Scunthorpe 36 (Tries: B Sherwood, Coult, Page, Warrilow 2. Cons: Robinson 4. Pen: Robinson.).
Market Bosworth 13 (Try: Lodewickus. Con: Steele. Pens: Steele 2.).
After a shaky start Scunthorpe finished this game in great form to collect the two points and keep their promotion hopes alive. Market Bosworth came to Heslam Park after a rich vein of form in the league and they were a much strengthened team to the one which the Greens played in September.
It was Bosworth who made the better start when from the kick off Scunthorpe were unable to collect the ball and their bustling forwards took the ball at the Greens and showed their intent. Under this pressure Scunthorpe gave away a penalty and the Bosworth fly-half Steele slotted over the kick and go 3-0 up. Seven minutes later Bosworth scored a try through their full-back Lodewickus, from a poor line out the influential No8 Bosanquet barged through and slipped the ball to the full-back to score, Steele collected the extra points and at 0-10 down the Scunthorpe boys had it all to do. They began to respond by putting some good passages of play together and Tom Foster was kicking well from fly-half, from a typical catch and drive line out Luke Scargall drove over to get a touch down, those on the side line could clearly see that the ball was cleanly grounded over the line but referee Ross Campbell was unsighted on the opposite side and awarded the 5 metre scrum. Unfortunately Scunthorpe could not convert the scrum possession into points but they began to build their game, with Andy Warrilow outstanding in the back row. The pressure got to Bosworth and they gave away a penalty for off-side and Tim Robinson collected the three points to get the scoreboard moving. On 17 minutes Andy Warrilow continued to impress and marshalled the catch and drive line-out, he broke away and dashed down the touch line to score an unconverted try. Market Bosworth were playing a similar game to Scunthorpe keeping the ball close to the pack and using the driving maul to move up the field, if the Greens could get the ball away and use the pace on the wings they would surely make in-roads. On 25 minutes Warrilow scored another try, once again it came from a catch and drive line, this time skipper Robinson kicked the conversion and Scunthorpe were now in front at 15-10 and they were surging ahead. An intense period of pressure on the Green try line was to prove to be a defining moment, Bosworth were camped in the 22 for a good five minutes, they were driving at the Green defence asking real questions, they even pushed a Scunthorpe scrum over the line, however the defence held up and the opposition were unable to get the try, they had to make do with 3 points when Steele kicked a penalty this would be the last time that Bosworth would get on the scoreboard, the second half was to be all Scunthorpe. After an indifferent first half poised at 15-13 could Scunthorpe stretch their lead or would they allow the Bosworth forwards to boss the game?
Steve Heath-Drury replaced Phil Sidebottom at half-time and after the restart the game was governed by Tom Foster's kicking, keeping the opposition pinned in their own half, unfortunately the backs could not get their timing right as they tried to run the ball at Bosworth but failing to break through. It had to be another catch and drive line out that was going to create the next try on 57 minutes when the pack drove on, the ball was rewound and Ben Sherwood stepped in to score a well taken try which Tim Robinson converted. Then two minutes later the evergreen Rob Page scored a try from good support play he drove over near the posts, Robinson converted and at 29-13 the game had turned and the Greens were in the ascendancy and looking good for the two points. The whole team were now in-tune and they dominated the second half, keeping the ball and playing sensible rugby, Bosworth hardly entered the Green half and their challenge fizzled out. A typical example was when Tom Foster kicked deep, Bosworth knocked on under pressure Foster collected the ball and tried a cheeky reverse pass to a green player in but the ball was fumbled. Mark Sherwood replaced Lewis Jones on the wing and quickly got involved in play. On 71 minutes Micky Coult sealed the victory with a well taken try which Robinson converted. It was another Green line out, which was a key factor in this victory, after several phases, Leon Parratt burst through and Coult was in support to collect the pass and get the touch-down. Just before the end Ben Fawcett, who had a solid game - particularly in the line out, was replaced by Martin Rodgers. Coach Sidebottom will be very pleased with this victory as the played to their strengths, dominating possession, kicking well and using the forwards to make in-roads into the defence. If the backs can get some fluency together and bring the likes of Rewiti Vaimoso more into play then Scunthorpe will be the finished article.
.
Bromsgrove 13 (Tries: Baxter, Stockholm. Pen: Summerfield).
