Blues undone by a 15 min spell after half time

EXETER UNI 45 v 29 NEWBURY BLUES

Blues undone by a 15 min spell after half time
Saturday Sept 21st 2019, 2pm KO South West Premier

Blues suffering from injuries and unavailability are forced into making 7 changes including one on Saturday morning

Blues give debut’s to Tom Cole and newcomer Freddie Graham Campbell, with the much-changed side putting in a good performance against a strong Exeter Uni squad

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Blues kick off and get the ball back when Exeter return the kick, Blues win two penalties in a row which takes them into Exeter’s 22, Blues win their lineout and maul but concede a penalty, Exeter’s kick is not in touch allowing Blues to run the ball, they don’t get far before they are penalised for crossing, Exeter’s kick doesn’t find touch, Blues soon have a lineout when Exeter knock the ball into touch, Blues take a quick lineout and clear to touch, from the lineout Exeter’s forwards maul before the ball is spread wide, Blues tackle is high giving Exeter a penalty scrum, Exeter win their scrum and make the breakthrough to score close to the posts, the conversion is kicked 7-0 8 mins

Blues restart and manage to get their hands on the loose ball, Blues try kicking but the ball drifts straight out so back for a Exeter lineout, Exeter attack from the lineout and get a scrum when Blues knock on, a forward pass by Exeter gives Blues a scrum, Blues get a penalty at the scrum which they tap and go, ref rules a forward pass giving Exeter a scrum, Exeter attack from the scrum but lose the ball allowing Blues to kick clear, the kick is semi charged down giving Exeter the ball who again attack putting pressure on the Blues defence in their 22, a forward pass halts their progress.
Blues win their scrum and run out of defence winning a penalty which is kicked to touch, lineout won Blues attack getting another penalty, the kick drifts infield giving possession to Exeter who run back at Blues and get a penalty for a high tackle, they kick to touch lose their lineout allowing Blues to run the ball, this time Blues get a penalty for a high tackle which is kicked to touch.
From the lineout a good Josh Winfield run takes play into Exeter’s 22, the ball is quickly recycled from the tackle, Dan Thorne draws the defender and passes to Harvey North who cuts a great line to score, the conversion drifts wide 7-5 22 mins

Exeter restart and soon have the ball back when Blues cough up possession at the tackle, Exeter look dangerous when they give the ball out to their backs, they concede a penalty scrum at the tackle in Blues 22, the scrum is reset before Blues get a penalty which they tap and go, Blues win another penalty which they take quickly getting into Exeter’s half before a cross field kick is just to long and bounces into touch in Exeter’s 22, Exeter win their lineout but don’t get far before Blues steal possession at the tackle and soon have a penalty which is taken quickly, Blues attack through several phases before Dylan Stewart breaks the tackle to score, the conversion hits the uprights 29 mins 7-10

Exeter take the restart kick and put Blues under pressure, Blues clear to touch, Exeter run the ball from the lineout taking play across the pitch and back getting a penalty scrum in Blues 22, Blues get a yellow card. Scrum won Exeter attack and soon make the break through to score close to the posts, the conversion is good, 14-10 35 mins

Exeter run from Blues restart kick getting into Blues 22 before they concede a penalty at the tackle, Blues kick to touch win the lineout and get another penalty which is kicked to touch, Blues lineout is not straight giving Exeter a scrum, Exeter attack from their scrum taking play across the pitch before conceding a penalty at the tackle, Blues kick to touch in Exeter’s 22, Blues attack from the lineout and get a 5m penalty scrum, Blues soon have another penalty which is kicked to touch. Lineout won Blues attack putting pressure on the Exeter defence getting up to the line winning another 5m penalty scrum and Exeter getting a yellow, Blues win their scrum and again get up to the line getting another 5m penalty scrum, Blues hold their scrum and again take play up to the try line this time the ref gives Exeter a penalty and the half time whistle is blown.

