NEWBURY BLUES 23 v 07 LYDNEY
Blues get second league win
Saturday 9th Sept 2017, 3pm KO South West Premier
Newbury Blues welcomed Lydney to Monks Lane and get a hard-fought 4-point win

A minute’s silence is observed for David Doel, Kyle Doel’s granddad, a great Blues supporter who has sadly passed away, he was fondly known by many and will be missed by all

Newbury U8’s are todays ball boys and mascots, they lead the Blues onto the pitch

Newbury Blues manage to earn their second league win but make hard work of it, having the bulk of possession but are unable to turn all their pressure into points, still a great start to this season in a higher league 2 wins from 2 games

Lydney kick off this league match, Blues gather and after a couple of runs kick deep into Lydney territory, Lydney run back at Blues but concede a penalty at the tackle, Blues kick to touch well in Lydney’s half, lineout won Blues are soon in Lydney’s 22 but cannot break down their defence eventually losing the ball allowing Lydney to kick clear. Blues gather and mount another attack getting up to Lydney’s 22 but give away a penalty at the tackle, Lydney clear to touch.
Blues steal the lineout and run at Lydney getting back into their half before conceding a scrum, Lydney’s bigger pack under pressure just hold their scrum, and they clear to touch just in Blues half.
Blues win the lineout and again make good ground with some good running rugby from forwards and backs before they infringe at the tackle and Lydney clear to touch just in Blues half to relieve the pressure.
Lydney win the lineout but a knock on gives Blues a scrum, Blues forwards are dominant at the scrum allowing Blues to spread the ball wide making good progress through Dan Thorne to Josh Love on to Toby Thorne then Jamie Futcher, Blues win a penalty at the tackle and kick to touch.
Lineout won Blues again put pressure on Lydney’s defence who are penned in their own 22 but a mistake cough’s up possession and Lydney kick clear, Blues gather and attack but some poor passing results in a knock on, Blues pack put pressure on the Lydney scrum and a Blues penalty is the result, Richard West slots between the posts, 3-0 16 min’s

Lydney take the restart kick, Blues gather and run the ball back into Lydney’s half before they are tackled into touch, Lydney win their lineout then a penalty, play is held up for Lydney injury 4 mins then they kick to touch. Blues Finn Walsh steals the Lydney lineout and Blues are off again on another running attack getting into Lydney’s 22 winning a penalty wide out which is kicked to touch.
Blues win the 5m lineout and put pressure on Lydney’s try line through several phase’s but are unable to make the breakthrough, a knock on allows Lydney to clear to touch on their own 40m line, Blues win their lineout and set up another attack but again a mistake lets Lydney off the hook and they have a defensive scrum.
Lydney win their scrum and kick clear to touch just outside their 22, Blues lineout is not straight giving Lydney a scrum, from the scrum Lydney run the ball getting up to half way before they are tackled into touch. Blues win the lineout and set off on another attack their forwards making good ground, Lydney infringe at the tackle earning them a yellow card and giving Blues a penalty, Blues kick to touch, lineout won Blues forwards maul and when they stop Joe Pigott gets the ball and is gone up the touchline on the blindside to make the 20 yds to score wide out on the left, the long conversion is just short, 8-0 30 min’s

Lydney take the restart kick, Blues gather and are soon back up to halfway with some good running rugby, Blues win a penalty at the break down which they kick, the kick is just short of the touchline allowing Lydney to run back at Blues and win a penalty which they kick to touch.
Lydney win their lineout and maul into Blues 22 but are held up by the Blues defence giving them a defensive scrum, from the scrum Blues win a penalty which they kick to touch, lineout won Blues put up a high kick which isn’t cleanly gathered but they get their hands on the loose ball and set off on a good attack.
Their 11 Reuben Haile gets around several tackles before chip kicking the Blues defence wide out on their LHS, he gets his hands on the ball and again eludes the Blues defensive tackles to cut into midfield and score a great individual try against the run of play under the posts, the conversion is kicked making the score 8-7 39 min’s

Blues restart kick is returned by Lydney, Blues gather and run the ball getting up to half way before another penalty allows Lydney to kick to touch deep in Blues half, lineout won they put pressure on Blues defence who manage to force them backwards and win a penalty which is kicked to touch and brings the half time whistle
Blues have had by far the better of the first half but one lapse means Lydney score a late try and are now only one point behind.

