Sat 11 Feb 2023
Redditch continued the improvements in performance and attitude on Sat with a hard fought victory against local rival Five Ways OE. From the start R took the game to FW with Matt Allen to the fore bursting through the defensive line twice in first five minutes, the second not only gained valuable territory but provided skipper Aaron Atkinson with room to dive over for the opening try.
However if they thought they were in for easy afternoon they were disappointed as FW battled hard to get back into the game making hard yards and keeping the R defensive line keen. Important tackles were made by Jon Beale and Cal Razzak in the centres and the back row of Allen, Joe Looker and Clarke Parker snuffed out many moves before any impetus was gained.
AJ Bennett and Will Spires, the half back pairing, did their share of tackles and linked nicely to keep R on the front foot and full back Atkinson was unlucky with a couple of sharp breaks.
R maintained their intensity throughout the half though some errors began to sneak in and a little frustration crept in when they were unable to turn possession into points and turned around just 5-0 ahead.
In the second half the score was soon levelled up when FW utilised their larger pack in a driving maul which R could not withstand. This weapon seemed to be the only effectual one in the FW armoury but they could not repeat the feat. The R defense was outstanding for the next 20 mins when the pack snuffed out all attacks with Player of the match Joe Purvis standing out amongst them. His defensive work was immense and in attack he created the break that resulted in Matt Allen barging through to regain the lead.
Soon afterwards Beale broke free, the resulting ruck ball was fed out to Cal Razzak to score out wide. There was no time to force a bonus point fourth try but R can be satisfied with their afternoon's work. There are only four games left in this league programme starting at Keresley next week, if this performance can be repeated and improved upon, then their season finale will be a good one.
What is Will Spires Tthinking?
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