A full club day against Lincoln

Away vs Lincoln 3rds

Pennant

Won 24 - 51

Trys: C. Holmes (3), S. Willis (2), S. Hickery (2), M. Boddy, I. Williams

Conversions: J. Wing (3)

After the difficulties of last week, it was a trip up the A46 to local rivals Lincoln that awaited us this Saturday. This was made easier by the fact that we had a full bench and personnel playing their chosen positions.

The game started with both sides making a few errors but it was fast paced and flowing from the kickoff. It was after 10 minutes that the forwards found themselves playing quick pick and go ball of the base of rucks that saw Sam Hickery in an unusual position, carrying strongly and forcing his way over the line for the first points of the game. Conversion missed. 0 - 5.

This really seemed to get the forwards motivated and it was shortly after that the pack managed to overturn a Lincoln scrum on their 10 metre line. Sam Willis picked up from 8 and went on a barracking run to cross the whitewash near the posts. Joe Wing kicked the extras this time. 0 - 12.

With the pace of the game ever increasing we found ourselves pulling of the silky hands that New Zealand would have been proud of. unfortunately though the support play wasn't quite matching and we found ourselves allowing Lincoln to score near the corner for their first points of the game. 5 - 12.

After this lapse in concentration the backs decided that it was their turn to make an appearance in the game. The halfback combination of Taffy and Joe working well to supply Matt Boddy and Callum Holmes with time and space on the ball. Matt scored after a simple scissor move and some good sidestepping. Joe added the extras again, 5 - 19. Although not to outdone by is fellow centre, Callum popped up with a powerful run to score near the corner, 5 - 24.

Lincoln, brought their ageing captain onto the field and he made an immediate impact. A line-out saw him run in under the posts from the Newark 22 metre line. Conversion kicked, 12 - 24.

The scrum carried on working as well as it had done for all of the first half, overturning Lincoln's scrum on their 5 metre line saw Sam Willis dot down from the back again, although Joe Wing kicked the extras, these would be his last of the game. 12 - 31.
Another overturned scrum saw the ball being thrown out through the hands in the backs. This time allowing Callum Holmes to run through for his second of the half, 12 - 36.

With the halftime whistle blown, the talk was all about keeping our heads and letting the ball do the work. Simple rugby with support players being there was working wonders for us today.

A slower start to the 2nd half began with a lot of sloppy mistakes and unforced errors seeing a lot of hard work going wasted in Lincoln's half of the field. after 50 minutes of the game, Callum once again popped up in the line with another trademark run that saw him cross the line for a well deserved hat-trick near the posts. For the conversion attempt Joe seemed to have decided that his kicking game had left him in the 1st half. 12 - 41.

For some reason, all the hard work that had been done in the first half somehow seemed to be getting away from us. Overturned ball in the rucks and scrum brought Lincoln more points onto the board. Two tries to be specific, with the second one being converted, 24 - 41.

It was in the last 10 minutes of the game that the Welsh contingent of our side decided that they wanted a lot of the ball themselves.
Taffy decided that he could pick and run from the base of a scrum. A good decision as this saw him supply the current 8 of Sam Hickery to dot down under the posts for his second try of the day; how did you miss from in front of the posts Joe Wing?? 24 - 46.
The next time that saw Taffy pick from the base of a scrum saw him dart through a gap and duck under a despairing tackle near the line, scoring the last points of the game. 24 - 51.

A brilliant performance by all involved. Giving us a hell of a lot of key points to take forward into the next game. all we need now are a few more players to come back out of the woodwork and get playing again. to quote.."You're a long time retired boys!!"

1. Lee Gillat
2. Dan Cupit
3. Ben Wells
4. Sam Gethings
5. Sam Booth
6. Rowan Allen
7. Sam Hickery
8. Sam Willis
9. Taffy (Ian Williams)
10. Joe Wing
11. Adam Squires
12. Matt Boddy
13. Callum Homes
14. Craig Fisher
15. Craig Ellis

16. Ben Pinder
17. Nick Edlin
18. James Daman-Willems
19. Ryan Pegg
20. Tim Rubin