Newbury Blues
Matches
Sat 13 Feb 2016  ·  South West 1 East
Newbury Rugby Football Club
Newbury Blues
Tries: J WINFIELD, D THORNE, M HorneConversions: D THORNE (2)Penalties: D THORNE (2)
25
17
Witney
Blues remain undefeated in 2016

Blues remain undefeated in 2016

mick futcher15 Feb 2016 - 09:50
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Newbury Blues beat Witney with a deserved victory in a hard fought game to make it 6 wins from 6 games in 2016

NEWBURY BLUES 25 v 17 WITNEY

Blues remain undefeated in 2016

Saturday 13th February 2016, South West 1 East League, 3-00 KO

Newbury Blues beat Witney with a deserved victory in a hard fought game to make it 6 wins from 6 games in 2016

Well done to Rob Drysdale who made his 100th league appearance for Newbury in this game and Steve Denner who reached his 50th appearance.

The Blues team has to make one enforced change from their last game, Mike Walker not available so Josh Love back from injury comes on to the bench. The game has to move up to pitch 4 and an early kick off due to pitch 1 being waterlogged, this game lived up to the league positions 3rd v 4th a very hard fought game with both sides playing some good rugby on a wet pitch, luckily the heavy rain held off during the match

Newbury kick the match off, Witney take and return the kick into Blues half, Newbury take and run back into Witney’s half before they concede a penalty, Witney kick to touch, win their lineout and attack the Blues defence winning another penalty. This time the kick fails to make touch allowing Blues to gather and kick back just into Witney territory who gather and kick into touch on Blues 22, Blues win their lineout and run out of defence the backs making good ground before a neat chip over Witney’s defence forces them back, Steve Denner is quickly there forcing Witney to clear to touch just outside their 22. Blues win their lineout and get up to Witney’s 22, Blues keep up the pressure and are rewarded with a penalty in front of the posts, Dan Thorne kicks the penalty, 3-0, 6 min’s

Witney kick off and win a scrum, from the scrum Witney send a grubber kick through the Blues defensive line and into touch, Blues win the lineout and kick out of defence, Witney catch and run the ball but don’t get to far before they lose possession, Blues run the ball through several phases before a knock on halts their progress just in their own half.
Witney win their scrum and their forwards attack the Blues defence through several phases getting into Blues 22 and win a penalty, Witney kick to touch and from the lineout win a penalty, they play advantage and a cross-field kick results in them winning the race to touch down wide out on the right the conversion sails wide, 3-5, 14 min’s

Blues take the restart kick, Witney catch and attack the Blues defence but lose the ball, Blues make good ground through Ben O’Shea and Matt Horne getting up to Witney’s 22 and win a penalty, Blues tap and go getting into Witney’s 22 but lose possession allowing Witney to clear to touch. Blues win their lineout but don’t get far before they are turned over at the tackle allowing Witney to run out of defence and win a penalty which they kick to touch, lineout won Witney attack the Blues through several phases getting up to the try line but good Blues defence holds them up giving Blues a 5m defensive scrum. Blues win their scrum and kick to touch, Witney win the lineout and again attack the Blues winning a penalty just outside Blues 22, the kick sails just past the posts on 26 mins and Blues touch it down.
Blues take the 22-drop out, Witney catch and chip the ball over the Blues defence but a knock on gives Blues a scrum.
Scrum won Blues run the ball both forwards and backs making good ground through several phases before Witney’s defence under pressure concede a penalty, Blues kick to touch on Witney’s 22, lineout won Blues attck Witney’s defence and after several phases try a drop goal from Andy Herriot which is just wide. Witney take the 22-drop out kick, Blues take and return the kick, Witney take and run the ball but don’t get far before Blues steal. Blues forwards pick and drive making good ground before a kick is put over the Witney defence, again a good Blues chase is rewarded when Jamie Futcher forces the Witney defender into touch well in their 22.
Blues win the lineout and their forwards make good progress getting up to the try line but cannot quite drive over, Blues keep possession and their forwards keep up the pressure picking and driving Ben Hicks, George Robinson-Slater, Rob Drysdale Kyle Doel and Ryan Davis, battering the Witney defence through several phases’ on their try line before Josh Winfield crashes over to score wide out on the right, bit of a scuffle breaks out, Dan Thorne slots the long conversion through the posts, 10-5, 36 mins

Witney take the restart kick and manage to re-gather the ball and put pressure on the Blues defence making good progress getting up to the line but cannot break through to score, Witney try another tact and kick across the field but the ball rolls into touch, Blues win their defensive lineout and pass the ball back for Andy Herriott to clear to touch bringing the half time whistle, time for the coaches to work their magic

*****

Witney kick off the second half Blues catch and run before putting a chip kick over the Witney defenders, Witney’s fullback gathers and runs at the Blues but the Blues defence holds firm and they manage to steal the ball, the ball is spread wide by Joe Pigott through the backs allowing Dan Thorne to kick into Witney’s 22, Josh Bartlett is up fast and makes the tackle, Witney under pressure just manage to keep possession and kick to touch. Blues win their lineout and mount another attack winning a penalty which Dan Thorne kicks through the posts, 13-5 43 mins

