Blues produce the final sting

HORNETS 13 v 18 NEWBURY BLUES

Blues produce the final sting

Saturday 27th Jan 2018, 3 pm KO South West Premier

Newbury Blues come up with the final sting in the tail to steal the points from Hornets with a try in the final play of the match

A Blues squad with only a couple of changes travelled to Weston Super Mare on a wet and windy Saturday afternoon and manage to produce a final play piece of magic to steal the win and four valuable league points and a double sting over the Hornets

Hornets kick off on the 3G pitch and manage to regather the ball putting Blues straight under pressure, a great tackle from Jack Walsh gives Blues a penalty which Richard West kicks to touch, Blues win the lineout but have soon given up possession when a knock on gives Hornets a scrum on half way, Hornets win the scrum and run the ball before a good kick bounces into touch.
Hornets steal the lineout and attack the Blues defence getting into Blues 22 before a neat grubber kick is threaded through the Blues defence, Blues gather and kick out of defence, Hornets run back at Blues and get a penalty on half way which is kicked to touch deep in Blues 22 giving them a 5m lineout, from the lineout Hornets put pressure on Blues defence taking play across the pitch before another good tackle from Dylan Stewart forces a knock on. Blues win the scrum and kick clear, Hornets don’t get far before good Blues tackling forces them to concede a penalty giving Richard West a shot at the posts, a slip means the ball hits the posts and bounces back Josh Love gathers and is over under the posts but the ref rules a knock on 8 mins.
Hornets kick clear from their 5m scrum, Blues gather and run taking play across the pitch before Dan Thorne puts a good grubber kick bouncing into touch on the Hornets 5m line, Hornets win the lineout but are forced back over the try line giving Blues an attacking 5m scrum, Blues win the scrum and attack but spill the ball forward allowing Hornets to clear to touch on half way. Blues win the lineout but again the mistake halts their progress and gives Hornets a scrum on half way, scrum won Hornets run at Blues and a good spell of play takes play up to Blues 22, the ball is kept live and Hornets win a scrum, Hornets forwards put pressure on Blues pack winning them a penalty which they kick through the posts, 3-0 19 mins

Blues restart kick is knocked on by Hornets, Blues win their scrum after a reset and switch play across the pitch and back getting up to the line, Hornets infringe giving Blues a penalty and them a yellow card, Richard West slots over the penalty 3-3 25 mins

Hornets restart kick is returned by Blues, Hornets gather and clear to touch and manage to steal Blues lineout and attack getting into Blues 22, after several phases of play Hornets spill the ball allowing Anthony Hackett to run out of the 22 and win a penalty at the tackle, scrum half Anthony Hackett takes it quickly and a good run splits the Hornets defence and he makes 60 plus yards before he is tackled into touch on Hornets 5m line. Hornets win the lineout but the ball rolls into touch giving Blues an attacking lineout, from the lineout Blues forwards drive towards the line before a short ball is passed to Jack Walsh who splits the defenders to score close to the posts, Richard West adds the conversion 3-10 31 mins

Hornets restart, Blues gather and a good kick to touch from Dan Thorne takes play back into Hornets half, Hornets win the lineout and run the ball before a long kick rolls into the try area and Blues touch down and take the 22 drop out, kicking long, Hornets knock on giving Blues a scrum deep in Hornets half, Blues win the scrum but a knock on gives Hornets a scrum and a chance to get out of their half. Hornets win a penalty at the scrum and they clear to touch just in Blues half, Hornets win their lineout and run the ball but a knock on gives Blues a scrum just outside their 22.
Blues win the scrum and run getting up to half way before they spill the ball, Hornets gather and kick winning a lineout when the ball rolls into touch off a Blues player, Hornets win the lineout and attack but concede a penalty scrum, Blues win a free kick at the scrum and they tap and go quickly, a good Alex Millar run takes play out of Blues 22, Blues spread the ball wide and get a penalty which doesn’t find touch but Hornets knock on, Blues win the scrum then a penalty which they kick to touch, Hornets steal the 5m lineout and clear to touch to bring half time
Both teams remain on the pitch for the half time break

