Sat 2 Mar 2024
Bridgnorth travelled to local rivals Old Halesonians for an encounter in wintry weather. The travelling blazers were well hosted in the Old Hales developing clubhouse as part of their ex-players’ lunch. Bridgnorth again had a changed side in the backs so they were taking nothing for granted against a side that had only won one game so far in the season.
Bridgnorth kicked the game off and made a slow start to the game, a knock-on followed by two successive penalties allowed Old Hales to kick for a five-metre lineout, the home side's forwards drove the ball over the line for the game’s opening try. This stung Bridgnorth into action and after Old Hales knocked on at the restart, the away side put together an impressive series of drives before George Newman forced his way over the line for a try converted by Benji Ritson.
The remainder of the first half saw attritional rugby being played by both sides. Gareth Bladen (playing at fly-half) kicked well tactically to keep his side moving up field in the cold wind and rain. The Bridgnorth scrum was also under more pressure than usual and Connor Nicholls had an excellent game retrieving the ball from the scrum and taking the ball on from number-eight pick-ups.
Bridgnorth were defending very well with James Barham and Manny Volaikisuva tackling strongly in the centres. This defence forced a loose ball among the home team and Jordan Burgess grubber-kicked the ball towards the opposition line, unfortunately the breakdown ended with a penalty to the home side.
Bridgnorth continued to create chances, and were managing the poor conditions well with mostly sympathetic passing enabling them to maintain continuity. Barham showed his usual strong running to cause problems for the Old Hales defence. The first half ended with Bridgnorth on the attack and being awarded a penalty for a high tackle, Jack Cole took a quick tap (which was not perhaps the order of the day) and the ball was turned over. The half-time whistle went with the score 5-7.
Bridgnorth started the second half well, Luke Brough on the wing making good progress and demonstrating his power & pace to consistently break through the first tackle. Luis Evitt also was busy in attack and defence with Bladen joining him with a series of hard tackles. The first substitution saw Ben Rochelle returning to the Bridgnorth team, replacing Ben Morris who had worked hard in scrum and loose.
The lineout was also functioning well, Newman finding his jumpers to keep Bridgnorth moving forwards. Ritson took one opportunity well, he kicked the ball forwards and chased his own kick to near the opposition line, the supporting players arrived to drive the ball over the line but the ball was held up and Old Hales had a goal line dropout. Bladen put in another strong tackle on the opposition openside flanker who took great exception to this and started a tussle which ended with all the players from both sides joining in a general melee which lasted several minutes. (The referee still managed to penalise Bridgnorth after this event.)
Bridgnorth then earned their own penalty and kicked for an attacking lineout. In what seemed a rehearsed move, Evitt cleverly tipped the ball down to Newman who showed his renowned power and pace to run through the opposition fly-half and score a converted try to make the score 5-14.
Old Hales weren’t about to lie down however and launched a series of assaults on the Bridgnorth line, the Bridgnorth defence held firm and Loti Molitika was leading the way both in defence and attack. The Bridgnorth scrum had a more assured look to it with Joe Cave and Adam Ellis working hard in the engine room, the steam coming from the scrum a testament to the hard work of both sets of forwards! One scrum near the Bridgnorth line ended with Connor Nicholls picking the ball up and great running took him to the half-way line, exactly what was needed.
Callum Bradbury was introduced to the game against his old club and he got stuck in with his usual high work rate. Old Hales continued to press forwards and at times, the visiting supporters were glad of the nine-point margin on the scoreboard. Bridgnorth continued to defend well with Jack Cole and Jordan Burgess doing great work returning the ball from the Old Hales clearances. Although the tackling remained sound, George Newman was sin-binned for a high tackle and the Bridgnorth management were kept busy managing the interchanges.
This gave Old Hales a boost and it took an excellent turnover from Luis Evitt to deny them a scoring opportunity. Bridgnorth managed the remainder of the game well and ground out a solid victory. The score at full time was 5-14. The players looked exhausted after a solid shift on the pitch and there were several ‘walking wounded.’
Captain Jonah Boyce and the players were grateful for the travelling support as they went through ‘the tunnel’ by the grandstand. Although the atmosphere in the stand had been raucous at times it was in good spirits and in the best traditions of rugby union. Bridgnorth now have a week off before they travel to Stoke-on-Trent on the 16th March.
MATCH PHOTOS TAKEN BY ROBERT NICHOLLS - BRFC FACEBOOK PAGE: CLICK HERE!!
