Kesteven vs. Bakewell Mannerians (16/02/2019)

Kesteven claimed their long-awaited first win of 2019 with a bonus-point victory against Derbyshire outfit Bakewell Mannerians. The hosts racked up 6 tries in a close affair at Woodnook, as well as 7 points from the boot of Will Cann. Gavin Purvis ran out as skipper.

With a clear game plan to utilise space out wide, it wasn’t long before K’s raced into an early lead. Smart hands from the back line allowed James Goodrich feed Aaron Whittaker, who rapidly outpaced Bakewell’s back three and dived over into the corner. Kicking into a testing headwind, Will Cann’s opening effort from the tee was just off the mark. Despite the lead, Kesteven lost lock Will Pert to a foot injury, replaced by Rob Cann.

Bakewell appeared to click into gear somewhat and two well-struck penalties from the fly-half gave the away side a slender lead. Both him and Cann traded shots at goal as the Kesteven halfback pulled K’s back in front with a penalty of his own, before the Bakewell playmaker slotted an opportunistic drop-goal to retake the lead.

Patient build up play from the pack after regaining the restart provided the platform for scrum-half Adam Draper to snipe from close range. Cann converted. With half time just moments away, K’s furthered their advantage superbly. The dangerous Aaron Whittaker breached the blue defence once more and found the supporting Harry Cox with a smart inside ball. Cox beat 3 covering defenders with a rapid turn of speed to dot down under the posts. Cann added the extras to take Kesteven into a 13-point lead with the scoreline at 22-9 at halftime.

Just minutes into the 2nd period, a penalty saw Draper take it quick and the ball eventually made it’s way to back rower Dan Turner who crashed his way over for K’s bonus point score. The conversion was just wide, but K’s stretched their lead further. Substitute Rob Cann was forced off with injury and was replaced by Ben Whinney, as Bakewell pulled an unconverted score of their own back after some questionable defence, but K’s replied instantly. A well-executed move involving both forwards and backs lead to Rob Sheardown passing the ball on to Cam Goodrich. In tight space and with the fullback in his way, the flanker marauded his way over to claim Kesteven’s fifth try. Cann’s well-hit shot at goal was just wide.

K’s took their foot off the pedal, granting 2 soft tries to the opposition in increasingly alarming circumstances, closing the gap to just a 6-point margin. Bakewell came close to grabbing a third in quick-succession with a scrum right on the K’s 5-metre line, but Ben Whinney read the backs play to intercept and run the length to further the Kesteven lead. His conversion effort was off target, but K’s now led by 11. A late score from Bakewell had K’s worried, but a good defensive steal from captain Purvis halted the away offensive. The resulting scrum saw Kesteven boot the ball in to touch to claim a much-needed win. Kesteven 37, Bakewell 31.

1. Robert Sheardown
2. Xanti Tito Xipu
3. Gavin Purvis (c)
4. Will Pert
5. Olie Hanson
6. Richard Armstrong
7. Cameron Goodrich
8. Dan Turner

9. Adam John Edward
10. William Cann
11. Henry Parker
12. Ben Betts
13. James Goodrich
14. Harry Cox
15. Aaron Whittaker

16. Rob Cann
17. Ben Whinney
18. Chris Warden