Sat 3 Dec 2022
Redditch suffered another reverse on Saturday as second half of the season commences. Due to a shortage of society referees this game was controlled by a Droitwich member which wasn't ideal given how close the actual game played out.
The first quarter was an active encounter with both sides testing each other out with set plays, hard drives and challenging kicks , the deadlock was broken following a series of scrumages near the Redditch line which eventually resulted in the Droitwich scrum half finding a gap in the defensive line and darting through for a converted try.
D went close on their next visit to the R 22 but a crucial steal from Clarke Parker relieved the pressure and allowed R to build momentum, a few phases later the ball was swiftly moved along the backs to Harvey Habgood who jinked and wove his way under the posts to level the scores after which Will Spires added his first conversion.
With their confidence boosted R were the more aggressive side for the remainder of the half and were rewarded when skipper Aaron Atkinson caused confusion with a feigned move and freed up Matt Allen who ran in for another converted try leaving R 7-14 up at the break
The complexion changed soon into the second half when Matt Allen had to leave the game with an ankle injury, the change caused disruption in the ranks, concentration levels dropped and D levelled the scores with a neat move from the base of a scrum. With their heads up D now started to play a more expansive game which resulted in an arcing long distance run for try three, forward pressure was rewarded with the fourth and a fortunate bounce of a clearance kick left the R defence stranded.
R had the final word with a sparkling run from Atkinson which set the platform for a hectic final stanza as R looked for a fourth try which could have earned them a couple of valuable bonus points but it was not to be.
There were a lot of positives to take from this game, the backrow of Parker, Ferris and Allen were constantly active and snuffed out a lot of plays at source. The pack contested well and were a match for the home side, The back line were industrious and varied their attacks but were just short of the little bit of magic when it was needed.
yet another away game on Sat when they travel to Stourp
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