Blues down the Buzzards

LEIGHTON BUZZARD 5 v 50 NEWBURY BLUES

Blues down the Buzzards

Saturday 30th January 2016, South West 1 East League, 2-15 KO

Newbury Blues travelled to Leighton Buzzard for only the second time ever and give a great display of running rugby scoring 8 tries.

The Prianto shirt sponsored Blues are forced to make 3 changes due to injury and unavailability to the squad who beat Salisbury last week, Blues playing in their red kit kick the game off playing up the slope with the wind in their backs on cold but dry afternoon.

Buzzards catch Blues kick off and run the ball, Blues defence is good and force Buzzards sideways not letting make any ground, after several phases Buzzards change tact and kick down field, Blues gather and run but are tackled into touch in midfield. Buzzards win their lineout and their big forwards maul making good progress before the ball is released to their backs and spread wide, Blues are penalised for off side, Buzzards kick to touch in Blues 22 lineout won they attack the Blues defenders but are unable to make much ground and slide sideways across the pitch. Blues defence forces the error and Buzzards spill the ball allowing Blues to gather and run out of defence, Toby Thorne breaks then passes to Josh Bartlett who dodges the defenders to run 50 plus meters to score under the posts, Dan Thorne kicking the conversion 0-7, 5 min’s

Buzzards restart kick is taken by Blues who put up a high kick that is nearly gathered by Mike Walker but a knock on halts their progress, Buzzards win the scrum and run the ball but again are forced sideways, Blues get offside given Buzzards a penalty which they kick to touch 10m in Blues half. Buzzards win their lineout and their forwards maul down the pitch before releasing their backs who run before kicking into Blues 22, Blues gather and run out of defence before kicking into Buzzards half, they take and return the kick which rolls into touch just outside Blues 22.
Buzzards steal the lineout and run at Blues defence getting into Blues 22 but cant break through eventually they put through a grubber kick which Blues gather and a good kick takes play back into Buzzards territory, Buzzards run back at the Blues and win a scrum when Blues knock on in the tackle. Scrum won Buzzards run the ball before kicking, Blues gather and run the ball getting back into Buzzards half before winning a scrum, the reset scrum is won by Blues; who make progress getting into Buzzards 22, Andy Herriott is just wide with a drop goal attempt.
Buzzards 22 drop out kick is taken by Blues who run the ball making good ground before kicking to touch in Buzzards 22; Buzzards win their lineout their forwards again making good ground with their rolling maul before they kick to touch. Blues win the lineout and set off up fields but are stopped when Buzzards win a scrum; their forwards hold possession at the scrum and they attack but again are forced sideways by good Blues defence who get penalised for not rolling away at the tackle. Buzzards kick to touch well in Blues half, lineout won Buzzards are awarded a penalty scrum which they win and spread the ball across the pitch until a great tackle by Josh Bartlett who rips the ball free and releases the Blues backs who run out of defence, Joe Pigott kicks into Buzzards 22 and a great chase means Buzzards get their hands on the ball but are under severe pressure when they are tackled immediately, Blues arrive in numbers and shove Buzzards off the ball and quickly pass the ball along their back line releasing Josh Winfield to score wide out on the left the long conversion just sliding past the posts, 0-12, 26 min’s

Buzzards restart kick is caught by Blues who after couple of phases is kicked back into Buzzards half. Buzzards gather and run the ball getting up to half way before winning a penalty when Blues stray offside, Blues also get a yellow. Buzzards kick to touch well in Blues half, win their lineout and maul forwards making big yards before releasing their backs who get into Blues 22 after several phases of play, a big tackle by Dan Thorne causes Buzzards to spill the ball, Blues gather and run out of defence Steve Denner makes ground before releasing Ryan Davis who breaks tackles and gallops 65 meters to score a great try, the conversion is just wide, 0-17, 33 min’s

Buzzards take the restart kick, which they re-gather and attack across the pitch not making too much forward progress due to the solid Blues tackling, after several phase Buzzards manage to get into Blues 22 where they win a penalty, Buzzards take quick and manage to split Blues defence to score under the posts, the conversion is miss-kicked 5-17 37 min’s

Blues restart kick is caught by Buzzards who run at Blues defence before kicking over the defenders and just into Blues half, Blues gather and run the ball making good progress, Matt Horne and Josh Winfield making good runs getting into Buzzards 22, Blues knock on giving Buzzards a defensive scrum which they just win and kick to touch to bring the half time whistle.

