Aldridge edge out Warley in enthralling encounter

At 25 all with 2 minutes to play, substitute Ben Tal, playing out of position at full back, gathered a kick over his own try line, stepped the Warley 12 with ease, passed to Nick Yates then secured the ball at the ruck, and helped clear the line... Was this the moment which won the game? Maybe not, but it showed commitment and belief in each other which was evident throughout the game.

In a game which the Aldridge pack dominated at scrum, but Warley were able to capitalise on our mistakes, the game ebbed and flowed from the first minute to the last. Aldridge lost second row Ed Tonks to a back injury and influential flyhallf Harry Baldock to a reoccurrence of a calf pull (which is likely to keep him out for 4 - 6 weeks) within 15 minutes of the start of the game, however a typical powering run from Vice Captain Josh Reynolds opened the scoring (B.Russell missed conversion). For a time it looked like Aldridge had slipped into their old wistful ways as 3 or 4 very good scoring opportunities were wasted, and Warley were able to equalise, but a stunning converted try from replacement Brad Russell (set up following great work from Alex Reed, Jim Arnold, Neil Smith and Jordan Russell) - to give Aldridge a 12 - 5 half time lead.

A Brad Russell penalty followed shortly after the break, however Warley scored two fine tries as we defensively switched off for 5 minutes following a further injury to debutant full back Dan Beggan, to edge them in the lead 18-15. A second converted Brad Russell try, following strong running from Ryan Bowen and Nick Yates, and a further penalty kicked by Brad extended our lead to 25-18 with just 10 minutes to play.

Again however a converted Warley try orchestrated by their 12 (who was lucky still to be on the pitch after a disgusting football style trip/hack) in the first 10 minutes which incensed the coaching team bought the scores level.

Full Time - 25 - 25 and after a brief discussion and a checking of the rules Extra Time kicked in.

Brad Russell kicked an early penalty then following a couple of missed tackles and a silly penalty given away just 5 minutes out, the Warley prop took a clever penalty , and whilst the Aldridge defence shot out, he simply turned like a supertanker, to score a clever try and put Warley back in the lead at 30 - 28... Even the Aldridge Head Coach stood and applauded the audacity.

This galvanised Aldridge in the second part of extra time, firstly Dan McKenna scored a typical powerful running try, converted by Brad Russell (35 - 30) which was soon extended by Ben Drinkwater who broke from midfield following a great offloads from flankers Adam Butler and Ben Giles, handing off the 12, 13 and full back to cross the line arm raised in victory (Conversion Missed).

From the resulting restart captain Mark Smith , fed Ben Eden who made strong yards, quick ball was recycled, replacement prop Ellis Garratt smashed through and fat 9 Lea Ross rounded off a simply stunning performance from him with a side step rounding their final defender to score with a smile.

Aldridge then kept on the attack for the last 5 minutes, Warley hearts (and lungs) were broken. FULL TIME Warley 30 Aldridge 45.

Man of the Match - CHAMPAGNE WINNER - LEA ROSS

"It was a great game - played in great spirit... Last year we would have lost that game, today we had leaders across the park which made the difference, and we didn't even when our lineout lost shape and structure, we didn't panic when we went behind... to be honest i had no doubt at any point during the game that we would win," commented Head Coach Jon Arch.

He added, "Warley have come up and have a good young side and they will do well in our league this year, to come here with the side we had, to lose Ed Tonks who has started the season strongly and Harry within the first 15 minutes meant some shuffling about. Brad Russell was simply outstanding when he came on, Ryan Bowen stepped in at 10 again and had a great game. The old boys Alex Reed and Jim Arnold put their opposition numbers to shame with their work rate, Josh and Forest were unplayable at times and our wingers tackling hard...lots of positives and a few work ons..."

"We viewed the game as a pre-season friendly so to get 100 minutes of rugby is a massive bonus; we have a good 7 or 8 players not available today who will be expecting to walk back into the first xv shirt - today showed that they are going to have work hard to get it ! ! " commented Arch.

Aldridge RFC wish Warley RFC all the best for the season ahead and look forward to another great game of rugby when we head there again in December.