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Blues second half restart kick is not 10m so back for a Hornets scrum, Blues manage to steal the ball at the scrum and a charging Kyle Doel run takes play well into Hornets half, Blues keep the ball live and spread it wide but a forward pass just outside Hornets 222 halts their progress, Blues pressure at the scrum gives them the put in and at the reset Blues get a penalty, the long shot is just wide of the posts 43 mins

Blues knock on the restart kick, Hornets win a penalty at the scrum which they take quickly getting into Blues 22, Hornets keep up the pressure on Blues defence through several phases of play spreading the ball across the pitch but cannot make the breakthrough eventually winning a penalty scrum

Graham Stewart off Ben Hicks on 49 mins

Hornets hold their scrum and put Blues under pressure getting up to the line on several occasions before they make the break through and score under the posts, adding the conversion 10-10 51 mins

Blues kick off is knocked on by Hornets, Blues gather the loose ball and play the advantage but after a couple of phases a forward pass gives Hornets a scrum on their 40m line, Blues pack again manages to steal the ball and Blues run at the Hornets defence but don’t get far before the wet ball is spilt forwards, Hornets win their scrum and a good kick rolls into touch in Blues 22, Blues hold their lineout and the ball is cleared to touch just in their own half

Kris Ford on Dylan Stewart off 58 mins

Hornets win their lineout and run but cough up possession at the tackle allowing Blues to kick to touch well in Hornets half, Hornets hold their lineout and clear to touch on halfway, Blues lineout is not straight so Hornets have a scrum, Blues pack makes amends and steal the scrum and run at Hornets making good ground and win a penalty which Richard West kicks to regain the lead 10-13 61 mins

Hornets take the restart kick, Blues gather safely and run back at Hornets before kicking into Hornets half, a good chase is rewarded when it looks like Dan Thorne gets his hands on the bouncing ball to touch down but the ref has already blown for a Blues penalty scrum so play is brought back.
Blues lose the scrum on Hornets 22 and Hornets kick to touch on Blues 22, Blues win the lineout and kick into Hornets 22, they gather and return the kick into touch on Blues 40m line, Hornets steal the lineout and run at Blues, a big Kris Ford tackle forces a knock on, Blues hold their scrum and attack, they play advantage when they get a penalty but a big tackle from Hornets forces the error so play is back for the Blues penalty Richard West kicks to touch on Hornets 22

Cameron Golby Barr off Jamie Futcher on 69 mins

Blues win the lineout and run the ball getting into Hornets 22 before a knock on halts their progress, Hornets win their scrum and run out of defence making good ground before they are tackled into touch, Hornets steal Blues lineout and run the ball getting into Blues half and putting pressure on Blues defence, they concede a penalty at the tackle plus 10 yards for chat Richard West kicks to touch in Hornets 22.
Blues win the lineout and the forwards maul making good yards but get held so Hornets have a scrum, Hornets hold their scrum under pressure and kick clear to touch still in their own half, Blues win the lineout and spread the ball wide but lose possession allowing Hornets to gather the loose ball they spread the ball across the pitch then back getting into Blues half and win a penalty, they tap and go making more ground but concede a penalty scrum.

Kyle Doel off Dylan Stewart on 78 mins

Blues just hold their scrum and Richard West clears to touch on half way, Hornets manage to steal the lineout and run at Blues making good ground getting up close to Blues 22 and after a few phases win a penalty which is slotted between the posts, 13-13 79 mins

Blues kick off and get their hands on the ball but the tap back rolls into touch, Blues steal Hornets lineout and run getting a scrum when Hornets knock on in the tackle, Blues win and run at Hornets getting up to their 22 but they spill the ball in the tackle, Hornets run from their own 22 but again a mistake comes and Blues have the ball and they run at Hornets, the ball reaches Dan Thorne who sends a neat grubber kick through Hornets defensive line and a good chase by Jamie Futcher looks as if he will get their first but the Hornets defender decides to concentrate on him and usher him off line rather than the ball, this means the ball is free and Alex Millar gets his hands on it and crashes through a tackle to reach out and place the ball on the line to score the winning try in injury time, the conversion is just blown wide, 13-18 final score