Dudley Kingswinford 31 (Tries: McLellan, Fletcher, Smart 2, Crane. Cons: Fletcher 3.).
DK got back to winning ways with a comfortable 5 tries to 2 victory away at bottom club Bromsgrove. Their control of the game was so complete that they might easily have doubled their score with a little more thought and care. Poor Bromsgrove are in free fall at present having lost all 18 of their league matches to date. Their confidence seems to be at a low ebb and this was very apparent as DK raced into a 0-12 lead inside 8 minutes. All clubs suffer bad patches at times and Bromsgrove will no doubt re-group and emerge stronger next season. They are a super club with legendary hospitality, a place that you always look forward to visiting.
Richard Port, Pete Knight and Gareth Davies all suffered knocks in last week’s semi final tie against Morley and were replaced by Scott Pugh, Layton Wilkinson and Warren Port respectively. Layton Wilkinson was named Coaches Man of the Match for a tremendous performance at No 8, making literally hundreds of hard yards from the base of the scrum and generally providing inspiration for the DK pack. Fellow back row forwards Ian Langford and Scott Pugh were both on top form, turning over a lot of opposition ball in the loose. Hooker Chris Condliffe also caught the eye with a robust display. The DK backs had much more room than they had last week, nevertheless ball rarely got out to the wingers, though some credit must be given to the Bromsgrove cover for this as the tackled themselves to a standstill in defence after a faltering start. Steve Smart is a hard man to defend against given a modicum of space and his two scintillating tries – the second one a 60m peach of a score - made him the outstanding DK back on the day.
It did not take DK long to get into their stride and they were soon running hard at the heart of the Bromsgrove defence. From a ruck on 4 minutes and with the home cover all over the place, Simon Fletcher’s subtle delayed pass was taken at pace by Andy McLellan who raced in at the posts. Simon Fletcher converted for DK to lead 0-7. They were 0-12 up after 8 minutes when from a similar build up Andy McLellan returned the favour by sending in Simon Fletcher for a try, with the home cover again shredded. Bromsgrove gradually began to settle and centre Kent Summerfield made it 3-12 with an 11th minute penalty.
DK again pounded the home line but the Bromsgrove defence managed to keep them out until the 27th minute when a from a maul 30m out, the alert Scott Pugh spotted Steve Smart lurking in space to his left and a short pass to the winger saw him easily outpace the home cover for an excellent try close in. Simon Fletcher added the conversion to make the score 3-19. DK continued to dominate possession and territory but found opportunities limited as the home defence had tightened up considerably and the score remained unchanged up to half time.
Half Time: BROMSGROVE 3 DUDLEY KINGSWINFORD 19
DK immediately resumed the offensive but were frustrated on several occasions as Bromsgrove clung on grimly up until the 56th minute when DK scored a spectacular try. Nothing looked on as scrum half Alan Mitchell, near the DK 10m line, spun a pass out to Steve Smart on his right. Smarty turned up the gas to weave fully 60m at great pace in and out of the Bromsgrove rearguard to score a magnificent unconverted try, increasing the DK lead to 3-24.
Bromsgrove got some light relief after 59 minutes when DK’s replacement centre Tom Weaver fumbled a kick inside the 22. The Bromsgrove pack reacted quickly to steal the ball and drive up and over the DK line where replacement forward Ross Baxter was accredited with the touchdown making the score 8-24. DK then lost lock Ollie Shakespeare to the sin bin after 61 minutes as he was yellow carded for impeding Bromsgrove as they tried to take a penalty. Bromsgrove though were unable to make the extra man count, in fact it was 14 man DK that went further ahead after 69 minutes when, after heavy forward pressure Tom Bissell found Rhys Crane with a well timed pass and the centre stepped through the cover to score at the posts. Simon Fletcher converted making it 8-31.
The Bromsgrove goal line then led a charmed life as DK battered away at it for the last ten minutes of the game, coming close to another try on at least four occasions. However Bromsgrove held firm and amazingly had the last word when an awful pass from Andy McLellan, meant for prop Hona Kingi was easily intercepted by the Bromsgrove right winger Richard Stockholm who had a clear run to the DK line to score the final try in injury time making it 13-31.
