Sat 12 Oct 2019, 15:00
Redditch second team took trip to Clee Hill to start their Merit league programme off for the season, a mix of experienced forwards and tyro backs and although the effort was there every minute of the game, their luck ran out with the end in sight.
It was the familiar problem of not having the right skill sets in the right positions, having a prop at scrumhalf was not ideal, however Craig Dixon's performance at 9 belied the fact he had never been on the outside of a scrum before! Distribution of the ball was not as snappy as it might have been meaning Will Baillon at flyhalf was rushed into actions and unable to feed the centres as much as everyone would have liked.
The whole game was a frantic affair with little cohesion from either side which made it as entertaining to watch as it was frustrating to play in. Balls spilled in contact, last ditch tackles, ill judged kicks and the occasional confrontations kept everyone interested for its duration.
WB opened the scoring for R with a penalty kick earned after some enterprising runs from himself, TK on the wing, the Allen brothers in the pack and Mike Essex in the back row.
Cal Rassak an unfamiliar full back provided safe hands, solid tackling and an attacking option when the ball got to him. Elliot Blakemore and Jack Shelton in the centre were more than a match for their opposition, stifling attacks and preventing any momentum. Up front the forwards more than held their own against a pack who were vastly more experienced but who struggled with the pace of the game.
The second half saw a few changes, not just in personnel when CD had to step down from scrumhalf, but CH started to calm the pace down and rather than spin the ball wide where they had been getting no success, they concentrated on steady forward dominated drives, giving themselves a little more room and time out wide when it was needed.
However the CH scores actually came from fortunate events rather than any skill, a kick chase ended up with a 5m scrum for CH despite a blatant knock on, a gap was found and a try was scored. Shortly afterwards another scramble with the ball resulted in a sharp exchange of opinions giving CH the opportunity to kick for another three points, an opportunity they were fortunate to get. The kick was converted, as was a second soon after.
At 13- 3 in the closing minutes R threw caution to the wind only for their attacks to be thwarted, the ball was hacked back downfield and another obvious shove off the ball was missed, so instead of R getting a penalty, CH scored a second try to give them a flattering 18-3 victory.
The whole of the pack should be praised for their relentless work, Craig Dixon is obviously a scrumhalf fighting to get out of prop's body. Will Baillon ran, kicked and passed the ball continually in an unfamiliar flyhalf role but Man of the Match went to TK on the wing, fine tackling, dangerous runs and attentive support stood out on a very promising performance all round.
This Sat seconds and firsts are due to be at home , firsts v Greyhounds as their league programme resumes.
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