A fantastic score

Our defence held strong

Away V Casuals 3s

Friendly

Won 7-67

Trys: Callum Holmes 3, Liam Saxby 2, Joe Moody 2, Zac Briggs-Price, Nick More, Jason Matthysz, Francis Appleton.

Cons: Joe Wing 5, Joe Moody 1.

This is a fantastic score but a few things have to be remembered. It was 3’s and 4’s combined so we were strong already before we gained a few players from higher up the club and we were playing against a genuine 3s….for once, which unfortunately meant unopposed scums. Casuals 3s are a good bunch of lads and are mostly made up of vets so our youthful players had the edge when it came to breaking the line. It was the first half centre partnership of Zak BP and Joe Moody that made the early break throughs when good hands between them had Zak going over once and Joe going over twice. All three trys were from our own half. With Joe Wing kicking a couple of extra points and Casuals lads didn’t know what had hit them.

Our opponents had a good pick and go game from their pack and this produced their only try of the game half way through the first half. Frankly they deserved more from the game but our defence held strong with some good tackling throughout. Big no8 Liam Saxby got the score sheet next with a run straight through the centre of Casuals defence and once he’d broke the line there was going to be no stopping him. More extras from Joe and the last score of the half belonged to fullback Callum Holmes who took a high ball deep in our half before finding a gap to sprint through to score under the posts. He scored a hattrick last week at Lincoln and got this week off to a good start.

Half time got most of the bench on and this meant a few players from higher up the club taking to the field. This could have meant we were going to score trys in for fun but our opponents stuck to their defensive task and made as difficult as possible for us. Liam Saxby got his second of the match and Jason Matthysz and Francis Appleton both got their first trys. All three trys had one thing in common as they were runs through the centre of the defence from our own half. In the middle of those scores Callum Holmes got his second which had him run straight through a defender with a crunch that was felt on the touch line. He really meant getting through and scored under the posts. Nick Moore was on at 12 and he popped up with a try after slipping several tackles. He did have support outside him but he didn’t need it and that was noticeable all game as the support play was very good.

The final score of the game secured Callum Holmes second hattrick in two games. This lad is on form as the versatile back got into the line and streaked through to score under the posts. Joe Moody kicked the conversion for some reason and the ref celebrating his 70th birthday (yes 70th) blew for time as what seemed like a short second half came to a close.

A great game and a great score line that could have been higher for both sides. At one stage the skipper Ben Wells broke the line in our half and nearly made it try line but was dragged back in the 22 only to have his off load to be judged as a forward pass. It probably was but a great break from the big lad. There was some bad news during the first half as second row Sam Booth tore his Achilles and looks like missing quite a lot of game time. Get well soon mate.