Redditch RFC

The grey clouds that threatened to overshadow this league encounter soon drifted away to allow a dry afternoon of competitive rugby. The home side dominated the opening attacks using the strong breeze to their advantage and were eventually rewarded with the opening try despite some resilient tackling from the Redditch side, a feature that was prominent throughout the game.

R resisted the kicking game, opting for slow and steady progress with their big forwards driving the ball forward. Craig Martin, Mickey Adams and Dan Oscroft all taking turns to gain ground with the rest of the pack supporting them throughout. It was one such drive that resulted in MA scoring their first try, a little too far wide to have it converted. 

A scrappy sequence of events resulted in D centre Will Baillon weaving his away through the traffic to score in the corner which was well converted to give the home side a 12 - 5 lead at the break.

The breeze died a little but was still strong enough to be used effectively which R did, playing more of the game in the opponents half. The R pack had enjoyed some success previously but came to the fore after the break, their attacking drives from clean line out ball led to their second try when James Mills dived low following a dominant push to the line.  The game stayed at 12-10 for the next tense 20 minutes, the defensive patterns of both sides cancelling each other out. Tyler Monger continued his fine form this season tackling all before him. 

Cal Razzak and Tom Mclarney in the centre punched holes and were unlucky with a couple of calls, Harvey Habgood and Rory Allen on the wings were kept active and full back Aaron Atkinson coordinated the defensive line and stood firm himself as D fought to extend their lead. 

Skipper Will Spires constantly sniped through gaps giving R more territory, their driving pack faltered a couple of times close to the line as the tension racked up. In the end it was a straight forward tap penalty from James Mills and drive from Dan Oscroft who fed player of the match Craig Martin who scored the winning try.

There was still 10 min to hold out, D missing a penalty kick that would tied the game up and penalties were shared evenly in the closing stages, adding to the nervousness for supporters of both sides.