Barton Under-Needwood 1's 43 Aldridge 1's 24

Taking nothing away from a much improved Barton Under-Needwood side who with a very good new 10 and back line, and an impressive back row who ran hardline throughout the game , Aldridge RFC lost this game in their head before kick up as complacency from last weeks victory over AOE's crept in. Lots of tackles were missed, the line out fell apart, great scoring opportunities scorned, and the moaning returned.

Only a couple of players stood up to be counted, in particular, Full Back Adam Morris and Ben Drinkwater, who worked hard throughout the game, ran with power and aggression, and scored a superb try (and had one disallowed just before half time for no apparent reason with the score at 19-10 which could of changed the outcome of the game); however we win as a team and lose as a team.p

With 15 minutes to go and 43-10 points down, Aldridge RFC realised that the scoreline was getting embarrassing. Then followed 15 minutes of absolute dominance as the pack ripped apart the Barton pack, as first Number 8 Josh Reynolds and then a Penalty try bought a more respectable scoreline and a bonus point for 4 tries.

Head Coach Jon Arch words:

'One Team turned up just expecting to win...One Team turned up with the desire and attitude that they wanted to win...I hold my hands up, mistakes were made in selection and made in the warm-up when it was obvious that the heads were not right.

Had we put that final 15 minutes in at the start of the game - we would of took their heart and the result might of been very different. There were very few positives from today to be honest...but like i said after, its just a game of rugby, we have lost today, so we just smile and start to put things right at training on Tuesday night.

With the 2's putting in a great result, and the opportunity to watch them next week as we have a free weekend, I fully expect us to make some changes for the next league game against Bloxwich on the 26th.'