Blues win on the road

WITNEY 5 v 17 NEWBURY BLUES

Blues win on the road

Saturday 05th Nov 2016, South West 1 East League, 2-30 pm KO

Newbury Blues travelled to Witney on a cold but dry afternoon and get a hard fought first win at Witney

Blues are forced to make one change to last weeks winning squad Jamie Futcher coming in for the America bound Iain Herriott

Blues travelled to a cold but dry Witney hoping to break the Witney hoodoo having not won there in years, a large contingent of Blues supporters have travelled to cheer on the Blues and seem to easily out number the home support

Witney kick off and manage to keep hold of the ball, they play through several phases but are not able to make much ground so change tact and kick into Blues 22, Blues gather and try running out of defence before a long Blues kick is knocked into touch by a Witney player giving Blues an attacking lineout. Blues win the lineout and spread the ball wide, Mike Walker making good ground and getting up to the line before being stopped, Blues keep the ball live and Rory Jones gets over the line but again Witney manage to hold them up giving Blues an attacking 5m scrum.
Blues win the scrum and again put pressure on Witney's defence, Blues win a penalty but play advantage, Witney manage to halt the attack so the ref brings play back for a Blues penalty scrum, Witney manage to steal the scrum and try running out of defence, Blues defence holds firm and they steal the ball, good attacking rugby takes Blues deep into Witney's half before they steal the ball but get shoved into touch. Blues win the lineout but concede a penalty allowing Witney to clear to touch just outside their 22, Blues steal the lineout and attack through several phases before a neat inside pass releases Toby Thorne to weave his way through several tackles to score close to the posts, strangely after seeming to award the try the ref brings play back for a forward pass which only he has seen??
Witney win their scrum and kick out of defence, Blues gather and run the ball Toby Thorne on to Dylan Stewart then Rory Jones before a knock on brings a Witney scrum, from the scrum Witney kick to try and relieve the pressure but again Blues run straight back at Witney, Nick Wackwitz making ground before passing the ball out to the backs, Blues cough up possession in the tackle allowing Witney to counter attack and get into Blues half before they put up a chip kick into Blues 22, Joe Pigott gathers and kicks to touch.
Witney win their lineout and put the Blues defence under a period of sustained pressure but cannot break through and after several phases camped in the Blues 22 they knock on giving Blues a defensive scrum, Blues clear to touch from the scrum and manage to steal Witney's lineout but get turned over at the tackle. Witney don’t get far before they knock on giving Blues a scrum, from the scrum Blues attack but a knock on gives Witney a scrum on their own 22, Blues pack pinch the scrum allowing Josh Love to make a great run before he releases Joe Pigott who gets over the line to touch down but the ref deems he has knocked on in the act of scoring so a 5m scrum to Witney.
Witney win their scrum and kick to touch, Blues win their lineout and some good attacking rugby puts Witney under pressure and forces them to concede a penalty, Dan Thorne just wide with the long attempt. Witney take the 22 drop out and manage to get their hands on the ball kicking well into Blues half, Blues gather and put up a high kick and chase, Witney gather and get a penalty, the kick is too long and rolls over the try line allowing Blues to touch down for a 22 drop out. Blues take the 22 drop out, Witney catch and attack getting close to Blues 22 but cannot break through the Blues defensive line, good tackling from the forwards Jon Bastable Rob Drysdale, James Macauley, and Dylan Stewart keeping Witney at bay, eventually after several phases they knock on giving Blues a defensive scrum, Blues win their scrum and run out of defence before sending a kick into Witney's half, they counter attack but again the Blues rush defence stops them from making ground, Witney try the kick but it is straight out bringing play back for a Blues lineout.
Blues spin the ball out from the lineout Dan Thorne breaking the tackle and making ground before releasing Josh Love who rounds the defender and makes it to the right hand corner to score Dan Thorne kicking the long conversion 0-7 35 mins
From Witney's restart kick Blues run the ball Josh Love, Josh Bartlett, Josh Winfield and Mike Walker making good ground, Witney manage to steal the ball at the tackle but hand back possession when they knock on, the remainder of the half is spent in mid field with mistakes by both sides meaning play becomes a bit stop start before the whistle brings half time and time for the coaches to do their work.