*****

Tom Sanders on for George Robinson-Slater
Buzzards kick off the second half, Blues take and return the kick, Buzzards keep up the kicking game and send a long kick into Blues 22, Blues gather and kick to touch on half way. Buzzards win their lineout and their forward’s maul up the pitch before they put up a high kick, Blues take and kick back into Buzzards territory, Buzzards make the mistake when their kick is straight out, they make amends when they steal Blues lineout.
Buzzards run the ball but don’t get far before they cough up possession, allowing Blues to kick, Buzzards return the kick well into Blues half, Steve Denner takes and runs releasing Mike Walker who makes great ground before releasing Josh Bartlett who rounds the last defender to streak away and score the bonus point try under the posts, Dan Thorne converting making the score 5-24, 45 min’s

Buzzards take the restart kick, Blues take and after a couple of phases kick into Buzzards territory, both sides decide to kick back to each other a couple of times before Buzzards win a penalty which they kick to touch, lineout won they run at Blues before putting through a grubber kick which Blues gather and run out of defence making good ground and winning a penalty.
Jack Walsh on for Ben O’Shea 49 mins
Blues kick to touch, Buzzards steal the lineout and run at Blues before putting up the kick, Blues knock on giving Buzzards a scrum, Buzzards hold their scrum and run at Blues making good ground before Blues steal possession and run back in Buzzards half before a knock on gives Buzzards the ball and a scrum. Blues pack pressure Buzzards and the scrum has to be reset, Buzzards just hold the ball with their pack going backwards, they try to make ground but Blues manage to turn the ball over but knock on.
Buzzards under pressure just manage to hold their scrum and after a couple of running phases kick, the ball goes straight out giving Blues a scrum on their own 10m line, Matt Horne picks up from the base of the scrum and breaks through tackles getting into Buzzards half before being stopped, the ball is kept live and quickly spread wide through hands Andy Herriott to Josh Bartlett to Mike Walker who sprints away to score Dan Thorne adding the conversion 5-31 58 min’s

Buzzards restart kick is taken by Jack Walsh who is then floored by a big tackle, Blues keep the ball live making some progress before a knock on gives Buzzards a scrum in Blues half, Blues smaller forwards now have the upper hand over their bigger counterparts and win against the head, the ball is passed quickly through the backs in a sweeping move which splinters Buzzards defence and allows Josh Bartlett to round the final defender and race away 40 yds to score his hatrick try, Dan Thorne converting 5-38, 61 min’s

Ryan Davis off Ben O’Shea on, Steve Denner off Jamie Futcher on
Buzzard’s restart is not 10 giving Blues a scrum on half way, Blues win their scrum allowing Matt Horne to pick up at the base and get into Buzzards half before a knock on halts their progress, again Blues pack wins Buzzards scrum with a great shove and set off on another attack through several phases of good play involving both forwards and backs. After several minutes of pressure on Buzzards defence Blues get into Buzzards 22 where they win a penalty. Blues tap and go spreading the ball across the pitch allowing Mike Walker to step the defender to score Dan Thorne converting 5-45, 70 min’s

Blues take Buzzards restart kick and set off running the ball but a forward pass halts their progress just in Buzzards half, Buzzards win their scrum but don’t get far before they spill the ball allowing Blues to again spread the ball quickly through hands getting into Buzzards 22 where they win a penalty scrum. Blues win their scrum and Joe Pigott passes the ball out quickly and Blues shift the ball quickly down the line to Josh Winfield who scores wide out on the left, the conversion just wide 5-50, 73 mins

Jack Walsh off Robbie Drysdale on
Blues attack straight from Buzzards restart getting up to half way before winning a penalty scrum, Blues pack are on top and win their scrum easily, the ball is spun through hands and Blues progress into Buzzards half before they knock on in the tackle. Buzzards hold their scrum and attack the Blues defence but cannot make much progress going sideways rather than forwards, Blues hold them up in the tackle winning a scrum, Buzzards manage to turn Blues scrum through 90 giving them the put in. Buzzards win their scrum and their forwards pick and drive making progress they eventually after several phases get up to Blues 22 but cannot break through the Blues defence, the final whistle comes when Buzzards lose the ball into touch whilst trying to end the game by scoring a consolation try

A great result for this Blues squad who are now 3rd in the table a point in front of 4th Witney and only 2 pts behind 2nd Salisbury

Backs MOM goes to Josh Bartlett who had a great game at 12, scoring 3 tries and tackling above his weight
Forwards MOM goes to Ryan Davis who had a great all round game and scored a great solo try covering 65+ m (up the slope)

Big thanks to the many fantastic Blues supporters who travelled to Leighton Buzzard to support the Blues, including Yuri Pasea (Prianto) Blues shirt sponsors, see attached photo

David Smiths after match quiz question. Think the last time Blues scored 50+ points winning away from home was 7th November 2009 when they won at Manchester 59-0

Squad
Ben Hicks, Rob Drysdale, George Robinson-Slater, Ben O’Shea, Kyle Doel,
Josh Winfield, Ryan Davis, Matt Horne, Joe Pigott, Andy Herriott,
Steve Denner, Josh Bartlett, Dan Thorne, Mike Walker, Toby Thorne,
Tom Sanders, Jack Walsh, Jamie Futcher.

Well done to the Stags who had another great win beating Buckingham II 13-12 at Buckingham. Buckingham have been a form team over the last few weeks and are challenging for 2nd place in the league so going to their ground and winning is a good result
Scorers for the Stags were,
Tries – Dylan Stewart, Nigel Swann
Penalty – Will Carlisle