Newbury Blues
Matches
Sat 17 Mar 2018  ·  South West Premier
Newbury Rugby Football Club
Newbury Blues
Tries: A MILLAR, T Pearce, J FUTCHER, J LOVE, K FordConversions: R WEST (2)Penalties: R WEST (2)
42
7
Cleve
Blues beat the snow, cold and Cleve

Blues beat the snow, cold and Cleve

mick futcher18 Mar 2018 - 20:14
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Newbury Blues get a valuable 5 pt. win in the snow up on lucky pitch 4, scoring 6 tries with some good running rugby considering the wintry conditions

NEWBURY BLUES 42 v 07 CLEVE

Blues beat the snow, cold and Cleve

Saturday 17th Mar 2018, 3pm KO South West Premier

Newbury Blues get a valuable 5 pt. win in the snow up on lucky pitch 4, scoring 6 tries with some good running rugby considering the wintry conditions

Blues have to make 4 changes to the squad due to injury and unavailability, Josh Winfield back after injury to earn his 100th cap and Kris ford making his first start, Stephen Ansell back and starts in the second row, Ben Hicks and Kyle Doel also returning to the bench after injury

Blues kick off into the cold snowy wind in front of a good Blues crowd who have braved the weather, Cleve gather and soon kick clear with the strong wind behind them into touch well in Blues 22, Blues win the 5m lineout and try running out of defence before kicking to touch still in their own 22, Cleve win the lineout and put the Blues defence under pressure through several phase’s of play, Blues hold out but concede a penalty which Cleve kick to touch. Cleve’s lineout throw is long and picked up by Blues who try running out of defence before putting up a high kick which Blues manage to regather through Josh Love and win a penalty at the tackle.
Blues tap and go getting out of their 22 but a knock-on halts their progress, injury time out, Cleve win the scrum and run at Blues but a loose pass gives Blues a scrum, Blues run the ball from their scrum good metres made by Alex Millar and Kris Ford, Blues keep the ball through several phase’s before they cough up possession allowing Cleve to kick up field. Blues gather and again some good running rugby takes play deep into Cleve’s half before another knock-on halt’s their progress, Blues manage to steal the ball and Alex Millar charges through the Cleve defence to score a good try, the conversion is just blown wide, 5-0 12 mins

Cleve restart long Blues gather and run before kicking to touch just outside their 22, Cleve hold their lineout and put the Blues defence under pressure taking play across the pitch and back before a chip kick is gathered by Blues and cleared to touch, Cleve win the lineout and then a penalty which they kick to touch just outside Blues 22, lineout won Cleve spread play across the field but are tackled into touch.
Blues knock on at the lineout giving Cleve a scrum, from the scrum Cleve run at Blues and get a scrum when Blues knock on in the tackle, scrum won Cleve put a grubber kick through the Blues defence, Josh Bartlett gathers and runs before kicking, a good chase puts pressure on Cleve and they spill the ball forwards, Blues play the advantage and run at Cleve before sending a grubber kick through Cleves defensive line a good chase is rewarded when Blues win a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch.
Cleve get a scrum from the lineout but a good Blues shove gets them a penalty scrum in Cleves 22, scrum won Blues put pressure on Cleves defence winning another penalty scrum, from the scrum Blues again attack but get pushed back by good Cleve defence, Blues get another scrum when Cleve knock on trying to intercept a Blues pass, Blues win the scrum on Cleves 22, Alex Millar, Kris Ford make good metres before Josh Winfield gets up to the line but is held giving Blues another attacking scrum, Blues win and attack Cleve infringe again giving Blues a penalty try 12-0 33 mins

Cleve take the restart kick, Blues gather and run getting a penalty scrum, from the scrum Blues attack through Alex Millar he releases Toby Pearce who dodges the defenders making 65 metres to score a great try Richard West adds the conversion 19-0 36 mins

Blues are now running from all over the pitch and Alex Millar makes a good run from Cleves restart kick, Dan Thorne keeps the move going and then releases Josh Love, Blues win a penalty scrum at the tackle on Cleves 22, scrum won Blues attack taking play across the pitch before a loose ball is fly hacked up field and into touch in Blues half. Blues win the lineout but some untidy play means they go backwards and knock on, Cleve attack from their scrum but spill the ball, Blues gather the loose ball and a good high kick is gathered by Josh Bartlett, Blues spread the ball wide getting well into Cleves half, Blues get a penalty which is kicked to touch. Cleve steal the lineout and kick clear, Josh Love gathers and a good run takes play back into Cleves 22 and wins a penalty scrum, from the scrum Blues mount another attack but cannot make the break through and a knock on brings half time

