Blues back on track

OXFORD HARLEQUINS 21 v 44 NEWBURY BLUES

Blues back on track

Saturday 3rd Dec 2016, South West 1 East League, 2-15 pm KO

Newbury Blues travelled to Oxford Harelquins and a good second half performance earns them a try bonus point away win

Blues are forced into a few changes due to injuries, Kyle Doel and Rory Jones out after being injured in last weeks game, Toby Pearce also out, Ryan Davis, James Macauley and Alex Millar coming into the squad, meaning Blues now have 3 forwards on the bench

Blues kick the game off, Quins take and immediately win a penalty at the tackle, Blues playing the ball on the floor, Quins kick to touch just in Blues half, Quins win the lineout and their forwards maul into Blues 22, Blues win a penalty which is kicked to touch, lineout won Blues knock on giving Quins a scrum. Quins win their scrum and attack Blues who concede a penalty, Quins kick through the posts, 3-0 3 mins

Blues take the restart kick, Quins gather and run a few phase before kicking back at Blues who gather and run straight back at Quins, Blues win a penalty at the heavy shoulder tackle which is kicked to touch, from the lineout Blues win a penalty which is slotted into touch.
Quins steal the lineout and try running out of defence before kicking into Blues half, Blues run back at Quins but lose the ball in the tackle, Quins forwards run at Blues getting a penalty they play advantage and keep running at Blues defence and get a penalty for a high tackle which is kicked to touch.
Quins win the lineout and kick long into Blues 22, Toby Thorne takes and runs back at Quins the ball is spread through hands Josh Bartlett making good ground before releasing Mike Walker who breaks through several tackles making the 40 plus yards to score under the posts, Nick Wackwitz converting 3-7 10 mins

Quins kick off, Blues take and run getting a scrum when Quins knock on in the tackle, Blues win their scrum and spread the ball wide getting a penalty at the tackle with Quins off their feet, Blues kick to touch on halfway, lineout won Blues attack and get another penalty at the scrum which they tap and go, Blues keep the ball through several phases but are not making much progress instead going sideways and not being able to dominate good Quins defence, eventually Blues make the breakthrough when Mike Walker bounces through a couple of tackles before being stopped, Blues are quickly there and Joe Pigott picks up the ball and sidesteps two defenders to score, the conversion hits the upright 3-12 18 mins

Quins take the restart kick long, Blues return the kick and chase but concede a penalty, Quins kick to touch win the lineout and their forwards maul but infringe giving Blues a penalty which is kicked to touch, Blues lose their lineout but manage to tackle and shove Quins into touch, Blues take a quick lineout and spread the ball across the pitch but cough up the ball in the tackle. Quins run at Blues and win a penalty which is kicked to touch, lineout won Quins win a penalty again kicking to touch, again they get a penalty which is slotted into touch, Quins keep up the pressure and another penalty results in a 5m lineout, their forwards take from the lineout and maul allowing them to cross the line and score wide out on their right a typical forwards try, the conversion hits the uprights 8-12 30 mins

Blues take the restart kick, Quins take and run at Blues but lose the ball in the tackle, Blues return the favour allowing Quins to regain possession, Quins attack and get another penalty which is kicked to touch well in Blues half, their throw at the lineout is crooked giving Blues a scrum, Blues try running but lose the ball in the tackle, Quins attack and get a penalty in front of the posts which they kick 11-12 34 mins

James Macauley on Josh Winfield off

Quins are now putting Blues under pressure and seem to be getting all the decisions, Blues restart kick is straight out giving Quins a scrum on halfway, Quins run the ball from the base of the scrum and get a penalty which is kicked to touch, lineout won Quins forwards maul and get another penalty and Blues get a yellow card. Quins kick to touch, lineout won Quins forwards again maul shoving Blues backwards and crossing the line to score and convert giving them the lead, 18-12 38 mins

Blues kick off Quins catch and run at Blues with the confidence that comes with the lead, Blues defence holds firm and they force the knock on, scrum won Blues spread the ball wide but they knock on. Quins win their scrum and kick, Blues return the kick and a good chase keeps Quins in their own half, Quins under pressure concede a penalty at the tackle Nick Wackwitz kicks and the halftime whistle is blown, 18-15 half time

*****

Quins kick off the second half Ryan Davis takes and sets off on one of his trade mark runs before Blues kick well into Quins territory, Quins gather and their forwards make good ground getting well into Blues half before Blues manage to steal the ball at the ruck and run the ball back into Quins half. Blues are held up in the tackle giving Quins a scrum, Quins kick from the scrum Blues take and run back at Quins, Ryan Davis again making good ground with a charging run, Blues win a penalty at the tackle which they take quickly, Joe Pigott is off with one of his darting runs he releases Mike Walker who draws the defender then releases Toby Thorne who slips a pass to Josh Bartlett and he makes the final yards taking the defender with him to score, Nick Wackwitz converts 18-22 44mins

