Friendly draw against Essington

The non-appearance of the official referee meant that this fixture was downgraded from a league fixture to a friendly. As the score line suggests, it proved to be an equal contest.
Visitors Essington handled the delayed start better and settled down quicker than us – generally beating us to the breakdown and using the possession to give their backs opportunities to test our defence. A well-worked try into the corner and a good conversion gave them a deserved lead after 10 minutes and us with a lot to do. The score provided a wake up call and we started to gain more possession, also using our backs as the main point of attack. There were some good movements but the 7-point deficit remained at the break. Changes made during the interval proved key in swinging the match in our favour such that we dominated the second half in terms of territory and possession. The equalising score was provided early on by Ben Pittam who appeared in open space with the ball in hand and an uninterrupted 22-metre dash to the posts. Ashley Shingler converted. The forwards were well in control now and although at no time did they directly pressurise the visitor’s try line, the amount of ball that was being shovelled along the backs made further scores seem inevitable. The backs continued to create gilt-edged try scoring chances but over elaboration and sloppy execution of the final pass meant the chances went begging such that the score was still evens at the end of the match.

Vote of thanks owed to Dave Shingler for making the dash to referee the match at extremely short notice.