Blues unluckily relegated

NEWTON ABBOT 27 v 48 NEWBURY BLUES

Blues unluckily relegated

Saturday 28th April 2018, 2-30 pm KO South West Premier

Newbury Blues go down with a fight beating Newton Abbot but then hear Exmouth have turned the leagues form book upside down yet again beating Camborne 59-19

Blues are forced to make a late change to the squad for the long trip to Newton Abbot, Richard West in for Ollie Milner, Blues produce a great performance to end the season scoring 8 try’s and getting the bonus point but as in previous weeks the other results go against the form book and Blues !!, meaning sadly Blues are relegated after winning the same number of matches 13 as the 3rd placed team and more than several above them, Blues haul of 12 bonus points being one of the lowest. Blues haul of 64 points a record for a team being relegated, Blues defence being one of the meanest in the league conceding the second lowest number of points, its been one of the most competitive league’s ever at this level and sadly Blues became the victims

Newton Abbot kick off the final league match of the 2017/2018 season and manage to get their hands on the bouncing ball making good ground getting into Blues 22, they spread the ball across the pitch and get a penalty when Blues stray offside, Newton Abbot kick to touch for a 5m lineout, Newton Abbot win the lineout and break through the Blues defence to score wide out right, 5-0 2 mins

Blues restart and manage to regather the ball making good ground before a knock-on halts their progress, scrum won Newton Abbot kick clear, Blues return the kick, Newton Abbot gather and put up a high kick and a good chase is rewarded when they get possession and run, Blues defence holds firm and tackle Newton Abbot in to touch. Blues win the lineout and after a few phases put in a neat grubber kick which rolls into touch in Newton Abbots half, Newton Abbot win the lineout but spill the ball, Blues attack and get a penalty which is slotted into touch, lineout won Blues forwards attack, the ball is kept live allowing Josh Winfield to make the break through and score, Richard West converts, 5-7 9 mins

Newton Abbot restart Blues gather and run the ball getting into Newton Abbots half and get a scrum when Newton Abbot knock on in the tackle, scrum won Blues spread the ball out through the backs to Jamie Futcher who makes metre’s, Blues keep the ball live and again spread it quickly through hands out to the right allowing Josh Bartlett to run and break the tackles to score wide out, 5-12 12 mins

Newton Abbot restart and get hold of the bouncing ball, good Blues defence tackles them into touch, lineout won Blues run then a Dan Thorne kick takes play back into Newton Abbots 22, they gather and under pressure they clear to touch still in own 22, Blues win the lineout but concede a penalty for obstruction, Newton Abbot win the scrum and run out of defence into Blues half before a knock on gives Blues a scrum.
Blues win the scrum under pressure and run the ball getting a penalty which they take quickly and run, Newton Abbot get a scrum when Blues knock on, the scrum is reset and Newton Abbot win and run getting into Blues 22 but a knock on gives Blues a defensive scrum. Blues win their scrum and clear to touch still in their own half, Newton Abbot’s long throw is gathered by Dylan Stewart and makes metre’s, Blues win a penalty at the tackle which Richard West slots into touch, lineout won Blues attack through several phases before a neat chip kick is regathered by Cameron Golby Barr who offloads in the tackle to Alex Millar who crashes through the tackles to score the conversion is just wide 5-17 26 mins

Newton Abbots restart kick is gathered by Alex Millar who charges upfield, the ball is kept live and spread through the backs, Richard West to Dan Thorne to Josh Love and on to Josh Bartlett, Blues are penalised for crossing, Newton Abbot win the scrum and kick long upfield, Blues gather and again some good attacking rugby takes play up to Newton Abbots 22 before a loose pass is intercepted, Newton Abbot make the break and get into Blues 22 before a great Josh Bartlett tackle halts their progress, Blues infringe at the tackle Newton Abbot kick into touch win the lineout and break through to score through Steve Avery, conversion is kicked 10-17 32 mins

Rory Jones on Dylan Stewart off

Blues restart and get hands to the ball but knock on, Newton Abbot win their scrum and a free kick which they kick deep into Blues 222, Blues run out of defence then kick into Newton Abbots half they run the ball but are tackled into touch, injury time out, Blues win the lineout and spread the ball wide, a forward pass gives Newton Abbot a scrum on half way, Newton Abbot attack from the scrum taking play deep into Blues 22, Josh Love intercepts the pass and gets well into Newton Abbots half before he is closed down he loops a pass to Dan Thorne who out runs the defenders to make 40 metre’s to score a great break away bonus point try under the posts Richard West adds the conversion 10-24 37 mins

