Rugby St Andrews 1s vs Castle Donington 1s

Rugby St Andrews 32 Castle Donnington 15

Counties 3 East (South)

Saints welcomed Castle Donnington for the first match between the two clubs looking to bounce back from the defeat to Rugby Welsh. The visitors were on a high after defeating Northampton BBOB the week before and arrived looking to cause another upset. After a close opening half Saints stepped up a gear to eventually pull clear but were made to work for the bonus point victory.

Saints made the perfect start with Chris Halcrow successfully converting a penalty after 2 minutes but Donnington proved they were going to be a handful. They had one of the strongest set of forwards that Saints had faced and strong carries were putting Saints onto the back foot. With Saints coming under increasing pressure the visiting captain Kallan Keenan led by example to power over for a try after 8 minutes, Saints continued to work their way up with the backs looking dangerous when given quick ball but game was punctuated by the referees’ whistle as both teams struggling to adapt to his interpretation of the laws. Saints regained the lead at the end of the first quarter with the ball moving wide and winger Ben Davison using his pace to cross for a try wide out with Chris Halcrow adding the touchline conversion. Again, the visitor came back but Saints defence was holding firm but with five minutes of the half remaining Saints were temporarily reduced to 14 men. Donnington kicked the resultant penalty to the corner and the forwards tried to power over for a try which eventually came through Jordan Burke with the last play of the half to level the scores.

Saints came flying out the blocks at the start of the second half, they were moving the ball quickly and with much improved handling from the previous match quickly made ground into the Donnington 22, quick ruck ball found second row James Carty in midfield and his strong carry was rewarded with a try just 6 minutes into the half. Straight from the restart Saints moved the ball to the left wing making ground up the touchline before moving the ball right, quick ball found winger Ben Davison on the half way line and his strength and pace took past a handful of defenders to cross for a try converted by Chris Halcrow to give Saints some breathing space. The visitors however showed they were not going to roll over and again pressured Saints through some strong forward runs, opting to kick penalties to the corner and were rewarded with a try from Warren Heather to reduce the deficit. A second yellow card for Saints again reduced them to 14 but this time they took the initiative, again moving the ball wide for winger Ben Davison to squeeze over in the corner. Saints made the game safe with 10 minutes remaining, a long lopping pass from flanker Will Headley found winger Ben Davison in acres of space to allow him to cross for his fourth and easiest try of the afternoon.

An excellent result which rounded off a good day of Rugby at Ashlawn Road in front of a large crowd of Vice Presidents and past players with the Under 14’s comfortably beating Camp Hill in the curtain raiser while the 2nd XV enjoyed a 45-27 victory over Long Buckby.

This weekend will see Saints travelling to second place Northampton BBOB with a five point lead at the top of the table with a game in hand