Tom Sanders on for George Robinson-Slater
Jack Walsh on for Ryan Davis

Witney kick off, Blues take allowing Ben O’Shea to set off on a great run cutting through the Witney defence and making 60 + yards before releasing the Blues backs who are in support, the ball is passed quickly through hands to Dan Thorne to score wide out on the left the long conversion just wide, 18-5, 45 mins

Witney take the restart kick and put Blues under pressure with a good chase, Blues kick to touch, lineout won Witney are awarded a penalty which they kick to touch in Blues 22, lineout won again Witney spread the ball across the pitch but Blues defence holds out and win a penalty scrum, then a penalty which is kicked to touch, Blues win the lineout and spread the ball wide before kicking up field. Witney gather and run before attempting to kick, which is charged down by Blues, and they are first to pick up the loose ball, Blues attack then kick into touch, Witney win the lineout and kick, both sides have several kicks before Newbury’s drifts straight out.

Josh Love on Kyle Doel off

Witney win their lineout and set off in attack but concede a penalty, Blues take quick and run the ball Dan Thorne, Toby Thorne and Josh Love taking play over half way before the ball is lost in the tackle, Witney counter attack getting into Blues 22 winning a penalty and Blues getting a harsh yellow card for going off his feet at the ruck. Witney take a scrum and a big shove pushes Blues pack backwards, the scrum collapses and Witney are given a penalty try straight away, the conversion is kicked 18-12, 58 mins

Blues restart kick is taken by Witney, Blues are quickly up and manage to hold them up giving them a scrum on half way, Blues win the scrum and run up the blindside but get shoved into touch, Blues steal the lineout and kick into Witney’s 22 they gather and kick to touch just in their own half, Blues win their lineout and attack making slow progress, after several phases Witney’s defence concede a penalty just outside their 22 wide out, the long kick is just wide.
Witney kick the 22 drop out long, Blues take and run Josh Winfield making ground and winning a penalty, Andy Herriott kicks to touch, Blues lineout is not straight giving Witney a scrum on their 22

George Robinson-Slater on Rob Drysdale off 69mins

Witney win their scrum and kick out of defence, Blues take and spread the ball quickly Joe Pigott passing out to the backs making good ground, Josh Bartlett chips the last defender and is unlucky not to score when the bounce goes just the wrong way and he knocks on in the try area, Blues steal the scrum and run at the Witney defence spreading the ball quickly across the pitch, Witney in a last attempt to stop Blues scoring deliberately knock on and earn a yellow card. Blues tap and go from 5m out and keep Witney pinned on their own try line, Witney under pressure resort to foul play another scuffle breaks out giving Blues a penalty and their 9 earns a yellow card and strangely Blues get one as well. Blues tap and go the forwards George Robinson-Slater, Tom Sanders, Jack Walsh, picking and driving crabbing across the pitch up to the try line, eventually Matt Horne makes the break through and crashes through to score wide out on the left, Dan Thorne again successful with the long conversion, 25-12 73 min’s

Witney restart, Blues take and kick high but get penalised when they tackle in the air, Witney kick to touch win their lineout and attack the Blues but a knock on halts their progress, Blues play the advantage and kick back into Witney’s half, Witney run the ball and win a penalty which they kick to touch, lineout won they get into Blues 22 and win a 5m scrum. Witney’s pack shove Blues backwards allowing them to get over the try line to score the conversion is wide, 25-17 78 min’s

Newbury take the restart kick Witney take and run the ball across the pitch but knock on in their own half, Blues are shoved off the ball giving Witney a penalty, no time to kick to touch so Witney tap and go and launch one final attack, Blues defence holds out and a loose ball is hacked up fields by Jamie Futcher, both him and Josh Bartlett chase Josh Bartlett kicking then gathering passing to Jamie Futcher but a last gasp tackle halts their progress, Blues support is quickly there but so are the Witney defenders, Blues kick to touch to end this close and hard fought game.

Well done to both teams for a producing a good hard fought close game of rugby in wet conditions

Forwards MOM Ben O’Shea for an all round performance and a great run which ended up with Blues 2nd try

Backs MOM Dan Thorne for a true captain’s performance and scoring 15 points

Thanks again to the great Blues support that turn up in good numbers and cheer this young squad on

Blues next match is away at Berkshire rivals Reading 20th Feb, Reading are fighting relegation so it will be a hard fought derby match

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, Jamie Futcher, Toby Thorne,
Tom Sanders, Josh Love, Jack Walsh.

Newbury Stags put on another great exhibition of running rugby scoring 12 tries in their
68-10 victory over Marlow II

Match details

Match date

Sat 13 Feb 2016

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

South West 1 East
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Player Sponsor - Prianto
Player Sponsor - VOS
Team Sponsor - T  Mather Tree Services
Team Sponsor - Kress
Club Sponsor - Precision Fabrication
Club Sponsor - Dave Shields
Player Sponsor - Kept Assets Limited
Player Sponsor - Swindon Sports Therapy
Player Sponsor - WMJ Consulting
Player Sponsor - MJP THERAPY
Player Sponsor - Vets4Pets