After progressing through three rounds of matches we found ourselves in the final. We have Played Bedford Blues before so we knew it would be a fairly evenly matched game. Two 25min halves & here's how it played out:
First Half:
We kick off and we are away, we gain possession & are in Bedfords half, a couple of minor injuries stop play early on. KRFC scrum, we win the scrum. We draw their defence over to the right, some good pick and go. We then go to left with an overlap & Oran is in the corner, Try!, Fraser coverts ( very tough kick). We continue to pressure Bedford but they break & kick the ball over our dead ball line. 22 drop out, Fred kicks & Ben chases, he fly hacks the rest of the way, picks the ball up & scores, superb footballing skills. Fraser converts. Bedford restart, they kick short to Charlie who takes it well & runs straight & hard, draws their defence in well. A few more phases but then a knock on. Scrum just inside Bedfords half. We win a free kick from the scrum , Charlie makes a fantastic break but is brought down just short of the line. Bedford giving away more penalties & scrum to Kettering, Charlie picks off the back & goes down the blindside. We recycle & Freddie goes for the cross field kick, it just doesn't quite work. Kettering with a sustained attack & all the play is in Bedfords half. Bedford make a break now & they have a really powerful runner who hand offs Sam & is unstoppable, good try to them, Bedford convert. Kettering on the attack again & the offloading game is superb. We win a penalty on the attack so playing advantage Freddie chips over the top, regathers & touches down for a try, no conversion & thats half time.
Second Half:
Start of the second half, Will L-W makes a good break but gets tackled hard, he is injured so a long break in play. Scum down, Kettering win the ball , out to Toby who darts through the centre to score under the posts, Fraser converts. Scrum in our own half, we give away a penalty & Bedford pressuring us on our own line. We hold them up & win a scrum, great defence from the boys. More pressure from Bedford but we are keeping them out but another penalty to Bedford. Ball out to their winger & he's over for a try, no conversion. Kettering turn the ball over in Bedfords half, out to Leo who makes a great break on the wing but gets ushered out. Bedford take a quick throw but we continue to pressure them. Bedford try to clear their lines but Oran catches and charges down the wing, Bedford high tackle, Penalty, tap and go from Freddie & he goes over for a try, no conversion. Kettering discipline starting to slip now and we give away a couple of penalties, not rolling away this time. Kettering win a penalty now , Freddie makes touch in their corner. We drive off the line out but it's held up & scrum 5. We loose possession & now Bedford are on our 22. Bedford pressure & they have an overlap but it's a forward pass & a Kettering scrum. We concede a scrum penalty. Bedford score off the penalty, Bedford convert. Less than 3 minutes to go & we look to have the game sown up. Kettering kick off, Bedford catch, ball out to the winger and he goes through to score, Bedford convert. Kettering kick off & again their winger sprints through to score,Bedford convert & thats time here at Wentworth Drive. Final Score Bedford 33 - 31 Kettering.
Tries: Oran 1, Ben 1, Freddie 2 & Toby 1. Conversions: Fraser 3
We were a bit shocked & stunned at the final whistle, the boys had dominated the game for 45 minutes & looked to be the better side. The boys overall game was fantastic, it had strength & depth with tries coming from all types of play, making it hard for Bedford to defend.They had done everything we had asked of them. We wanted to play in Bedfords half & keep the pressure on Bedford. We kept possession well & made very few handling errors. The forwards were dominant making good line breaks & defending really well. The backs played with flair, freedom & skill. The off loading was superb.As an overall performance we couldn't have asked for more. We just didn't close it out at the end.
It was really gutting to see the disappointment on the boys faces but it just wasn't our day today. It's our first competitive competition so to make it right to end shows just how good you really are. On behalf of the coaches I just want to say how immensely proud we are of you all. The way you play the game & conduct yourselves is exemplary.

Quote:
"It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up."
— Vince Lombardi