Sat 9 Dec 2023
Bridgnorth welcomed Syston to the Edgar Davies Ground and their alickadoos joined a full marquee of home supporters as they all enjoyed a fine Christmas lunch followed by carols led by Nerys Arch. The game was the start of ‘the second half’ of the season for Bridgnorth and their inconsistent form so far meant they were yet to win two games back-to-back. The conditions were a far cry from Bridgnorth’s trip to Leicestershire in early September when temperatures hit 30°C.
Bridgnorth received the ball from the kick-off and the customary safe catch by Luis Evitt and good exit by Matt Needham gave them a solid start to the game. However, as they then carried the ball from the next phase, they almost got into trouble by overplaying the ball from their own twenty-two and were lucky to escape with a penalty. This option was particularly puzzling as the home side had the strong wind behind them in the first half. The lineout throw was adjudged not straight and so Syston put in on the first scrum of the afternoon. The home side’s scrum proved dominant all game and earned a penalty at the first opportunity. This time there was no mistake with the attacking lineout and the pack drove the ball over the line for Evitt to score and Needham to convert.
Syston replied from the restart and won a penalty as the Bridgnorth ‘jacklers’ were adjudged not to be supporting their own weight, the kick was missed as the away side kicker did not enjoy the most successful of games. He quickly had the opportunity to make amends after the ref pinged the home side for a high tackle. The game was being played at high intensity by both sides and then Matt Needham (enjoying his first outing at fly-half) gave the home side another attacking opportunity with a ‘50:22’ kick. This time, the ball went wide from the lineout and fullback Jack Cole showed good pace to stretch the defence before right-wing Luke Brough cut a great straight line to power through the away tacklers and score a converted try.
The home side did not let the pace of their attack drop and centre Patrick Smallman then made a good straight break and tremendous run (after a nice delay on the pass from scrum-half Gareth Bladen) and he almost managed to cross the line. Bridgnorth then had an attacking scrum and number eight Connor Nicholls made no mistake with the converted pushover try.
This score seemed to rouse Syston and the away side scored a good (unconverted) try from their left winger although the home side would be disappointed to concede a try from first-phase lineout ball. Syston continued to press and it took great defence from Bladen to gather a kick-ahead and keep the away side from scoring. The next Syston drive ended with the ball being held up over the line and Bridgnorth clearing with a goal line dropout. The Syston attacks kept coming and home centre Ollie Neill put together an outstanding set of tackles to defend his line. The pressure eventually told as the mobile Syston prop took an inside pass to score an (unconverted) try. The half time whistle blew with the score 21-13.
The second half got off to a good start for the home side as left-wing James Barham picked the ball up after a pass went to ground and he then made a strong break down the wing into the opposition's twenty-two. The continuity was continued with a great carry by George Newman before Luis Evitt smashed through the defence to score his second converted try. This was also the bonus-point try for the home side. The Bridgnorth attack had real ferocity in the game and the players hitting the line at pace and with good angles paid big dividends for the home side.
The referee then chose to apply the offside law to the home side as the backline was penalised and with the score at 28-13, the away side opted to kick the three-point penalty. Bridgnorth again carried well but lost the ball forward and the Syston second row picked it up and kicked downfield for a 50:22 lineout. The home defence held firm and with good carries from second rows Joe Cave and Callum Madden into the wind, a penalty was earned for another ten-metre lineout. Another series of good carries ended with George Newman taking an excellent runaround line to ground the ball over the line, unfortunately, in the time it took the referee to position himself it was declared held up. The home side kept up the pace and after another ten-metre lineout, captain Jonah Boyce scored an unconverted try.
Syston earned another penalty after the restart and had an attacking lineout. Another positive feature of the game for Bridgnorth was that they kept the penalty count under control after the first ten minutes. This included not being penalised at the breakdown as the home attack did a fine job of clearing out the would-be Syston jacklers – including their talented openside flanker. Bridgnorth continued to carry well into the wind and after a series of drives, the ball came to Evitt who crossed for his hattrick try in front of the home support. Needham kicked his fifth conversion to take the Bridgnorth total to 40 points. Syston did not let their heads drop and rounded off the game by scoring their third try. The scoreboard at the final whistle read Bridgnorth 40-23 Syston.
This was an excellent performance to mark the last home game of 2024. Everybody played their part including backrowers Adam Ellis and Callum Bradbury and also the bench of Russ Gauden, Jacob Tomkinson and Manny Volaikisuva. It was very good to see Bridgnorth build upon their previous week’s performance and confidence will be high as they head to their North Mids rivals Bromsgrove next week. All travelling support will be welcome.
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