Tupton vs. Kesteven (01/12/2018)

Kesteven came from behind to record a hard-fought away win at Derbyshire side Tupton. A score from fly-half Dan Turner and a brace from flanker Harvey Fuller secured the win in wet and muddy conditions, taking K’s above Rolls Royce to 6th in the table. Gavin Purvis captained the side.

Despite the wind and the slight hill being in Kesteven’s favour, the home side were the quickest out the blocks. Claiming early territory and the vast majority of possession, Tupton made consistent inroads into the black defence. At scrum time, the home pack had clear dominance, pushing K’s back on both their own and opposition scrums. But Kesteven held the line and kept Tupton at bay until midway through the half, as the forwards crashed over for the first score. The conversion was off target, showing kicking conditions would be tough.

K’s needed a reaction. A strong run from Ben Betts preceded a sharp offload into the path of James Goodrich, who made good yards deep into the Tupton half. The carried hard and this opened the spaces for Dan Turner to burst through the widening gaps in the blue and yellow defence to cross over. Ben Whinney’s first shot at goal went just wide, but K’s were undoubtedly in the ascendancy.

As half time drew closer, both sides were taking their fair share of injuries. Betts went off with a knock to the leg and was followed by winger Jack Palin with a shoulder problem. On came Ian Charles and Harvey Fuller to replace the injured duo. Despite the injuries, K’s pushed on and grabbed a second score after quick hands out wide saw Fuller crash over into the corner. Whinney’s shot at goal was short. Just afterwards, Cam Goodrich took a knock and Rob Windsor came on in his place. A short while afterwards, Whinney missed a penalty from just inside halfway, however K’s moved back into the 22. A lineout close to the corner gave K’s the chance to move outside a converted score, but Tupton disrupted play well to bring the first half to an end.

The second period was played in similar fashion to the first, and K’s saw more possession. Yet more forward carrying notably from Captain Purvis and Rob Sheardown put Kesteven in a threatening position. A break down the short side from Turner and Goodrich left Fuller just one metre to gather the ball and dot down for his second. Whinney landed his first shot at the posts and K’s moved 12 points clear.

Tupton swiftly hit back, grabbing an unconverted try of their own, but a penalty from close range saw K’s lead move back into double figures at 10-20. The home side’s big pack took the side over for their third score of the day, but their indiscipline in defence cost them dear. A third successful kick off the tee from Whinney took Kesteven into an 8 point lead with only 5 minutes to go. Solid defence stemmed the brutal Tupton forward charge, and with the clock in the red, the ball was knocked on and booted into touch. Tupton 15, Kesteven 23.

Kesteven 1st XV

1. Sam Stedman
2. Xanti Xipu
3. Gavin Purvis
4. Robert Sheardown
5. Will Pert
6. Leo Vincent
7. Richard Armstrong
8. Cameron Goodrich

9. Ben Whinney
10. Dan Turner
11. Oli Hughes
12. James Goodrich
13. Ben Betts
14. Jack Palin
15. Aaron Whittaker

16. Harvey Fuller
17. Rob Windsor
18. Ian Charles