Quins kick off Blues catch and run straight back at Quins but infringe at the tackle giving Quins a penalty scrum, Quins forwards win the scrum and they make good progress getting up to Blues 22 and win a penalty which is slotted between the posts, 21-22 46 mins

Blues are in front at the restart so back for a Quins scrum on half way, scrum won Quins don’t get far before a knock on halts their progress, Blues run the ball from the scrum but concede a penalty scrum at the tackle, Blues manage to disrupt the scrum and steal possession setting off on another attack getting well into Quins half and winning a penalty which Nick Wackwitz kicks 21-25 49 mins

Alex Millar on Ryan Davis off

Quins kick off and a good chase is rewarded with a penalty which is just short of the posts, Blues touch down and take the 22 drop out, Quins catch and run back at Blues winning another penalty at the tackle which they kick to touch. Quins attack from the lineout but a knock on gives Blues a scrum, Blues run from the scrum Josh Bartlett up the touch line to half way before he is tackled into touch, Quins win the lineout and put the Blues defence under pressure winning a penalty which they kick to touch inside Blues 22.
Lineout won Quins attack but cannot break the Blues defence so change tact and put a chip kick over the Blues defence, Blues manage to get to the ball first and kick clear to touch, Blues win a penalty at the lineout and kick up field and into touch. Quins disrupt the lineout, Blues manage to keep the ball but concede a penalty scrum, Blues make amends and steal the ball at the scrum spreading the ball quickly wide, Jamie Futcher making ground up his touchline, Blues support is quickly at the tackle and the ball is fed back across the pitch Ollie Spanswick, Alex Millar and the forwards making ground. Blues keep up the pressure through several phases of play, eventually the ball is spun quickly wide for Josh Love to round the last defender to score the bonus point try Nick Wackwitz sending one of his low kicks skimming over the crossbar, 21-32 62 mins

Josh Winfield on Jon Bastable off
George Robinson-Slater on Graham Stewart off

Quins take the restart kick, Blues gather and set off from their own 22, Josh Winfield breaking out and making a great run getting over half way before releasing Josh Bartlett who is off up the touchline getting tackled 1m short of the try line, Blues support is there to protect the ball allowing Toby Thorne to pick up the ball and dive over the line to score, the long conversion just wide, 21-37 70 mins

Dylan Stewart off Ryan Davis on

Quins restart, Blues gather and set off on another flowing attack winning a penalty at the tackle thy kick to touch, Blues are now playing the better rugby and from the lineout put Quins under a period of sustained pressure with their forwards Rob Drysdale Ben Hicks making good ground getting up to Quins 22, Quins manage to get their hands on the ball and kick clear, Blues catch and are soon back up to Quins 22 their forwards again pushing Quins backwards with some strong runs. Blues keep up the pressure Ollie Spanswick links with Alex Millar taking play into Quins 22 he releases Toby Thorne who breaks one tackle sidesteps another to score his second under the posts, Nick Wackwitz converts 21-44 76 mins

Quins restart and for the remaining minutes put Blues under pressure twice getting into Blues 22 but they cannot break the defence and when the ball is lost over the touchline just short of the try line the ref blows the whistle for full time

Forwards MOM Ryan Davis
Backs MOM Toby Thorne

Blues Squad
Ben Hicks, Rob Drysdale, Graham Stewart, Jon Bastable, Josh Winfield, Ollie Spanswick
Dylan Stewart, Ryan Davis, Joe Pigott, Nick Wackwitz, Jamie Futcher, Josh Love, Josh Bartlett
Mike Walker, Toby Thorne, George Robinson-Slater, James Macauley, Alex Millar

The results for the teams just beneath Blues in the league went against them as they all lost meaning Blues now sit alone in 3rd place 9 points behind the leaders but 9 points clear of 4th place

A keenly fought good hard game of rugby which was in the balance until the last quarter when Blues took control scoring 19 unanswered points

We wish Oxford Quins all the best for the remainder of the season and hope you get the results to lift you up the table, we look forward to the return match at Monks lane on Saturday 1st April

Thanks to the great Blues support who again far out numbered the home support, see you all on Sat 10th for the home match against Reading where Blues will have great support as the Xmas Lunch is a complete sell out and brings up the half way point of the season. This will be a Berks derby which Reading need to get some Xmas cheer out of as they currently sit bottom of the league