Off song Blues win

NEWBURY BLUES 23 v 8 READING

Off song Blues win

Saturday 10th Dec 2016, South West 1 East League, 3-00 pm KO

Newbury Blues welcomed Reading to a wet Monks Lane for this Xmas Berkshire derby, 3rd place against bottom of the league

Blues are forced into one change from last weeks winning squad, Toby Thorne not recovering from a leg injury so Will Carlisle is called up for his Blues debut

Blues are led out on to the pitch by Mascots for the day Newbury RFC U9’s.
There is a minute’s silence for Nigel Beaumont who sadly passed away this week

Blues kick off and a good chase is rewarded when Reading lose the ball in the tackle, Blues attack and are rewarded with a penalty which Nick Wackwitz kicks 3-0 1 min

Reading take the restart kick, Ryan Davis catches and sets off breaking through the tackles before passing to James Macauley who makes good ground getting into Readings half before the ball is spread out through the backs, Blues get into Readings 22 before they lose the ball, Reading try to run out of defence but knock on giving Blues an attacking scrum. Blues win the scrum and put pressure on the Reading defence getting into Readings 22 but again a knock on halts their progress, Blues pack shove Reading backwards and win a penalty which Nick Wackwitz slots between the posts, 6-0 6 min’s

Readings restart kick reaches Joe Pigott who is off on one of his darting runs, he gets back into Readings half before he is stopped, Blues get penalised in the tackle for holding on, Reading tap and go but don’t get far before Blues steal the ball in the tackle and counter attack getting back into Readings half before they lose the ball, Reading try to run but Blues knock on in the tackle, Reading win the scrum but concede possession at the tackle, Blues run the ball getting up to Readings 22 and win a penalty which Nick Wackwitz kicks, 9-0 10 mins

Reading take the restart kick, Blues gather and run at Reading, Blues keep up the pressure through several phase’s, Blues change tact spreading the ball wide before Ryan Davis sets off on one of his runs he passes to Josh Love who pulls the defenders wide before passing to Josh Winfield who steps one defender then makes good metres before releasing Josh Bartlett who has a free run to score close to the posts, Nick Wackwitz converts 16-0 16 min’s

Blues gather Readings kick and kick to touch from just outside their 22, the ball drifts straight out giving Reading a lineout close to Blues 22, Blues seem to lose their way in the game allowing Reading to keep up the pressure in Blues 22, Reading get up to the line but last ditch Blues defence just holds them up Readings 5m scrum. Reading win their scrum and again put the Blues defence under pressure, eventually they make the break through and their 6 scores, the conversion is just wide, 16-5 20 mins

Blues kick off, Reading take and spread the ball wide but cannot make ground so kick to touch still in their own half, Blues win the lineout and the forwards pick and drive making good ground and winning a penalty which is kicked to touch, Blues knock on at the lineout giving Reading a scrum which they win under pressure, their clearing kick is charged down and they hurriedly chase and touch down giving them a 22 drop out. Reading take the kick long, Blues gather and run back into Reading’s half before the slippery ball is knocked on, Reading under pressure just hold their scrum, their forwards pick and drive before after several phases they spread the ball out to their backs, a foot in touch halts their progress. Reading steal the lineout and set up another attack, Blues Dylan Stewart and Jon Bastable manage to usher them into touch just in Blues 22, Blues win the lineout and their forwards maul up fields before they kick into Readings half, a good chase puts Reading under pressure and they are lucky when Blues knock on, Reading win their scrum but don’t get out of their own half before Blues tackle them into touch, Blues win the lineout but don’t get far before they spill the ball, Reading launch and counter attack and win a scrum when Blues knock on in the tackle.
Blues pinch the scrum and spread the ball wide before a grubber kick is sent through the Reading defensive line, Reading gather and clear to touch, Blues win the lineout and again spread the ball wide through their backs but progress ends when the wet ball is spilt forwards

Alex Millar on Dylan Stewart off 35 mins

Reading under pressure front the Blues pack win their scrum and try running at the Blues defence which holds firm and forces Reading backwards to the halfway line, Reading win a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch, Reading win their lineout and run at Blues but are stopped by a great Rob Drysdale tackle, Blues keep their defensive line intact but concede a penalty at the tackle just outside their 22, Reading kick through the posts 16-8 half time
Time for the coaches to get to work and gee their teams up on what they want them to do on this rainy wet Saturday afternoon

******

Reading kick off the second half and keep possession when Blues knock on, scrum won Reading run at the Blues defence before a chip kick is sent over Blues defensive wall, Blues gather but don’t get far before they are shoved into touch.