++++++++++++

Coaches carry out their half time pep talks in the snow, Cleve kick off the second half and manage to get their hands on the ball but knock on, Blues win the scrum and kick deep into Cleves 22, a good chase is rewarded with Blues winning a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch in Cleves 22, lineout won Blues attack the ball spread through the backs and across the pitch, Cleve infringe giving Blues a penalty which Richard West slots between the posts 22-0 45 mins

Cleve manage to regather their restart kick and run at Blues, but good Blues defence keeps them behind the gain line and pushes them sideways, Cleve win a penalty scrum and attack winning a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch on Blues 22. Blues win a scrum at the lineout then a penalty at the scrum which is cleared to touch just in their own half, Blues throw is not straight giving Cleve a scrum, they then get a penalty which is kicked to touch, Cleve get a scrum at the lineout when Blues knock on

Ben Hicks and Kyle Doel on Stephen Ansell and Graham Stewart off, 52 mins

Cleve just hold their scrum and run at Blues but spill the ball allowing Blues to fly hack up field, Cleve gather and run the ball back getting a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch in Blues half, Cleve attack from their lineout and put pressure on Blues defence taking play into Blues 22, Cleve keep up the pressure through several phases before being tackled into touch, play is brought back for an earlier Cleve penalty, Cleve take the scrum and again put pressure on the Blues defence getting another penalty.

Jamie Futcher, Stephen Ansell on Toby Pearce and Dylan Stewart off 56 mins

Cleve tap and go getting up to the try line but are held out by solid Blues defence, Cleve spill the ball allowing Alex Millar to charge out of defence breaking tackles and getting up to halfway he releases Jamie Futcher who out runs the Cleve defence to make 50 metres and score the bonus point try, the conversion is taken wide by the wind 27-0 59 mins

Cleves restart kick is gathered by Blues and after a couple of phases is kicked to touch in Cleves half, Cleve win the lineout and run the ball but don’t make much ground before an injury time out, Cleve win the scrum restart and spread the ball wide, a loose pass rolls into touch, Blues win the lineout and run but don’t get far before a knock on gives Cleve a scrum.
Cleve win the scrum and take play across the pitch, good Blues defence keeps them behind the gain line and they steal the ball at the tackle but hand it back when a forward pass gives Cleve a scrum, Cleve win the scrum but again cough up possession at the tackle, Blues run at Cleve Ollie Spanswick making good ground then Jamie Futcher carries into Cleves 22, Blues keep the ball live Stephen Ansell is stopped 5m short, Blues recycle the ball and a great cross field kick from Dan Thorne is caught and touched down by Josh Love, the conversion is just wide 32-0 70 mins

Cleve take the restart kick and Blues manage to get hold of the loose ball and kick up field, Cleve gather and clear to touch, Cleve win a scrum at the lineout and run at Blues making good metre’s until they spill the ball, Blues gather an a high kick from Joe Pigott is gathered by Josh Bartlett, Blues recycle the ball quickly and a good Richard West run takes play up to Cleves 22, his efforts are rewarded when his kick rebounds off a Cleve player and back into his arms, he takes the tackle and passes to Kris Ford who cuts a great line to score a good try, Richard West converts 39-0 74 mins

Cleve restart, Blues gather and kick but are offside so back for a Cleve scrum, Cleve attack from the scrum and their best passage of play in the game is rewarded when their 9 breaks tackles and they keep the ball moving to score close to the posts and add the conversion 39-7 76 mins

Blues kick off, Cleve run the ball getting up to half way before conceding a penalty at the tackle and a bit of a scuffle breaks out, the wind keeps Blues penalty in play and Cleve run out of defence but again they infringe at the tackle and start more scuffles, the ref gives Cleve a yellow card and Blues a penalty, Richard West slots the penalty through the posts bringing full time and a good 42-7 victory for the Blues

Blues Backs MOM goes to Richard West for a solid all-round game
Blues Forwards MOM Alex Millar for another dominant display at 8

Newbury Squad
Graham Stewart, Rob Drysdale, James Macauley, Stephen Ansell, Josh Winfield, Dylan Stewart
Ollie Spanswick, Alex Millar, Joe Pigott, Richard West, Toby Pearce, Kris Ford, Dan Thorne
Josh Love, Josh Bartlett, Ben Hicks, Kyle Doel, Jamie Futcher

Thanks to the great Blues support who braved the snow blizzards to cheer on the Blues

Good luck to Cleve for the remainder of the season

Thanks to the ref who managed to keep the game flowing in the snowy conditions

Blues needed this win, other matches produced some surprise results as 4 of the top 5 teams lost to teams beneath them in the league, the league is very tight with only 6 points separating 5th and 11th places

Blues need a good win next weekend when they take on league leaders Dings who surprisingly lost at Camborne today 28-16
COYB

Match details

Match date

Sat 17 Mar 2018

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

South West Premier

League position

6
Cleve
11
Newbury Blues
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Player Sponsor - Prianto
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Player Sponsor - Kept Assets Limited
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