29 October 2011
Midlands 2 West (South)
Pershore 10 - Old Laurentians 31
Old Laurentians had this game sewn up by half time but were made to fight hard by a stubborn and competitive Pershore side in the second half before they finally secured a try bonus point with the last play of the game.
That score was the last of Simon Bayliss’s four tries in another virtuoso performance, making it nine tries for OL’s left wing in the five league games he has played this season.
OLs had the best of the early exchanges but it was the home side who took the lead with a penalty by Woodhouse after ten minutes. OLs continued to dominate both territory and possession and were duly rewarded after twenty minutes when Bayliss came off his wing to scythe through under the posts after Iain Wallis and Dom Hammond had taken the ball on to set up the position. Danny Orr added the goal points and OLs were 7-3 up.
After twenty minutes play and following a scrum, Orr and Wallis combined cleverly in midfield to set up Bayliss for his second, Orr adding the conversion for 14-3. OLs backs were displaying much more menace than their opposite numbers and looking for opportunities to give Bayliss his head. The next arose after a strong run down the right by Danny Murch and swiftly recycled ball was transferred smartly down the line for Bayliss to go over. Orr converted and OLs were 21-3 ahead at the break.
When Orr added a penalty early in the second half, OLs were virtually out of sight. But the big Pershore pack then took over, employing a pick and drive game that tested OL’s defence for much of the half. But with James Orbinson and Dom Hammond leading the way, the home side failed to find any chinks in OL’s defence until the twenty fifth minute when Shaw muscled over, Woodhouse converting to reduce the margin to 24-10.
When OLs countered, a powerful break by prop Chris le Poidevin was carried on at pace by Ben Anderson who transferred to Orr near the Pershore line, but scrambling defence just got back to deny OL’s fly half the try. OLs forced a 5 metre scrum but as Carl Adams transferred quick possession to scrum half Ricky Reed, Pershore’s blind side snaffled the pass from a position that looked suspiciously offside and set up a pitch long counter attack that was just held, Ben Wiles coming to OL’s rescue.
Next Greg Loydall, on as a replacement for his league debut, was denied a try when the home touch judge raised his flag for a foot in touch on his way to the line, a decision that bemused nearby spectators!
OLs were still on the back foot for long periods as the home pack continued their assault, led by their powerful number 8, but broke out again to win a scrum outside the Pershore 22. Possession was clean and quick and the ball went swiftly down the line for Bayliss to finish and claim the bonus point that had almost eluded OLs, Orr converting with his fifth successful kick from five attempts.
OLs have got into the good habit of winning those all-important bonus points this season, taking one from each of their six league games so far. But they left it perilously late to do so this time after three well taken tries in the first half appeared to set them on the way to a resounding victory.
They conceded the initiative in a very disappointing way in the second half, although their defence held firm, shipping just one try under heavy pressure from the resurgent Pershore eight – and good defensive play can win games for you! In attack, OLs back line always looked to have the beating of their opposite numbers but had too few opportunities to show their paces in the second half.
Team:
Ben Wiles; Grant Inch, Danny Murch, Iain Wallis, Simon Bayliss; Danny Orr, Ricky Reed; Ollie Cowley, Dom Hammond. Chris le Poidevin, Paul Willis (capt.), Ben Anderson, James Orbinson, Ben O’Riordan, Carl Adams.
Replacements (all used):
Greg Loydall, Garrie Reeve, Mark Todd
Scorers:
Tries: Simon Bayliss (4)
Conversions: Danny Orr (4)
Penalty: Danny Orr
Report by Bill Wallis
Old Laurentians 2nds 45 – Rugby St Andrews 2nds 19
Another solid performance from OLs 2nds again on Saturday, although the score did not totally reflect the domination enjoyed by OLs and the victory might have been by a bigger margin.
Wing Ben Roberts claimed four of the tries, to match Simon Bayliss’ feat for OLs 1sts, before injury forced him off. The writing was on the wall from as early as the 4th minute, when slick handling from the back line fed Ben Roberts to run in from the 22 and score, Jon Bean added the extras.
OLs increased their lead with a Bean penalty, before some sloppy defending allowed St Andrews to get a converted try. This spurred OL’s on and two tries followed before half time, the first a Chris Ashtonesque dive over the line by prop Will Pawsey and the second by Ben Roberts, Bean added a conversion and another penalty to leave the half time score 25-7.
The second half started at a great pace for OLs and they secured the victory very quickly with four unconverted tries in quick succession, all scored in the clubhouse corner, one each for Jack Boulden and Jon Bean and two more for Ben Roberts. His hat-trick came with the try of the game, when a flowing move ended with Jon Bean flicking a reverse pass to Roberts as he was bundled into touch for Roberts to beat his man to score.
OL’s then unfortunately stepped off the gas and having picked up a couple of injuries, made some forced changes, leaving players in unfamiliar positions. With this the Andrews stepped up their game and scored 2 tries, one converted, to make the scoreline a little closer.
Second row Rudi Reid put in another fine performance to stake a claim for what must surely be a 1st team appearance soon.
Scorers:
Tries: Ben Roberts (4), Jon Bean, Will Pawsey, Jack Boulden
Conversions: Jon Bean (2)
Penalties: Jon Bean (2)
Old Laurentians 3rds 24 – Southam 2nds 12
A great second half performance saw the 3rds come back from a 12-0 deficit to record their first league win of the season against (then) second placed Southam 2nds.
Fielding a mix of young and not-so-young, there were debut tries for youngsters Craig Middleton and Mark Eagles, whilst more-seasoned campaigners Dave Longrigg and Rhys Wade completed the try scoring. Kev White added two conversions to give OLs a “full house” of league wins.
Scorers:
Tries: Dave Longrigg, Craig Middleton, Rhys Wade, Mark Eagles
Conversions: Kev White (2)