Josh Bartlett off injured Ben Hicks on 42 mins, reshuffle of the forwards & Alex Millar into centre

Blues win the lineout and run the ball but lose it in the tackle, Reading hack through and chase, Blues gather and get a penalty which is kicked to touch, Reading steal the lineout and attack the Blues defence, Blues manage to steal the ball at the tackle and are further rewarded when they get a penalty, Blues tap and go and get up to Readings 22 but knock on.
Reading win the scrum and kick, Blues catch and run getting a scrum on half way when Reading knock on in the tackle, scrum won Blues try running the ball forwards Graham Stewart, Josh Winfield and Ollie Spanswick making ground but get held then win another penalty which they kick to touch. Blues set up a good drive from the lineout Jon Bastable and Ryan Davis making good ground, the rest of the forwards are there to help and they take play into Readings 22 before the ball is spread wide through the backs then back across the pitch before a knock on halts their progress. Blues force Reading to knock on at the scrum giving them the put in, scrum won Blues forwards pick and drive before the ball is popped out for new centre Alex Millar to break the tackles and score close to the posts, Nick Wackwitz converts, 23-8 51 mins

Readings kick is not 10 so Blues have a scrum on half way, from the scrum Joe Pigott sends a kick well into Readings half and a good chase from Mike Walker and Will Carlisle means they are able to tackle the Reading player into touch, Blues attack from the lineout but good Reading defence forces them backwards, Reading infringe giving Blues a penalty scrum, Blues run the ball Jamie Futcher making ground then Ben Hicks charges through a couple of tackles, Readings defence regroups and force Blues to spill the ball in the tackle and they kick to touch in Blues half.

George Robinson-Slater on Graham Stewart off

Blues win the lineout but spill the ball, Reading attack then kick the ball and get a scrum when a good chase forces Blues under pressure to knock on, Reading run at Blues from the scrum but cant break the Blues defence, play comes back for an earlier penalty which they tap and go, Reading keep hold of the ball for several phase’s until the mistake comes when they knock on in the tackle.
Blues win a penalty at the scrum, which allows them to relieve the pressure and kick to touch.
Reading manage to steal the ball at the lineout and run at Blues but concede a penalty, which Blues kick to touch. Lineout won Blues knock on the wet ball, Reading do the same from their scrum, Blues keep up the pressure on the Reading defence through several phases but again a mistake halts their progress and gives Reading a penalty and a chance to kick to touch in Blues half.

Reading win the lineout then get a cheap penalty which allows them to kick to touch in Blues 22, lineout won their forwards maul but a knock on gives Blues a defensive scrum, Reading manage to turn over possession and stop Blues making to much ground and are rewarded with another penalty which they kick to touch, their forwards attack from the lineout with a series of pick and drives getting into Blues 22 wide out on their right and win another soft penalty which they kick to touch.
Reading are now playing the better rugby and keep Blues penned into their own 22 through several phases, Readings forwards maul from the lineout getting over the line but Blues defence manage to hold them up, Reading win the 5m scrum and try attacking across the pitch, Blues hold them out and manage to disrupt play when Ryan Davis gets straight through the middle and gets his hands on the ball, Reading take exception and a punch results in a red card for the Reading player.
Blues are able to relieve the pressure and kick to touch

Ryan Davis off Dylan Stewart on 75 mins

Blues win the lineout and try to kick but it is charged down, Blues regroup but a knock on gives Reading a scrum in Blues 22, the last few minutes are spent in Blues half with mistakes aplenty from both sides in the wet conditions, a knock on by Reading brings the full time whistle

Blues get the four point victory over a determined Reading side whose performance belies their position in the league, if they continue to play like this they stand a good chance of getting out of the relegation places. Blues can take heart that a below par performance still resulted in a win and 4 points from a Berkshire derby in the rain and bringing up the half way point of the season

Forwards MOM goes to 2nd row Jon Bastable
Backs MOM goes to fullback Will Carlisle on his first team debut

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

Thanks to the great Blues support probably the biggest crowd of the season, many who had enjoyed a great sold out Christmas lunch

Blues remain in 3rd place 9 points behind the top 2 but now 12 points ahead of 4th place, the results on Saturday mean the middle of the table 4th place to 9th place are only separated by 3 points

Next Saturday Blues start the second half of the season away at Royal Wootton Bassett hoping to avenge the narrow 1 point defeat they suffered at home in the second game of the season.