Newbury Blues
Matches
Sat 15 Dec 2018  ·  Wadworth 6X South West 1 East
Swindon
5
41
Newbury Rugby Football Club
Newbury Blues
Tries: A MILLAR (2), M Hayman, K Ford (2), T Hunt, J BARTLETTConversions: D THORNE (3)
Blues march on

Blues march on

mick futcher16 Dec 2018 - 21:03
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Newbury Blues end 2018 and start the second half of the season with a good bonus point win over Swindon, the game played in artic conditions

SWINDON 05 v 41 NEWBURY BLUES

Blues march on
Saturday 15th Dec 2018, 2-15 pm KO South West 1 East

Newbury Blues end 2018 and start the second half of the season with a good bonus point win over Swindon, the game played in artic conditions

Blues make 2 changes to the squad who beat Salisbury last week, and travel to Swindon knowing it will not be an easy game as Swindon have won their last two games and the weather forecast is bleak

Blues kick off with a strong wet crosswind in their backs, Blues chase is good and Swindon knock on giving Blues a scrum, Blues pack shove Swindon backwards and Blues are off in attack, the ball is spread wide then back, Blues get a scrum when they are held up over the line, Blues scrum again shove Swindon backwards allowing Alex Millar to pick up at the base and crash over, Dan Thorne converts, 0-7 3 mins

Swindon’s kick is straight out so back for a Blues scrum on halfway, from the scrum Blues run at Swindon making good ground and winning another scrum at the tackle, scrum won Blues take play across the pitch Kris Ford crashes through several tackles taking play up to the try line before being held, Blues win another penalty which they take quickly and Max Hayman makes the break through to score wide out left, the wind takes the conversion wide 0-12 8 mins

Swindon again kick straight out so back for a Blues scrum, from the scrum Blues run the ball but a knock-on halts their progress, Blues win Swindon’s scrum and attack winning another penalty scrum. Blues pack shove Swindon back and set off on another attack getting into Swindon’s 22 before they cough up possession allowing Swindon to kick clear to touch.
Swindon win a scrum at the lineout and kick clear Blues gather and kick to touch, Swindon win their lineout and kick deep, Blues gather and a neat chip and chase from Toby Thorne forces Swindon to take the ball into touch. Swindon get a scrum at the lineout and they manage to hold possession, Swindon cannot break the Blues defence until they get a penalty which they kick to touch, lineout won their forwards pick and drive but good Blues defence pushes them back, Blues manage to steal the ball but are soon penalised for crossing, Swindon kick to touch in Blues 22.
Blues get a scrum at the lineout and then kick clear, Swindon win their lineout and get a penalty which they kick to touch giving them a 5m lineout, Blues manage to steal the lineout and get a penalty for a high tackle which they kick to touch just in their own half, Blues win their lineout and their forwards maul making good ground and a penalty, Swindon get a yellow. Blues kick to touch giving them an attacking lineout which they win but lose the ball in the tackle Swindon winning a penalty which they kick to touch on half way.
Swindon win their lineout and send a kick bouncing into touch, Blues win their lineout and soon have a penalty which they kick to touch, Blues knock on at the lineout Swindon win the scrum and kick Blues knock on giving Swindon a 5m scrum. Blues steal the scrum and kick clear, Swindon gather and after a couple of phases kick clear, the kick is straight out so back for a Blues scrum. Blues attack from the scrum but the wet ball is spilt forwards, Blues make amends and shove the Swindon scrum off the ball, Blues attack and Kris Ford breaks through the tacklers to score Dan Thorne converts 0-19 35 mins

Blues run the ball then return the kick from Swindon’s restart kick, Swindon gather and kick long, Blues run the ball getting back to halfway before a forward pass halts their progress, Blues shove Swindon’s pack backwards and win another Swindon scrum, Blues set off in attack and after several phases have got into Swindon’s 22, Blues keep the ball live and Alex Millar makes the breakthrough to score the bonus point try the conversion is blown wide, 0-24 half time

Players and spectators run for the changing room and clubhouse to get out of the cold and wet

*************

Swindon kick off the second half, the weather getting worse, freezing cold driving rain, Both sides try the kicking game before Blues change tact and run the ball, Blues spread through hands Alex Millar making a good run, Blues keep the ball live until Kris Ford takes off on one of his destructive runs making 40 m to score under the posts, Dan Thorne converts 0-31 43 mins

Blues knock on from the Swindon restart kick, Swindon win their scrum and soon have a penalty which they kick to touch, lineout won they put the Blues defence under sustained pressure but cannot make the break through, Swindon get another penalty which is kicked to touch, again they attack from the lineout through their forwards and after several phases of their forwards picking and driving they manage to make the breakthrough to score the conversion blown wide, 5-31 50 mins

Josh Bartlett and Ryan Davis on Harvey North and Josh Winfield off

Blues kick off and manage to get hold of the ball getting into Swindon’s 22 before conceding a scrum, Swindon hold their scrum under pressure and kick clear, Blues win their lineout and set off on another attack winning a scrum at the tackle, from the scrum Blues run the ball but cough up possession allowing Swindon to kick clear, Blues gather and set off on another attack but the wet ball is lost forwards.