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Dylan Stewart off Alex Millar on

Exeter kick off the second half and manage to get hold of the ball and break through several Blues tackles to score and convert 21-10 41mins

Blues restart and are soon even further behind when Exeter spread the ball wide to run through the Blues defence to score and convert 28-10 43 mins

From the kick off Exeter run at Blues but infringe at the tackle, Blues penalty doesn’t find touch allowing Exeter to mount another attack, this time they kick, Blues gather and run the ball a knock on halts their progress, Exeter win their scrum but lose the ball in the tackle, Blues run the ball across the pitch getting a penalty which is kicked to touch, lineout won Blues take play into Exeter’s 22 winning a penalty scrum, Blues win the scrum but cough up possession, Exeter run the ball and some quick hands means they breakthrough the Blues defence to a try wide out the conversion is just wide, 33-10 50 mins

George Anderson on Ben Hicks off

Blues are now finding it hard to deal with the swift Exeter backs and from the kick off they are soon back in Blues 22 only a great Josh Bartlett tackle halts their progress and gets Blues a penalty.
Blues kick doesn’t find touch allowing Exeter to again run from their own 22 breaking several tackles to score another good try, conversion is wide 38-10 55 mins

Tom Cole on Christopher Bird off

Blues need to regroup after the last 15 minutes which has seen Exeter score 24 unanswered points and the game drift away, from the restart kick good Blues pressure gives them a scrum in Exeter’s 22, Blues scrum has been good all day and again they win their scrum allowing Josh Bartlett to dodge through the Exeter defence to score, the conversion is wide, 38-15 59 mins

Blues need to consolidate and get the bonus point try to get anything out of this game, Exeter kick off and concede another penalty at the tackle, Blues clear to touch, lineout won Blues run the ball Alex Bancroft making good ground Josh Winfield hacks the ball upfield and a good chase forces Exeter to touch down in the try area giving Blues a 5m scrum, from the scrum Alex Millar picks up the ball at the base and is over to score Blues 4th and bonus point try, conversion is kicked by Dan Thorne, 38-22 63 mins

The game is now very open and Blues make good ground from the restart kick before putting a kick deep into Exeter’s half, Exeter gather and run the ball but a forward pass gives Blues a scrum, Blues win the scrum and attack, Blues cough up possession at the tackle and the swift Exeter backs break the Blues defence to score another good try, conversion is kicked 45-22 67 mins

Blues restart kick isn’t 10 so Exeter have a scrum on half way, Exeter win their scrum and attack but concede a penalty at the tackle, Blues long kick doesn’t find touch allowing Exeter to counter attack taking play back into Blues half, Exeter get a penalty which they tap and go getting into Blues 22, Exeter look dangerous every time they run at Blues, ref blows up for crossing allowing Blues to clear the danger. Lineout won Blues put pressure on the Exeter defence getting another penalty and Exeter a yellow card, Blue kick to touch deep in Exeter’s 22, lineout won Blues attack and Josh Winfield breaks through to score Dan Thorne converts making the score 45-29 77 mins

The last couple of minutes are spent in midfield and when Exeter knock on it brings the final whistle

A great open game of rugby, both teams can take some positives from this game, Exeter had a real purple patch after half time scoring 24 unanswered points in 15 minutes which sealed the game for them, their backs being their weapon with swift attacks which will carve open most defences

MOM – Josh Bartlett
DOD -Dan Thorne

Newbury Squad
Ben Hicks, Rob Drysdale, James Macaulay, Adam Neal, Ryan Davis, Dylan Stewart,
Ollie Spanswick, Josh Winfield,
Tom Hunt, Dan Thorne, Freddie Graham Campbell, Christopher Bird, Josh Bartlett,
Harvey North, Alex Bancroft,
George Anderson, Alex Millar, Tom Cole

Blues next fixture is Sat 28th Sept home v top of the table Exmouth 3pm KO

Thanks to the great Blues support who yet again travelled in numbers