Doncaster

Hull Ionians Under 15s V Doncaster
Sunday 13 January 2007

Ionians travelled to their Old rivals Doncaster for their first game since the Christmas break. I’s took a full squad of players except for the injured Centre Will Heylings who was once again replaced by the Yorkshire Open side flanker Danny Casson.
The mighty Doncaster pack started with their usual intensity and where I’s have previously found themselves on the back foot for a while, on this occasion they matched them man for man from the start.

The first 15 minutes were closely fought, with possession being shared evenly until a penalty was awarded to Doncaster in range of their fly half who took the opportunity to make it 3 – 0.
Ionians came straight back and after another closely fought period, they crossed the line with a powerful forward drive being finished off by Joe Midgely.

Thanks to some excellent refereeing, the game continued to be fast and flowing and was a great spectacle for both sets of supporters. Doncaster continued to utilise their strong pack and their No 4 and No 6 were both worthy of a mention for their powerful drives forward. Ionians defence however continued to stay strong and unbreached.
5 minutes before the break, a kick through by Ionian’s man of the match Simon Hammersley was chased by Casson who not only outstripped the defence to reach it first but managed to control a difficult bobbling ball to cross the line for another 5 points.

The conversion attempt was blown just wide by the strong wind and Ionians went into half time with a 10-3 lead.
The second half continued as a closely fought and highly competitive game. Changes were made on both sides but the intensity was maintained. Doncaster drove over the Ionian’s line after about 10 minutes to make the score 10-8 but Ionians hit back quickly as Jordan Help picked up the ball 10 yards out and powered through a number of tackles to score. Hammersley converted and the score line of 17-8 remained unchanged after the last quarter.

Both teams should be commended for the spirit in which the game was played, helped greatly by the referee who continually talked to the players to ensure infringements were kept to a minimum and the game was able flow. The only negative was a neck injury to the Doncaster No 10 late in the second half.

There were some exceptional performances by a number of the Ionians players but the whole Team did everything that had been asked of them and can enjoy the satisfaction of winning in such a manner.