MOM Jack Walsh, tackled like a tiger and scored a try

Thanks to the great Blues supporters who travelled in numbers to Hornets and again outnumbered the home support

This was a hard-fought game which proves you have to keep going right to the final whistle, it looked like the game would end in a draw but one moment of magic meant Blues got the win and vitally 4 league points,

Newbury Squad
Graham Stewart, Jack Walsh, James Macauley, Duncan Craigen, Kyle Doel, Dylan Stewart,
Ollie Spanswick, Alex Millar, Anthony Hackett, Richard West, Cameron Golby Barr, Josh Love,
Dan Thorne, Toby Pearce, Josh Bartlett, Ben Hicks, Kris Ford, Jamie Futcher

Good luck to Hornets for the remainder of the season

Next Saturday 3rd Feb Blues have another important game at Monks Lane against Camborne who are also in the bottom half of the league, lets hope for another good game and a win for the Blues

HORNETS REPORT

Hornets v Newbury Blues

By Ian Humphris

Hornets 13 Newbury Blues 18

Hornets stunned by injury time try.

With both sides languishing at the lower end of the table, Hornets welcomed Newbury to a very wet and windy Hutton Moor in the latest South West Premier League game.
In such a vital game both sides struggled with the wet ball and spilled it several times in either contact or trying to gather a high kicked ball, as it swirled around in the wind.
Both sides started well and it was evident early on that defence was probably going to have a big impact on the game as massive defensive tackles were being delivered by both teams. Hornets though had good early ball but were unable to break through. Newbury hit back and solid defence and Hornets were able to hold the ball up over the line and then clear to relieve pressure.
A midfield move in the backs and Bailey broke free; the scrambling defence reorganised and a scrum was awarded to Hornets. The pack surged forward and Newbury's front row stood up under immense pressure and a penalty was the result. Humphris stepped up and slotted the 3 points .
Newbury again pressed and were getting close to going over but Hornets kept them out until Parker was adjudged to have stolen the ball illegally in a ruck and was sent to the bin. Newbury kicked the points to level the score. Hornets now down to 14 and it was going to be tough to keep them out. Excellent pressure was matched by the Hornets defence when Newbury stepped up a gear. They kicked a penalty to the corner and then with a classic catch and drive they were in, and with the try converted they went into the second half 10-3 to the good.
Ross Cheeseborough on for injured Jack Gibson and Phil hobbs on for Dave Vivian and Hornets had to re-group. Newbury themselves were not having it all their own way and they were guilty of causing pressure on themselves with a sloppy restart. Hornets had a scrum on the half way but were penalised for standing up in the scrum, even though they were pushing the opposition backwards. Turnover ball and eventually Newbury had a kick at goal but this was missed. The long drop out by Carter and Hornets were deep in Newbury territory. More pressure and more penalties, but amazingly the referee didn't deem it to warrant a yellow card! Hornets kept their cool and eventually following long phase possession, Pape went over under the posts to celebrate his birthday. Humphris kicked the easy conversion, 10 all.
Again Newbury pressed and won a penalty of their own on 22 minutes to go up by 3. Both sides were struggling with some of the referee's decisions and began to get frustrated and tempers flared on a few occasions. Hornets now could sense a score but again the defence was sound. Then Newbury gave away a penalty on their 10 metre line and Humphris was asked to level the scores, which he did.
4 minutes left on the clock and a draw seemed to be a fair result but apparently there was 6 minutes of injury time still left to play and unfortunately for Hornets a spilt ball on halfway and a fly hack through; the Newbury player was too quick for the scrambling James and the ref awarded a score to Newbury, much to the delight of the big travelling support. The conversion was missed and the ref blew for full time.

Final Score Hornets 13 Newbury 18.

A Huge disappointment for Hornets but they now have to regather and go to Maidenhead in yet another tough game.