Luton 60 (Tries: Mansfield, Brown, Lincoln, S Walker, Lasbrey, S Hills, Yang, Pearce, Long. Cons: Offer 6. Pen: Offer.).
Burton 0 ().
Report courtesy of Luton:
Luton did a demolition job on Burton, recording an impressive win without conceding any points. It’s unusual in the modern era for sides to keep a clean sheet but Luton’s defence and concentration were too good for a Burton side that are struggling against relegation. Luton scored 9 tries to add to the 12 they recorded last week against Bromsgrove. The distinctive feature of the scoring was that there were 9 different try scorers.
In spite of the overwhelming win, Luton didn’t dominate all aspects of the match. Burton had the better of the lineouts and contrived to make ground on numerous occasions with their driving maul. But in all other aspects of the game, Luton were the superior side. They were more creative than Burton and when the ball was in open play, the pace of the Luton team was too much for the Burton team to handle. Most of Luton’s tries were the result of superior handling by backs and forwards and some of the tries were the best seen at Luton this season. Prominent throughout the match, second row Laurence Alden had a very powerful game, constantly breaking through the Burton defence.
Luton played into a strong wind in the first half and from the kick off exerted pressure on the Burton line. The first try came after 10 minutes from Mark Mansfield taking an inside pass to race through the Burton defence. Mansfield continued his current prolific try scoring run with his tenth try of the league season. Ben Brown scored the second try from a threequarter movement, with a 40-metre burst.
The third try was the best of the match and typified the overall quality of Luton’s play. From close to the Luton line, John Lasbrey took a quick penalty, the forwards handled until half way, the backs moved the ball wide after impressive sleight of hand from James Offer, all the three quarters handled and centre, Simon Lincoln, took an inside pass to crash over in the corner. The final try of the half was scored by Scott Walker following a 50-metre solo run from Laurence Alden. James Offer converted 2 and started the scoring with a penalty.
Between the bouts of scoring, Luton had their casual periods and Burton exerted pressure in the Luton half. But a combination of impressive defence and a lack of imagination from the Burton backs resulted in Luton holding out without too many scares.
With the strong wind at their backs, in the second half, Luton were rarely in their own half and dominated territory. Their haul of 5 tries (4 converted by James Offer) could have been more but for some stubborn defence by Burton. The one–way traffic saw first John Lasbrey break from a scrum to score wide out. This was followed by centre Scott Hills crossing after Mark Mansfield had cleverly kept the ball in play from a loose Burton kick which initiated a counterattack. Matt Yang and James Pearce finished off concerted movements with tries close to the posts. The final try was scored by prop Ryan Long who produced a dummy and 30 metre sprint that a centre would be proud off.
In spite of the easy victory, Luton will have to up their performance a notch next week as they take on league leaders Rugby Lions at Rugby. Rugby defeated Luton in the opening fixture of the season when Luton had a number of injuries to key players in their threequarters. But, with confidence restored in recent weeks and players returning from injury, Luton will travel expecting to provide Rugby with a close contest.
.
Bedford Athletic 32 (Tries: Rudkin 3, J Elphick, P Elphick. Cons: Tapper 2. Pen: Tapper.).
Luctonians 28 (Tries: Smith, Helagi 2, Garrod. Cons: Wheadon 4.).
Bedford Ath were given a run for their money in this match against Luctonians after looking like they were on their way to a big win after taking a 20-0 lead in the opening quarter.
There were two tries for flanker Jamie Rudkin and centre Philip Elphick also went over whilst Ashley Tapper added five points with the boot.
Just before the half hour mark the visitors got off the mark with left wing Andy Garrod touching down and Jeremy Wheadon added the conversion. Rudkin then completed his hat trick for Ath and with Tapper on target the home side were 27-7 ahead. Before the break the visitors got as second try with the right wing P Smith going in and Wheadon again on target with the conversion.
In the second half the visitors were right back in it five minutes in when centre Helagi went over and Wheadon added the extras to make it 27-21. The next score did not come till the 74th minute when Luctonians took the lead with Helagi getting his second and Wheadon again on target to make it 28-27 and time running out.
Ath sneak the win on 80 minutes when Full back Jamie Elphick went over for the try and the two points were secured, just.
Dunstablians P ().
Kettering P ().
Walsall P (.). Rugby Lions P (.). |
