Sat 18 Sep 2021
This weekend Pavs travelled away to table topping Newport RFC in the Midlands Premier competition. The Shropshire side have regularly finished in the top three of the league in recent years and are pushing for promotion into the National Leagues this time round, so a challenging game was in the offing.
Both sides entered into the spirit of the game with brisk handling and good commitment early on. After ten minutes, however, Newport broke the Pavs defensive line with some powerful drives from the forwards, before releasing their backs to score and take a 7-0 lead. Pavs defended bravely and continued to give of their best in all respects, but 4 tries followed at regular intervals during the half to give Newport a 35-0 lead at the break.
Pavs made a strong start to the second half, consistently moving the ball through the hands with good energy. They may have been better advised to kick a little more, particularly playing down the slope, but one can certainly not fault the endeavour. Pleasingly, they were able to breach the Newport defence with full back Matt Molyneux touching down, and youngster Taran Elms adding the extras to bring the score to 35-7. This galvanised Newport into action and they raised the pace and the intensity, scoring three tries in the next fifteen minutes to go out of sight at 52-7. Pavs continued to compete, but were out played by what was an increasingly formidable outfit. Pavs had their moments in the last ten minutes, as well as making some wonderful tackles, but Newport snatched two quick tries late in the game to bring the final score to 64-7.
Days like these are instrumental in developing the experience of what is a young side of home grown players. Sixteen out of eighteen of today’s side have come through the Pavs system, joining at various stages along the way, this not only being a great credit to the club as a whole, but also a reason why they will stay a tight unit despite today’s trials and tribulations. Of course, they will be a little “dimmed” by today, but in no way will they be daunted. They are already looking forward to next week and will be preparing for the visit of Nuneaton RFC to Burntstump. Onwards ……………….!!!
Nigel Youl
