Paviors RFC

Sat 18 Jan 2025, 14:15

Walsall

54 - 24

(HT 0-0)

Paviors

Walsall

Paviors

This weekend Pavs travelled over to Walsall RFC in round 15 of the Midlands Regional Two competition. Recent fixtures have been high scoring affairs with both team playing in the same open style. Results have gone  in favour of Walsall of late, but Pavs were in positive mood and looking to pick up points away from home. Unfortunately, Pavs lost centre Ben Taylor with a hamstring injury during the warm up with youngster coming on in his stead.   By the end, both sets of supporters enjoyed, as football legend Jimmy Greaves wryly observed,  “a game of two halves.”

  From the kick off it was Pavs who were quicker into their stride with wing Will Taylor cutting a fine line, before being dragged down just before the line. Pavs carried on in this attacking vein, but were unable to go in front. As these things tend to go, it was Walsall who went in front from a penalty and ensuing lineout drive on eight minutes. The home side added a second on nineteen minutes to go further in front at 12-0. In the next eight minutes Pavs hit a true purple patch and played some wonderful rugby. Three tries followed with Jonty Green, Phil Eggleshaw, and Will Taylor all crossing the whitewash. Young for half Ollie Anderson added two conversions to give Pavs the lead at 12-19 leading into the half time break. During the break wing Tom Davies re-emerged following a knock to his knee.

  Following the break, Walsall came out firing and took the game to Pavs. For their part, Pavs struggled to re-establish the intensity that had given them  the lead. In the next ten minutes, Walsall scored three converted tries, leaving Pavs looking a little shell shocked. Jacob Playford gave Sam Bradley a break on fifty eight minutes with  the score being 33-19 to Walsall. Two more tries followed on sixth-eight and seventy three minutes,to put Pavs pretty much out of sight at 47-19. Moments later, Will Taylor again pacily cut through the Walsall defence to squeeze in at the corner, to bring the score to 47-24. In the dying moments, Pavs pack drove Walsall back a good few metres and were expectant of the penalty, only for the official to ignore this, which led to a final converted try to Walsall, to leave the score at 54-24 to the home side.

   So truly a game of two halves. Pavs were excellent in the first half and dominated affairs only to  find it difficult to re-establish their intensity in the second. They came away with a bonus point, but will perhaps feel a little disappointed in not taking more.

Next Saturday, 25th January welcome Dronfield to Burntstump for a rescheduled fixture due to the adverse conditions a couple  of weeks ago. Kick off 2.15. 

Squad

Jake Baldry

Owen Taylor

Theo Collier (C)

Kaine Johnson

Sam Bradley ( Rep 68)

Tom Gladwin

Josh Flanagan

Phil Eggleshaw (1 try)

Jonty Green (1 try)

Ollie Anderson (2 conv) 

Tom Davies (off 20, ret 41)

Matt Molyneux 

Will Taylor (2 tries) 

Danny Green 

Dan Flint 

Impacts

Tom Ryan ( 20, rep 40)

Jacob Playford (68)

Ben Taylor (inj pre match) 

Forward of The Match - Theo Collier

Back of The Match - Will Taylor 

Nigel Youl 

1st XV Manager