Woodrush 5 Old Yardleians 19
This hastely arranged match was part of Woodrush's Presidents' Day celebrations and was the prelude to the main afternoon matches. The keenness of the lads was shown in the number of players that made themselves available for the Saturday afternoon fixture.
A hard match had been anticipated against a strong Woodrush side and it was proved so as all of the early play was by the home side as they put the Old Yards line under pressure throughout the first 15 minutes. In all fairness the home side should have been ahead but for handling errors. However, Old Yards showed great determination in not wanting to conceed the first score. In this early period Shaun showed good composure and good kicking under pressure to clear the ball out of defence.
Somewhat against the run of play, Old Yards took the lead after 15 minutes when Stuart made one of his trade-mark breaks down the wing to score the first try. Woodrush continued to attack and move the ball around well but they always looked susceptible to the quick running of the Old Yards backs.
It was of now surprise when Old Yards scored again after 21 minutes as the backs attacked at pace. Andrew received the ball deep inside his own half and broke through the Woodrush line and as he was tackled on half way he put Tom Scott clear with a well timed pass. With 40m of open field infront of him Tom made no mistake and left the defence behind him as he scored under the posts, leaving Shaun with a simple kick for the extra two points.
Half Time - Woodrush 0 Old Yardleians 12
Woodrush opened the half as they did the first but due to a mixture of handling errors and good tackling by the Old Yards defence they were unable to get the score that would put them back in the match. From one of these handling errors Dan Griffiths picked the ball up from a knock-on and, with the referee playing advantage, he broke through a couple of tackles before handing on to David. David showed his strength and determination as he broke through the remaining defence to sprint clear and score under the posts. Shaun was again successful with his conversion to open up a 19 point lead after 10 minutes of the half.
With 10 minutes remaining Woodrush were rewarded for their play when they scored a good try through their fullback. Old Yards kicked to half way to clear their defence but the Woodrush fullback caught the ball cleanly and ran down the wing to score in the corner.
The home side tried to finish strongly and came close a couple of times but were always open to the quick break. The match was hard fought by both sides but on the day the home side could not live with the pace of the Old Yards backs.
Full Time - Woodrush 5 Old Yardleians 19
Team: James Lawler, Scott Wilson, Tom Carter, Austin Hughes, Matt Willetts, Shannon Killarney, David O'Grady, George Bishop, Callum Killarney, Shaun Morris, Tom Scott, Andrew Cox, Dan Griffiths, Stuart Adams, Alex Patrick.
Replacements: Dan Green, George Drabble
Scorers: Tries - Stuart, Tom Scott, David
Conversions - Shaun (2)