Rugby Match Report  - League Match Midlands 5 West (North)

6 February 2010

Aldridge  vs Five Ways Old Edwardians

  Well it turned out all right in the end but considering all the possession and territory we had overall, the final margin should have been a lot wider.  With a good solid performance in the forwards and some strong running from the backs, we had the visitors on the back foot inside their territory for most of the first half and it seemed like it was going to be an afternoon of one-way traffic.  But unfortunately we couldn’t find the key to unpick the defence. Final passes went adrift and a few wrong options meant that it was not until the 28th minute that we found a way through.  A series of scrums near the visitor’s line developed into driving mauls which eventually released the ball to blind side winger Ashley Lowe who scampered over just inside the corner flag.  A prodigious touchline kick from full back Alex Yates added the extra two points.  A seven-point lead at the interval seemed scant reward for all the effort that had gone in.

The situation evened out somewhat in the second half.  Five Ways, now with advantages of the slope, applied pressure of their own with a series of scrums on our line. We weathered the storm, slowly recovered control and pushed play back up field and started probing for openings again.  The break finally came towards the end with a switch move between No 10 Mark Large and centre Ben Pittam which created space for Alex Yates to arc back inside the covering defence to cross by the posts.  He added the extra points right on no side.

Final Score: - Aldridge 14 points – FWOE Nil points

Scorers:- Tries - Ashley Lowe, Alex Yates.  Conversions - Alex Yates (2)![endif]>