Match report - 18th Jan 2020

Picture: Lamaar Lawrence on one of his unstoppable charges!

David Daniels
SCRFC 1st XV Team Manager

Match report - 18th Jan 2020

Sutton Coldfield 24pts v Ludlow RFC 21pts

At the start of play last weekend, with 10 games to play to the end of the season and with Sutton languishing second from bottom in a very competitive league of 14 teams, Sutton were now entering a must win phase of their injury hit season. At the start of 2020 Sutton have won 1 game and lost 1, having beaten bottom team Kidderminster convincingly in the opening game they then lost away to high flying, second placed Lichfield in a Friday night fixture and last Saturday Sutton faced a strong Ludlow side, who were promoted at the end of last season and were finding their feet at this level sitting 8th in the league, having beaten Sutton 50-26 in the reverse fixture at Ludlow on 5th Oct 2019.

Throughout the season Sutton have generally played well but failed to get the result their play deserved and they have repeatedly suffered injuries to key players along the way, disrupting their selection and preparation leading to their current dilemma. However, against this backdrop, as Sutton prepared to face a strong Ludlow side, they were buoyed by the return of key players, who had been unavailable through much of the season but had now returned to bolster the pack at their time of need. These players include back row Lamaar Lawrence, who is following a career in the Military but has now made himself available to Sutton again, along with talented Sutton teenager, second row Lewis Belton and powerhouse prop Liam Hills, who has returned to front row duties at his home club giving Sutton probably their most powerful pack of the season and with the established backline bolstered by the return of the centre pairing of Joel James and Paul Spiby with wingmen Chris Duckworth and Sam Grimshaw outside them and the pace and security of George Creed at fullback, the team were all fired up and ready to go and the changes proved decisive as Sutton secured a crucial 24-21 bonus point victory after a highly entertaining contest, enjoyed by all at Sutton.

The game kicked off in bright winter sunshine on a soft but remarkably playable pitch after the recent rains and with the sun behind them Sutton chased their kick off deep into the Ludlow half applying early pressure with strong scrums and secure lineout play, giving the backs a chance to stretch their legs with some good attacking play but the first score came from broken play on the halfway line when Sutton stole the ball to set up a counter attack led by newly returned flanker Lamaar Lawrence, who broke through the Ludlow defence and raced 35 metres fending off defenders to mark his return with a spectacular solo try out towards the right corner flag. The conversion drifted wide but Sutton had taken a deserved 5-0 lead after 9 minutes of play.

Surprised by the strength of the Sutton play the visitors responded positively putting Sutton under pressure and stepping up the intensity in the game, which led to a yellow card and 10 minutes in the sin bin for one unlucky Sutton player, with a penalty and 3 points for Ludlow kicked by fullback Will Sparrow from in front of the Sutton posts closing the score to 5-3 with 18 minutes played.

Boosted by the score Ludlow stepped up their play but the 14 men of Sutton held firm and were unlucky not to add to their own score when they were twice called back for a forward pass after making a clean break first in the Ludlow 22 with a clear run to the try line and then again in their own 22, when a clean break on the left wing meant an 80 metre race to the posts, which was never tested as the players were called back for a scrum to Ludlow in the Sutton 22.

Ironically it was only when Sutton were restored to a full 15 that the visitors managed to breach their defence, when a long clearance kick by Sutton was skilfully brought back in play on the Ludlow left wing around the halfway line and a counterattack setup by the swift Ludlow backs which took play at pace from left to right and a final long pass put right wing Tim Amphlett in for a well worked try in the corner. Fullback Will Sparrow added an excellent touchline conversion to take the visitors into a 10-5 lead with 5 minutes to play to the break.

This time it was Sutton's turn to respond to falling behind in this enthralling contest and this they did in style when stepping up their game they put their opponents under increased pressure and a turn over on the Ludlow 10 metre line gave possession to Sutton setting up left wing Sam Grimshaw, who took the ball on racing down the left touchline on a 40 metre run to score in the left corner, levelling the score at 10-10 on the stroke of halftime in this evenly matched contest.