Time for the coaches to do their work

*******

Blues kick off the second half, Lydney take and return the kick, Blues gather and run back at Lydney but a knock on halts their progress, Lydney win a free kick at the scrum which is put up high and chase, Blues gather and spread the ball wide across the pitch making good ground, the ball is kept live and comes back across the pitch through quick hands, Josh Love making good ground before drawing the defender and slipping a pass to Toby Pearce to cross the line and score the try Richard West converts to extend Blues lead to 15-7 45 mins

Jon Bastable on Rory Jones off

Lydney’s restart kick is returned by Blues, Lydney catch and get back up to half way and win a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch, they win the lineout and run at Blues making good ground, Blues are unlucky when an attempted interception is knocked on and results in a yellow card.
Lydney kick to touch but let Blues off the hook when their throw is not straight, scrum to Blues and a chance to get out of their 22, Blues win the scrum and kick clear to touch, Blues win the lineout and soon have a penalty which Richard West takes and the long attempt is through the posts making the score 18-7 52 mins

Again, Blues return Lydney’s restart kick, Blues chase and get a penalty scrum which they win and run at Lydney before kicking into their half, Lydney gather and put several phases of play together getting up to Blues 22 before they put up a little chip kick and chase, Blues get to the ball first and clear to touch

Conor Segre on Toby Pearce off 58 mins

Lydney win the lineout and run at Blues who force the mistake giving them a scrum, Blues win their scrum and kick into Lydney’s half, they gather and run but are tackled into touch, Blues win the lineout but don’t get far before the mistake comes when they knock on

Rory Jones on Josh Winfield off 61 mins

Lydney win their scrum and run the ball before kicking over the Blues defence, Blues gather and return a long kick which is to strong and bounces over the dead ball line, so play back for a Lydney scrum, Lydney win the scrum then a penalty at the tackle which they kick to touch in Blues 22.
Lydney are now more in this game and their forwards set up a maul from the lineout, their progress is stopped so they spread the ball wide through hands right across the pitch, the Blues defence holds out and Lydney resort to a chip kick which is too deep and Conor Segre marks, he kicks well to touch.
Lydney win the lineout and set off on another attack making good ground and taking play right across the pitch then back, the Blues defence remains strong and they steal the ball when Finn Walsh hacks a loose ball up field and a good chase forces Lydney to hurriedly kick to touch.

Ben Hicks off, George Cotterell on 68 mins

Blues win their lineout and set off on another running attack Toby Thorne making good yards onto Jamie Futcher and into Lydney’s 22, the ball is kept live and is back through hands Jon Bastable makes a charging run before releasing Rory Jones then Finn Walsh who is over the line but held up Blues have a 5m scrum.
Blues win the scrum and again get up to the line on several occasions but cannot get the ball down so again they have a 5m scrum. From this scrum Blues forwards put Lydney under severe pressure, Rory Jones and Finn Walsh nearly there but held out, the ball is kept live and eventually it is fed back to James Macauley who charges over out wide to score a great forwards made try 23-7 74 mins

Lydney manage to regain possession from their restart kick and run then kick the ball across the pitch and manage to win a penalty which is kicked to touch, lineout won they put several phases of attacking play together getting up to Blues try line, a knock on halts their progress, Blues win the 5m scrum and clear to touch. Lydney win the lineout and again attack Blues spreading the ball wide across the pitch then back but again a knock on stops their progress.

Kyle Doel off Josh Winfield on 77 mins

Blues win the scrum and put a big kick down the pitch and chase, Lydney gather and try running the ball but spill it at the tackle allowing Blues to hack it up field and into touch, Lydney win the lineout and kick clear, Blues set off on another attack and win a penalty at the tackle which they quickly tap and go before a grubber kick is sent into touch well in Lydney territory which brings the final whistle

A good hard-fought game in which Lydney defended and kept the Newbury attacking pressure at bay through long periods keeping the score low and stopping Blues getting the try bonus point

Good luck to Lydney for the rest of the season

Blues forwards MOM Finn Walsh
Backs MOM Joe Pigott

Newbury Squad
Ben Hicks, Rob Drysdale, James Macauley, Kyle Doel, Josh Winfield, Finn Walsh, Dylan Stewart,
Rory Jones, Joe Pigott, Richard West, Jamie Futcher, Josh Love, Dan Thorne, Toby Pearce,
Toby Thorne, George Cotterell, Jon Bastable, Conor Segre

Thanks to the great Blues support who turned up in numbers to cheer on this young squad

Next Saturday 16th Blues are away at Berkshire rivals Bracknell who will be going all out to beat the Blues, KO 3pm