Sun 6 Feb 2022, 11:00
We pitched up today at our near neighbours, Southwell for the NLD Cup quarter final.
We had taken a bit of a gamble insomuch as we had opted for a slimmed down match day squad of 18. With that being the case we were on tenterhooks until everyone arrived but all was good - well apart from Paddy having forgot his boots and Jay his gum shield.
The conditions were, in racing parlance, heavy and the wind registered high on the Beaufort Scale and would obviously be a factor.
Playing with the wind in the first half we soon got on the scoresheet, after having weathered a bit of early pressure, with Ashley using his pace to carve through the opposition defence, 0-5.
Even at this early stage in the game the patterns that each team wanted to play were evident. Southwell using their big forwards to come round the corner and truck it up, with us trying to put as much width as possible, at the earliest opportunity.
Southwell came back strongly and were soon rewarded with a penalty in front of our posts for 3-5 before we managed to put Dan away in the corner for 3-10. At this point we lost Oli C to a blow to the face which would develop into a nice shiner.
The see saw nature of the game continued with Southwell scoring a try of their own, which unfortunately resulted in Dan suffering a dislocated shoulder whilst trying to keep them out, 8-10.
This injury resulted in Ethan J coming on to the wing and he soon showed what he was about by outpacing the Southwell backs to score his first try, 8-15.
Half time.
Although the score was close I felt pretty bad sanguine but, now playing into the wind, it was vital we got the next score.
And in fact we got the next three with both Will and Edward finishing off nice flowing moves with some good handling and Konrad sidestepping and handing off the tackles on his way to the line through the heart of their forwards.
Now at 8-30 the game was all but done but Southwell mustered one last act of defiance to barge over under our posts for 15-30. However, the last hurrah went to us when Ethan J smartly caught a cross field kick to score his second and one which Oliver converted, 15-37.
Although the backs got the vast majority of the points (which is how we look to play) credit must go to the forwards who put in a real shift at the coalface and our defence as a whole was excellent.
It’s a team game and I think we produced a team performance today. On that note a special mention must go to both Hugh and Jamie for turning up and supporting the lads even though they weren’t in the match day squad.
Let’s keep the momentum going.
Lastly let’s dedicate this win to Dan and wish him a speedy recovery
Mick