*****

Blues kick off the second half, the kick doesn't go 10m so back for a Witney scrum on half way, Witney run the ball getting well into Blues half before a knock on gives Blues a scrum, from the scrum Blues try running but lose the ball, Dan Thorne manages to regain possession under pressure from the Witney players, Blues under pressure put up a high kick which Witney under pressure from the Blues chasing players knock on.
Blues win the scrum but this time they knock on giving Witney an attacking scrum on Blues 22, Witney win their scrum and quickly spread the ball across the pitch to their winger who spills the ball when hit with a great Josh Bartlett tackle, Blues get their hands on the loose ball and kick out of defence.
Witney take a quick lineout and put a kick across the pitch which rolls into touch close to Blues 22, Blues under pressure win the lineout and kick clear to touch just in own half, Witney are now playing their best rugby and from their lineout put Blues back under pressure but again the mistake comes allowing Blues to kick clear. Witney take and kick, the ball rolling nicely into touch on Blues 22, Blues win the lineout and set up the maul but don’t get far before it collapse’s and Blues end up getting shoved into touch.
Witney keep up the pressure and from the lineout spread the ball wide through their backs getting up to the 5m line before they make a mistake giving Blues a 5m scrum, Blues kick out of defence but the respite is short-lived when Witney win the lineout and again attack the Blues this time they break through the Blues defence to score the conversion is just wide 5-7 53 min’s

Blues take the restart kick and manage to get their hands on the ball Rory Jones breaking a couple of tackles, Blues get up to Witney's 22 and win a scrum when Witney knock on in the tackle

Dylan Stewart and James Macauley off Ben O'Shea and Graham Stewart on

Blues win the scrum and attack the Witney defence quickly spreading the ball wide, Blues make a mistake and Witney pick up the spilt ball and kick clear, Blues gather and launch another attack playing across the pitch Kyle Doel charging through the tackles and releasing the forwards before they spill the ball in the tackle, play is brought back for an earlier penalty which Dan Thorne slots between the posts, 5-10 57 mins

Blues gather Witney's restart kick and decide to kick, play is brought back as Blues kick is straight out, Witney win their lineout and again attack across the pitch, Blues manage to hold them up in the tackle and win a scrum, from the scrum Blues kick clear, Witney gather and return the kick, Blues gather and run the ball before putting a chip kick over the Witney defence and chase, Blues are just unlucky with the bounce and their grubber kick rolls into touch.
Witney win the lineout and put the Blues defence under pressure through several phases of play, eventually they get penalised at the tackle allowing Blues to kick clear, Witney steal the lineout and launch another attack, this time they win the penalty, their long attempt at the posts is wide on 65 mins.
Blues take the 22 drop out which Witney catch and run straight back at the Blues defence winning a penalty wide out on their right which is chipped into touch, from the lineout Witney attack getting into Blues 22 before they spill the ball allowing Blues to hack up the pitch.
Witney are first there and run back at Blues winning a penalty which they kick into touch giving them a 5m attacking lineout, their forwards maul from the lineout but good Blues defence holds them up and Blues get the scrum

Jamie Futcher on Mike Walker off 69 mins

Blues manage to hold their scrum and kick clear to touch, Blues steal the lineout and their forwards pick and drive, Witney concede a penalty allowing Blues to kick to touch,

Dylan Stewart on Kyle Doel off

Blues win the lineout and set off on another running attack getting into Witney's half with a good run from Toby Thorne onto Jamie Futcher who comes infield and takes the tackle, Blues support players are there to keep the ball alive and release Toby Thorne for another weaving run, Blues are quickly at the tackle and feed the ball back to Dan Thorne who brings the ball back to the left hand side and breaks a tackle before he feeds the ball to Ben Hicks who takes the tackle as he passes to Josh Bartlett, he makes it to the line dragging the tackler with him to reach and score wide out on the left Dan Thorne converts 5-17 78 mins

Witney take the restart kick Rory Jones catches and makes good ground, he releases Dan Thorne who sets the backs off Josh Love onto Josh Bartlett all making good ground with a great running move, Blues are up to the try line but just cannot get over to score, Witney's defence managing to stop them, Blues have a 5m scrum and again get up to the line but are held up, this time the final whistle is blown

Both sides giving their all in a fairly fought low scoring match, Blues getting the 4 pt win and breaking their losing streak at Witneys ground having not won there

Good luck to Witney for the remainder of the season

Blues men of the match after careful consideration as all had played a part was awarded to

Forwards – Josh Winfield
Backs – Toby Thorne

The league results this Saturday mean that the top 3 Maidenhead, Old Patesians and Newbury have opened up an 8 pt gap to 4th place.

Squad
Ben Hicks, Rob Drysdale, James Macauley, Jon Bastable, Kyle Doel, Josh Winfield,
Dylan Stewart, Rory Jones, Joe Pigott, Nick Wackwitz, Toby Thorne, Josh Love,
Dan Thorne, Mike Walker, Josh Bartlett, Graham Stewart, Ben O'Shea, Jamie Futcher,

Next week Sat 12th Nov is an international rest weekend, Blues next league game Sat 19th Nov is a tough away trip to Gloucester side Old Centralians whose home form is much better than they fare on the road having only lost once at home so far this season
League leaders Maidenhead have a tough away game at second placed Old Patesians in a top of the table clash