Blues just edged out at Towcestrians

Towcestrians kick off and immediately put Newbury under pressure when their winger catches the clearance kick and waltz’s through the Newbury defence winning a penalty right in front of the posts 3-0, 1 min
From the kick off Tows steal the ball and again their backs tear through poor Blues tackling to make good ground before knocking on, Tows win the scrum against the head but knock on, again they, win the scrum and attack through their backs who kick over the Blues defence and chase, fullback Tom BASS winning the race and touching down in the in goal area. From the 22 drop out Tows mount another attack but concede a penalty which Richard WEST kicks to touch, lineout won Blues try to push forward but give up ground when the attacking kick goes directly into touch. Blues manage to steal the lineout and George ROBINSON SLATER rumbles up field before the ball is passed back to Richard WEST to slot into touch in Tows 22, Tows win the lineout and manage to clear their lines with a kick into touch, Blues infringe at the lineout allowing Tows to get into the Newbury half before the ball is stolen and George ROBINSON SLATER sets off again closely followed by his support, the ball is fed back to Toby SEWARD who kicks into the Tows half and a great chase by Mark SPALTON allows him to gather the ball and attack the Tows full back who saves the day with a great tackle which forces a knock on. Tows win the scrum and run at the Blues defence making good yards and force a penalty, Tows take a quick tap and go and spread the ball quickly through the hands of their backs to score wide out on their right, 8-0, 14 min’s
From the kick off Tows win a scrum in their own half, Tows set their forwards off and a short passing phase makes good yards as the forwards brush off some high and poor Blues tackling, this momentum is halted when Tows knock on. Blues win the scrum and kick through into Tows half, Tows gather and attack the Blues defence making good ground before winning a kickable penalty 11-0, 20 min’s
Tows attack from the kick off and again cut through the Newbury defence only being halted by a foot in touch well in Blues half, Blues win a penalty at the lineout and clear their lines. Ben HICKS makes good ground from the Blues lineout and the forwards pick and go Jack WALSH and Finn WALSH forcing Tows back and winning the penalty, Richard WEST takes the penalty from around 45 yards out narrowly missing. Tows clearing kick is charged down and Newbury win a penalty, Blues attacking play force’s another penalty which Richard WEST kicks 11-3, 28 min’s
Tows attack form the restart and are only halted from scoring by a big tackle from Matt CHILDS which leaves him dazed and taken off the field being replaced by Jack CRAWFORD. Play restarts with a Tows scrum on the Blues 5 m line, Newbury infringe at this scrum so Tows start again with a second scrum, this time Newbury win the pen and clear up field and into touch. The Blues forwards drive forward with Graham STEWART, Jamie BULL and Alex MILLAR making good yards before Dan THORNE puts up a high kick which Tows knock on, Tows win back possession when they are awarded a free kick from the scrum. The half ends with Tows camped in Blues 22 only good defence prevents them from adding to their point’s total

Newbury kick off the second half with the slight wind in their backs which helps the ball into touch, Blues steal the lineout and Alex MILLAR makes good yards, Blues feed the ball back through several hands before Richard WEST draws the tackle and manages to slide a pass out to Jack CRAWFORD who steps and dummies to open the Tows defence allowing him to make the final 25 yards and score under the posts, Richard WEST adding the conversion 11-10, 43 min’s
Tows win the ball back from the kick off but don’t keep the ball for long before knocking on, Tows steal the scrum but again knock on, Tows have the upper hand at the scrum and again win the ball, Tows number 8 picks up and crashes through the Blues tackles to make a good 20 yards to score, conversion successful 18-10, 46 min’s
Paul SAYERS replaces Alex MILLAR who has a damaged thumb
Newbury restart and force Tows into touch, Blues throw not straight so Tows regain possession then a penalty, they tap and go and get a second penalty as the Blues and not retreated 10 yards, Tows kick to touch in the Blues half. Newbury steal the lineout and Richard WEST puts a good kick into touch back in Tows half, Tows steal the lineout and attack through their forwards then put a kick deep into Blues territory where they force the Blues defence to concede a penalty which they kick into touch. This time the Blues manage to steal the ball and feed it out to Richard West who kicks long back into Tows half, Tows kick is taken by Mark SPALTON who runs at the defence and chips the ball over but the Tows fullback gets there in time and kicks back in to Blues half, Dan THORNE and Steve DENNER make good yards and get well into Tows half closely followed by the forwards in support who Force Tows to concede a penalty, Richard WEST kicks making the score 18-13, 58 min’s
Tows take the restart and manage to keep possession, try the grubber kick but fullback Tom BASS gathers and kicks to touch. The next few minutes is spent with both teams trying to break the defences but mistakes cost them possession and territory, neither side manage to put many phases together and play swaps from side to side with both sides kicking and trying to force an error. From a Tows lineout Blues steal the ball and a good run from Matt MAHER sets up an attacking position and Blues win a penalty. Jack MUGGRIDGE comes on for Jack CRAWFORD who hurt is shoulder, Matt MAHER moves into the forwards. Newbury kick to touch in Tows 22 but lose the lineout allowing Tows to kick out of defence, the kick does not reach touch and Newbury run back at the Tows defence through the backs the ball is kept live and Matt MAHER makes good ground and wins a penalty which Richard WEST kicks 18-16, 72 mins
Newbury seem to have the better of the play now and put Tows under pressure but mistakes cost them possession allowing Tows to clear their lines. Neither side manage to put many phases of play together before making a mistake, the frustration becomes evident with tempers boiling over. Both sides calm down and Newbury again attack the Tows line but after several phases spent in the Tows half a knock on hands over possession to Tows. The last few minutes of a very long half is spent with Tows camped in the Blues 22 but they are unable to break down great Newbury defence. Alex MILLAR comes back on for Mark SPALTON who has a broken little finger. The fulltime whistle is blown when the Tows fullback kicks into touch

A good result for Newbury who were missing a few players and managed to claim the losing bonus point

Nice to see so many travelling Blues supporters

Sad to see a couple of players get injuries that will keep them out for a few weeks

Squad;
Ben HICKS, Graham STEWART (c), George ROBINSON SLATER, Jamie BULL,
Matt CHILDS, Finn WALSH, Jack WALSH, Alex MILLAR,
Toby SEWARD, Richard WEST, Steve DENNER, Matt MAHER, Dan THORNE,
Mark SPALTON, Tom BASS.
Paul SAYERS, Jack CRAWFORD, Jack MUGGRIDGE
Head Coach; Lee GOODALL