The difficult conversion was missed but Sutton started the second half on level terms, however this was short lived as Sutton were penalised and yellow carded for a one handed 'interception' attempt in the early exchanges following the restart, giving Will Sparrow a second penalty in the Sutton 22 and Ludlow a 13-10 lead after 2 minutes of play in the second half.

Sutton responded well to the latest setback but the visitors took full advantage of the extra man when they were awarded a scrum following an unintended knock-on by Sutton on the Ludlow left wing and the visitors again ran the ball well traversing from left to right to send winger Jack Lines racing into the right corner for a good try, which went unconverted extending the Ludlow lead to 18-10 with just 7 minutes of the second half played but then 10 minutes later Will Sparrow made amends for the missed conversion when he landed his third penalty of the game this time from 35 metres, when Sutton were penalised for not releasing, to take the lead out to 21-10 with 23 minutes left to play.

With the game in danger of slipping away from them it was time for Sutton to reassert themselves and this they did as they drove play back deep into Ludlow territory following the restart and showing marked consistency the referee penalised and yellow carded a Ludlow defender, who knocked down a Sutton pass in the Ludlow 22 preventing a Sutton try. However, denied the initial chance Sutton recovered the ball from the resulting set-play and drove for the try line...but as the forward drive was held-up short of the line prop Liam Hills showed his athleticism and awareness as he gathered the ball, twisted clear and stretched to place the ball over the try line to the left of the posts. Fly half Ben Morgan added the conversion to close to 21-17 with 21 minutes left to play.

Encouraged by the supportive home crowd Sutton went in search of the much needed home win and strong team play led by the charges of bulldozing no8 Jack Ward, with the backs and forwards putting their bodies on the line in both attack and defence the home side kept the visitors under intense pressure and Sutton on the front foot. In the closing minutes of the game Sutton applied increased activity in the Ludlow 22 with sustained forward pressure to the left of the posts close to the try line but as successive drives for the line were resisted Sutton spun the ball out to the right and fullback George Creed squeezed over for the bonus point try to the right of the posts and with Ben Morgan adding a calm conversion Sutton moved back into the lead at 24-21 to set up a dramatic finale to a highly entertaining contest, which was a credit to both sides.

Sutton saw out the final 7 minutes with calm defiance and a strong disciplined defence against the final surges generated by their erstwhile opponents to secure a memorable well earned 24-21 victory over a strong and skilled opposition, setting the standards for Sutton to maintain in the remaining games of the 2019/20 season.

Before the game kicked off the players, spectators and officials held a minutes silence in memory of former Sutton players, who had passed away in recent times, most recently Dick Brosch, who died during the Christmas period. Dick was a player in the 50's & 60's and had been a keen supporter for many years after hanging up his boots, he will be greatly missed...along with Gary Large, who died last week unaware that he had advanced cancer, which took him very quickly once it was diagnosed by chance. Gary was a member of the highly regarded Large family, who have served Sutton well as players through the years, with first father Jeff Large Snr and more recently brother Jeff Large Jnr proudly wearing the Green of Sutton to maintain and promote the strong traditions of Sutton Coldfield Rugby Football Club, which has persisted and grown since the club was established 99 years ago.

In a inspired speach to the team before they left the dressing room ahead of this critical game, Sutton Head Coach Joe Gavin briefly turned away from the subject of tactics and fierce rhetoric and turned to the pride of playing for Sutton, what it represents making reference to the former players that were about to be honoured before kick off, noting that the current players did not know them and understandably probably only had a passing interest in the events that were about to unfold but Joe stressed that these former players and those that went before over a 99 year period represented the pride and commitment that these former players had shown to the club and now it was the turn of the current team of players to carry the baton and keep the Sutton flag flying high and proud in honour of those that went before.

The commitment and spirit of the players has never been in question but Joe's message went down well and last Saturday the performance by the team was exemplary; from a good start, to falling behind and then recovering to take the win by overturning a losing position in the final minutes against a strong opposition tells everything we need to know about this group of gifted players.

This weekend is a rest period and there are no senior games, but the week after - Saturday 1st February Sutton travel to Newbold-on-Avon looking for a repeat performance against a team placed 7th in the league. KO 2.15 pm.