Harvey North on Kris Ford off 55 mins

Swindon hold their scrum and run Blues manage to rob the ball and take play up to halfway and get a scrum, Blues pack march the scrum forwards before spreading it out to the backs who take play into the Swindon 22, Blues lose the ball allowing Swindon to clear to touch, Blues maul from the lineout but a knock on halts their progress, Swindon hold their scrum and put up a chip kick Blues gather and kick to Swindon’s 22, a good chase is rewarded meaning Blues hold Swindon in their own 22, Swindon get a penalty which they clear to touch, their lineout is not straight so Blues have a scrum, their pack shove Swindon backwards then they release the ball, Josh Bartlett making good ground but a long pass drifts into touch, Swindon win and kick clear, Blues gather and spread play across the pitch but a knock on halts their progress, Swindon have a scrum then a free kick, they run the ball but a good steal by Ryan Davis means Blues can counter attack, a good run from James Macaulay takes play into Swindon’s half, Swindon get their hands on the ball but concede a scrum at the tackle, Blues pack marches forwards before Alex Millar makes a good run then Josh Bartlett gets up to the line before being held, Blues win a penalty which Blues tap quickly and get over the line but knock on, Swindon have a defensive 5m scrum, Blues pack is dominant and shove them backwards allowing Tom Hunt to pick up and dive over the line to score, the conversion is blown wide, 5-36 65 mins

Aaron Johnston on James Macaulay off

Blues gather Swindon’s restart kick, Alex Millar and Ryan Davis making good meters before the ball is spread wide Tom Martin drawing the defenders before slipping a pass to Josh Bartlett who slices through the Swindon defence to score a good team try, 5-41 68 mins

Swindon kick off Blues gather and run but the conditions are playing their part and knock on halts their progress, they win their scrum under pressure and soon have a penalty which they kick to touch deep in Blues half

Josh Winfield on Rob Drysdale off 70 mins

Lineout won Swindon attack and have the better of the remaining minutes but cannot break through the resolute Blues defence, the weather gets worse and the ref blows the final whistle without adding any injury time
Both sets of players dash to the changing rooms and a hot shower, spectators are quickly in the warm of the bar

Credit to both teams for putting on a display of competitive rugby in very bad conditions, thanks to the ref who kept the game flowing in difficult conditions

Newbury Squad
Ben Hicks, Rob Drysdale, James Macaulay, Kyle Doel, Tom Erskine,
Max Hayman, Josh Winfield, Alex Millar
Tom Hunt, Alex Bancroft, Toby Thorne, Kris Ford, Dan Thorne, Harvey North, Tom Martin,
Aaron Johnston, Ryan Davis, Josh Bartlett

A special thanks to Dave for running the line and Jess who fights the weather doing the match videos on match days, much appreciated by players and coaches

A big thanks to the great Blues support who turned out in numbers again to cheer on the Blues on a very wet and cold afternoon, looked like we completely outnumbered the Swindon supporters, much appreciated by the Players and coaches, we wish the fantastic Blues supporters a special Christmas and a very happy new year.
Look forward to seeing you at Monks Lane in the new year

Blues next match is at home against Trowbridge on Jan 5th 3pm KO, lets start 2019 in the same manner as we saw out 2018

Match details

Match date

Sat 15 Dec 2018

Kickoff

14:15

Competition

Wadworth 6X South West 1 East

League position

1
Newbury Blues
13
Swindon
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Player Sponsor - Prianto
Player Sponsor - VOS
Team Sponsor - T  Mather Tree Services
Team Sponsor - Kress
Club Sponsor - Precision Fabrication
Club Sponsor - Dave Shields
Player Sponsor - Kept Assets Limited
Player Sponsor - Swindon Sports Therapy
Player Sponsor - WMJ Consulting
Player Sponsor - MJP THERAPY
Player Sponsor - Vets4Pets