Kesteven 1st XV vs.Nottingham Moderns 1st XV

Saturday 11th October 2014

Midlands League 3 East North

Kesteven 69 Nottingham Moderns 10

The forecast rain showers did not appear and Woodnook was again blest with a fine windless day. Kesteven were looking to get back to winning ways after their defeat by Melton Mowbray 2 weeks ago. The versatile Ken Lines took over from Woolerton in the back row while Lidstone came in on the wing with Taylor moving to centre in place of Will Cann.

Kesteven got off to a great start. Cowley fielded the kick off at pace and set off on a barging run upfield. This set the early tone and within 7 minutes they were in the lead. The forwards won good ball and the backs responded with Olly Wood releasing Taylor on a run to the line from 40 metres out for the opening try. Whittaker was entrusted with the kicking duties but pushed his first effort wide. The second try followed immediately. Turner caught the restart and raced away. He found support from Purvis before Wood was again the provider to send Whittaker in for the try. He added the goal points. This set the tone for the rest of the half as the Kesteven pack dominated all areas which was shown in the next try. Odams showed again how useful a player he is in the loose as he broke clear and sent a lovely pass out to Brad Jepson who simply ran in for the third try.

Moderns had little possession but they were next on the score sheet. The try came from a rare Kesteven error when a chip kick was charged down and picked up in one movement. A neat slip pass sent their fast winger on a clear run to the line for a try. The conversion failed but the visitors were on the scoresheet. That was their only success of the half as K’s tightened their grip on the game. The next score came when Cowley followed up a fine break by Goodrich, broke clear and fed Wood who jinked his way over before Cowley again ran the kick off back. Some intricate slick passing among the forwards saw Turner put Dingley in and just before the break Goodrich turned a seemingly impossible position to advantage and sent Taylor in for his second try. Whittaker had found his range now and converted both these tries with fine kicks. Just before the break Sayle retired and was replaced by last year’s Under 17 Captain Ed Bloodworth making his first team debut after some outstanding performances for the 2nd team. Half time came with Kesteven a comfortable 36 – 5 lead.

The second half continued in a similar vein. Rupert Jordan replaced Faolan Lidstone at the break. A penalty near half way was kicked to the corner leading to a line out some 20 metres out. The growing confidence in the pack saw them take command. Bloodworth won the ball cleanly and the pack drove over from those 20 metres for Turner to emerge with the ball for a real forward try. Whittaker was getting a taste for goal kicking now as he nailed the conversion. Rob Cann came to the back row for Webster before Goodrich got his name on the scoreboard with a fine individual try which owed much to his own strong running. Lidstone returned to the fray at scrum half in place of Dingley and Kesteven threatened to cut loose. Bloodworth made a fine break but his pass to Jordan did not go to hand with the line at his mercy. His try was not longing coming as another fine fluent move saw Jepson appear of his own wing to turn provider. This time Jordan made no mistake touching down on the corner, then K’s ran straight back again and this time Dingley put Taylor out clear for him to run in. Again Whittaker added the extras. Moderns to their credit tried to play open rugby with what little possession they had and this tie they recovered their own restart and were able to set their speedy wing in for his second tray. The home team however reasserted themselves and finished the match off neatly. First Whittaker capped a fine individual display with a trademark try, leaving defenders clutching at thin air as he danced in before Lidstone brought the curtain down on a fine display with a neat scrum half’s try at the post. Whittaker’s conversion brought proceedings to an end with a final score of 69 – 10.

Team was A Whittaker; B Jepson, K Taylor, J Goodrich, F Lidstone; O Wood, J Dingley; S Odams, R Sheardown, G Purvis, M Sayle, J Cowley, K Lines, T Webster, D Turner Reps – E Bloodworth, R Cann, R Jordan