at home.

7 = 12. A good match between two strong teams. One of our best trys o ...

Updated: May 06, 2008 3:19pm PST

Kent Final Chris' Pics :

Kent Final Chris' Pics

Updated: May 15, 2008 3:18pm PST