Alcester RFC 17 - Old Yardleians RFC 17
This was our first visit to Alcester and on a fine morning the pitch was in good condition. With twenty players to select from, Old Yards were pretty much at full strength. Selection is becoming more difficult for Richard as all of the squad are playing well when called on. It was going to be interesting to see how the opposition had developed from our meeting earlier in the season when we ran out winners in a tight match.
From the early exchanges it was clear that the match was going to be another tight one as the home side took control of the scrum. Most of the early play was between the 22's although Andrew did make a quick break down the line before being bundled into touch. In a light-hearted moment the referee ordered Andrew not to make any fast runs again as he couldn't keep up (a feature of the rest of the match, although it didn't stop him making 'strange' decisions from afar!).
After an even start to the match, Old Yards took the lead after 8 minutes with a try by Andrew. From loose play the ball was passed out to Andrew who made a crossfield run before touching down in the corner. From 5m in from the touchline Dan made a great effort but the conversion kick was narrowly wide.
Gradually as the half progressed, the Old Yards scrum started to gain the upper hand but were forced to make a change in the front row as James had to be replaced by Austin after an injury to his back. Although the match was fairly even it was a little bit of a surprise when, after 26 minutes, Alcester took the lead. Having won the scrum, Old Yards contrived to give away possesion and after missed tackles they allowed the home side to score the try and with an excellent kick Alcester took a 7-5 lead.
The lead was short lived, however, as Old Yards regained the advantage after 29 minutes. From a kick out of defence by the home side, Stuart caught the ball on the full at half way and set off on a strong run that saw him break through a series of tackles before scoring an excellent try. From a difficult position near the touchline, Dan made an excellent kick to extend the lead.
Half Time - Alcester 7 Old Yardleians 12
At half time Richard decided to use his squad to the full bringing on Alex, Christian, David and Sheldon. The second half continued where the first left off with an evenly contested match. With Old Yards starting to take control of the scrums it was no surprise when they extended their lead after 41 minutes. After again winning a scrum, George picked up to drive on and as the play started to develop across the pitch Austin ran on before making a good pass out to Andrew who had no trouble in scoring the try. From a difficult position the conversion was missed and the score remained 17-7 in favour of Old Yards.
Within 3 minutes, however, Alcester scored to put themselves back in the match, although it was down to loose play by Old Yards rather than good play by Alcester. Old Yards had the ball in hand on the edge of their own 22 and with time and space to play it out they lost possession, allowing an Alcester player to kick forward and run on to score in the corner, bringing the scores to within 5 points.
With a quarter of the game remaining it looked as though it was going to be a close finish to the match and both sides went close to scoring as the game opened up. Frustration was creeping into Old Yards play as decisions were going against them. With Old Yards dominating in the scrum it was unfortunate that the home side had to replace one of their props and the referee decided that the remaining scrums would be uncontested, thus reducing Old Yards advantage.
Having looked as though they had held out for another win, Old Yards were left both disappointed and relieved as Alcester scored a try in the last minute to level the scores. With a relatively easy kick it looked as though Alcester would steal the game at the death. To pressurise the kicker, the entire Old Yards team rushed out as the kicker made his run up and sufficiently distracted him to cause him to miss the kick. The scores remained level for Old Yards to record their first ever drawn match.
In a match where Old Yards played very well, it was disappointing not to win but it must be said that it was a moral victory after a somewhat blinkered display from the referee.
Full Time - Alcester 17 Old Yardleians 17
Team: Dan Green, Scott Wilson, James Lawler, Matt Willetts, Tom Carter, Michael Scott, Shannon Killarney, George Bishop,
Callum Killarney, Shaun Morris, George Drabble, Andrew Cox, Dan Griffiths, Stuart Adams, Tom Scott.
Replacements: Alex Patrick, Christian Wilson, David O'Grady, Sheldon Du Plessis, Austin Hughes
Scorers: Tries - Andrew (2), Stuart
Conversions - Dan Green