Sat 11 Sep 2021
Bridgnorth 21 Broardstreet 8
On the day of their annual ex players lunch Bridgnorth welcomed old rivals Broadstreet from Coventry to the Edgar Davies Ground.
The game began with early dominance from the visitors, particularly in the set piece with early scrum pressure leading to the award of two penalties, both of which were missed by the Street fly half. North came to life on 15 minutes with winger Jordan Burgess beating several defenders to score following good carries by Loti Molitika and Callum Bradbury, Will Biddell slotting home the conversion for a 7-0 lead. Street then registered their first points with 25 minutes gone converting a penalty after North had infringed off side. From the restart a poor defensive clearance was collected by full back Marley Finn who spotted a gap and powered through to score under the posts making the conversion easy for Biddell. Broadstreet then fought back with a push over try following a yellow card for Bridgnorth flanker Zac Xiourouppa, the fairly simple conversion being missed. The games pivotal moment occurred just before the break, with North down to seven forwards they brought on prop Adam Stirling when Street had opted for a scrum in front of the North posts when awarded another penalty. With the hosts seemingly set to concede again it was Broadstreet who were this time penalised allowing North to clear their lines and take a 14 - 8 lead into the break.
The second half started with Joe Cave replacing Calum Madden who had moved to second row following the introduction of Stirling. These changes together with injuries sustained by a couple of Broadstreet forwards resulted in parity in the scrum for the remainder of the contest. North conceded a further penalty in front of the posts for handling in the ruck, to the astonishment of most watching this attempt too was pushed wide by the Street fly half. Strong running prop George Newman then extended the North lead with a converted try following good play from wingers Burgess and Biddell. Fly half Dan Austin then came off to be replaced by debutant Patrick Smallman who came into the centre with Will Bishop moving across to number 10. The game remained committed and entertaining until the end with North in search of a try bonus point and Broadstreet aware that a converted try for them would earn a losing bonus point. Fine defensive work from both sides, particularly Smallman in the North centre, ensured that no further points were added and North ran out worthy winners 21 - 8. Broadstreet deserved something from the game and will rue the numerous missed kicks at goal. Next week Bridgnorth make the short trip to Bromsgrove to continue their league campaign hoping to make it three wins from three.