Blues return the Newton Abbot restart kick they return with a high kick Blues gather and clear to touch on Newton Abbots 30 m line, Newton Abbot win their lineout and run the ball but lose possession at the tackle, Blues attack before a grubber kick is put through by Joe Pigott and he chases, Newton Abbot under pressure kick behind the dead ball line, they take the 22 drop out, Adam Neal gathers and makes good metres before off loading to Kyle Doel who keeps the move going he offloads to Alex Millar who crashes over to score the conversion is just wide 10-29 half time

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Blues kick off the second half and get hold of the ball and set off in attack, good Newton Abbot defence push Blues backwards, Blues win a penalty which is kicked to touch, lineout won Blues attack one of Alex Millar’s trademark runs takes play up to Newton Abbots 22, he offloads in the tackle to Rory Jones who side steps the Newton Abbot defence to score under the posts Richard West adds the conversion, 10-36 43 mins

Blues gather the Newton Abbot restart kick and kick into Newton Abbots half, Blues chase but are penalised at the tackle, Newton Abbot kick to touch win the lineout and break through the Blues tackles getting into Blues 22 before they spread the ball wide to score a well worked try, 15-36 46 mins

Blues restart and immediately concede a penalty which Newton Abbot kick to touch, again they win the lineout a quickly spread the ball wide to score another try 20-36 48 mins

Newton Abbot now have their tails up and Blues need to settle and regain the upper hand, Blues restart and get their hands to the ball but cannot keep hold of it allowing Newton Abbot to kick up field, Blues run out of their half making good progress before they knock on, Newton Abbot win the scrum and attack before kicking deep into Blues half. Blues gather and clear to touch, Newton Abbot win the lineout and set off on another attack getting back into Blues half before losing the ball, Blues send a good grubber kick bouncing into touch.
Newton Abbot win the lineout and run the ball before kicking deep Blues gather and run back at Newton Abbot but concede a penalty scrum, Newton Abbot win the scrum and run at the Blues defence but lose the ball allowing Blues to spread the ball out through the backs to winger Jamie Futcher to run the touch line and score wide out on the left, the long conversion just wide, 20-41 55 mins

Newton Abbot kick off Blues return the kick which Newton Abbot gather and set of in attack Blues manage to steal the ball in the tackle and clear to touch, lineout won Newton Abbot spread the ball across the pitch but Blues defence forces them into touch.

Rory Jones off Duncan Craigen on 60 mins

Blues win the lineout and clear up field, Newton Abbot attack getting into Blues half before play is halted for an injury

Ben Hicks off Graham Stewart on 62 mins

Newton Abbot have the scrum then win a penalty which Josh Bartlett keeps in play, Blues hold the ball before kicking up field, Newton Abbot run back at Blues taking play across the pitch before they lose the ball, Blues attack through several phases before Duncan Craigen takes the tackle and off loads to Joe Pigott to score under the posts, Richard West converts, 20-48 68 mins

After another injury time out Newton Abbot take the restart kick Blues gather but knock on, Newton Abbot attack from the scrum, handbags erupt so the ref talks to both captains and play restarts with a Newton Abbot scrum, they win a penalty scrum and set off in attack getting into Blues 22 before knocking on.

Adam Neal off Rory Jones on

Blues win the scrum and Alex Millar is off up the blindside getting into Blues half, Blues knock on in the tackle, Newton Abbot win the scrum and a good attack takes play into Blues 22 where they win a penalty and Blues get a yellow card, Newton take a tap penalty and spread the ball wide to score wide out, the conversion is kicked 27-48 78 mins

Dylan Stewart on Kyle Doel off

Blues kick off Newton Abbot run the ball but lose possession allowing Blues to attack getting into Newton Abbots 22 where they win a penalty and the final whistle is blown

A great win for the Blues but the bad news filters through that Exmouth have well beaten Camborne meaning Blues are relegated, a bittersweet end to a great match

No MOM just squad of the day all contributed to a great Blues win

Newbury Squad
Ben Hicks, Rob Drysdale, James Macauley, Kyle Doel, Adam Neal, Josh Winfield
Dylan Stewart, Alex Millar, Joe Pigott, Richard West, Cameron Golby Barr, Josh Love,
Dan Thorne, Jamie Futcher, Josh Bartlett, Graham Stewart, Duncan Craigen, Rory Jones

Special thanks to Head Coach Lee Goodall and Manager Bob Ward who have stood down after 5 or so years of great service to this Blues squad, we all wish you the best for the future and hope to see you at the club supporting the Blues next season

Also many thanks to the loyal Blues supporters who have made the long journeys to cheer on the Blues, always seeming to outnumber the opposition support, I know the Coaches and Players value your dedicated support, hope to see you next season