With a few players away on holiday there were debuts for new players Tom Carter, Stuart Adams and Ben Newton and a return to the club by Tony Walker. It was good to see that, even though six players were missing from the squad, we were still able to field a strong side with three substitutes.
Old Yards kicked off and from the start took the game to Bournville forcing the opposition back towards their own line. Yardleians almost scored in the opening minutes with Bournville forced to touch the ball down behind their line and conceding a 5m scrum. Although the opposition started with a strong pack, Old Yards scrummaged well allowing George to pick the ball up and drive over to open the score after 4 mins.
Old Yards continued to look strong when they ran with the ball and it was no surprise when they extended their lead after 8 mins. Dan Griffiths collected the ball 5m from his own line and ran the length of the pitch brushing aside tacklers to score under the posts. Matthew Jesse converted to take Old Yards into a 12 point lead.
Bournville came back strong and pinned Old Yards back inside their 22. Old Yards allowed the Bournville centre to pick the ball up wide on the left and run across the field to score on the opposite side. A successful conversion took the score to 12-7 after 11 mins.
Old Yards stepped up their game again with strong running from the breakdown by George in particular. Old Yards almost scored again as Sheldon ran across the face of the posts before Bournville were again driven back over their line and touched the ball down to concede the 5m scrum. The home side were now camped deep inside the Bournville 22 and the opposition were relieved to clear their line after a couple of lineouts on their 5m line.
After 27 mins Old Yards extended their lead to 17-7 as Andrew ran in from 30m after good passing by the two Matts. The home side were unlucky not to score again before half time as, first Stuart went close after a great run from halfway was halted just short of the line and then Dan Griffiths was tackled into touch just short of the line after another good run..
Half Time 17-7
Bournville started the 2nd half with George taking a good catch before passing on to Matt W. who made a strong run through the centre although the ball was turned over after an infringement. After 40 mins Old Yards were awarded a penalty 20m out and after the ball was played down the line Scott drove over with two opposition players trying to tackle him, taking the score to 22-7.
In the 44th min Old Yards were penalised and Bournville took a quick penalty and scored a try to close the score to 22-12. After 50 mins the home side was again penalised inside their 22 and this time Bournville opted to kick to bring the score to 22-15. Bournville had switched their players around in the 2nd half moving a couple of their bigger players into the backs to try and counter Old Yards running with the ball but at the expense of the scrum where the home side were now dominant.
After 55 mins Dan Griffiths made another strong run down the line and was tackled 25m from the line. Old Yards were not to be denied though as Stuart made a good break before passing to Andrew who was tackled 5m short of the line but had the strength to drive over and touch the ball down despite three opposition players trying to stop him. Dan Green took over the kicking and converted to take the score to 29-15.
By this time Old Yards were rampant and looked as though they could score at will and it was not long before Dan Griffiths made another of his long runs to score under the posts, allowing Matt J. to convert after 59 mins to extend the lead to 36-15. Bournville were now looking demoralised and in the 65th min., after a good drive by Austin, George picked up inside his own half and set off on one of his slow motion canters to score his second try for the final score of the game.
It was a convincing performance by Old Yardleians, with good running with the ball, confident handling and passing. The pack showed their strength in both the set plays and the loose and looked well balanced with the addition of Tom in the front row. It was an all round good display by all, with the younger players not afraid to have a go with the ball or in the tackle.
A word of thanks to Kevin for his handling of the game as both referee and coach to both sides in explaining the laws of the game.
Full Time 41-15
Team
Tom Carter, Scott Wilson, Dan Green, Austin Hughes, Matthew Willetts, Shaun Morris, Sheldon Du Plessis, George Bishop, Callum Killarney, Matthew Jesse, Andrew Cox, Daniel Griffiths, Stuart Adams, Casey Davison, Alex Patrick. Subs. - Sam Wright, Tony Walker, Ben Newton.
Scorers
Tries - George (2), Andrew (2), Dan Griffiths (2), Scott
Conversions - Matthew J. (2), Dan Green