Sat 18 Feb 2023
R suffered a last minute defeat when the last kick of the game sailed between the posts to ruin a fine afternoon's performance.
Scoring from their first meaningful attack with Phil Lane capitalising on Matt Allen's break Redditch looked to be in the mood to build on last week's victory and their recent return to form. However a combination of tenacious defence and a few dropped balls meant the impetus was lost and K came back into the game more and more. An overlap was developed enabling K to score their first try which was converted.
As the game settled down R picked up where they left off and started to dominate in the loose though they struggled in the scrum against a wily opposition more than capable of punching their weight.
From an attacking scrum on the home 22 line it looked as if R would use the crowded openside but Will Spires caught everyone off guard and took an arcing run blind to ground the ball for a 7-10 lead at the break.
The second half was no great spectacle for the healthy crowd, injuries punctured the momentum and free flowing rugby was an occasional highlight in a forgettable half. K were kept at bay by a determined defensive line so the frustration was palpable when K were awarded a score under a pile of bodies with no clear grounding. R then found themselves two men down for 10 minutes as the referee compounded the pain.
It is to their immense credit that playing with 13 men they did not look as if they were going to concede any more points, which they didn't. As the game crept toward it's death R were awarded a penalty which man on the match Spires slotted home to put R 12-13 and clock ticking slowly.
Unfortunately it was ticking too slowly and enough time was left for K to be awarded a kickable penalty of their own which clinched the game.
There is no game this weekend and the league programme resumes on 4th March with home game v Malvern II's at 3pm
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