Redditch RFC

Redditch travelled to Old Halesonians II with a bare 13 men, the driving rain and howling gale added to their troubles. But they vanquished those obstacles and left Wassell Grove with 5 points in the bag, riding high on a team spirit to take them into next weeks home game v Chaddsley Corbett.

Being two men short R was never going to play an expansive game, keeping it tight amongst the forwards was the game plan and it was executed to perfection throughout the match. When OH had possession they span the ball wide to take advantage of the overlaps but the R blitz defence unsettled their handling and forced errors. 

However when they did find the space the OH attack was dangerous, tackles were broken when the first try was scored and converted, at which point heads could have dropped as the writing was on the wall. They didn't.

R had other ideas, they resorted to the tried and tested and persisted in the slow drives , the forwards taking it in turns to gain a few meters ably instructed by their little general James Mills who kept the ball moving forwards, and when the opportunity arose, fly half Will Spires would use the wind to push the home side backwards.

It paid dividends, Mike 'Sid' Allen rounded off a determined attack and scored out wide, soon afterwards Dom Smith did likewise giving R a lead that had looked unlikely just a few minutes earlier. They didn't let up the pressure, knowing the wind was giving then an advantage they sought to build on the lead to give them a cushion for the second half. Their hustling and harrying continued even when OH were safely on their own try line and again their hard work bore fruit when an error was forced, the ball was dropped and Jon Beale got his hand to it first, WS converted it to extend the lead to 7-17.

OH were wounded but not down, they regrouped and set about using the ball properly as they should against fewer opposition, a series of taps and penalties were rewarded with a second  try taking the game to 12-17 at the break.

Soon after the restart R were dealt another blow, winger Harry Rutter had to retire having failed to recover from a high tackle but if anything, R increased the tempo. With three men extra and the howling wind and rain at their backs OH should have been able to keep R pinned on their own try line. They failed.

Jon Beale stole another try, intercepting a pass to extend the lead as OH tried to break free. For the remaining half an hour the R forwards earned their crust, constant driving and pushing, good old fashioned 'up the jumper' rugby that frustrated the home side who were prone to errors whenever they gained possession trying too hard when the simpler pass could have been rewarded. 

They did eventually make their advantage pay, possession from a dominant scrum led to them scoring their third try and closing the game to within a score.  R extended the lead with a WS penalty kick, then reverted back to plan A, keep it tight, slowly make ground but don't let the opposition have possession. It was played out to perfection and rounded off with Dom Smith grounding the ball for his second in the final few minutes.

It was not a pretty game, it was not a game for the casual observer, but as an example of grit and determination to play and win against all the odds it was textbook.

Man of the match could have gone to any of the victorious team but Jay Thomas was given the award.

Unfortunately Harry Rutter (pictured) had to retire after a heavy tackle.