Match report - 8th Feb 2020

Pictures - from Molly Worthington
Top left; Chris Duckworth scores the winning try.
Top right; Fullback Ollie Green celebrates the victory with two teammates.
Bottom left; The team reflect collectively on their victory after the game.
Bottom right; No8 Jack Ward scores Sutton's first try after just 3 minutes of play.

David Daniels
SCRFC 1st XV Team Manager

Match report - 8th Feb 2020

Sutton Coldfield 15pts v Old Halesonians 11pt

True to the long history of close fought contests between Sutton 1st XV and old rivals Halesonians, with Old Hales winning the away leg 12-10 back in Oct 2019, it was the resurgent Sutton side who took the honours last weekend as they extended their winning run in 2020 to three games when they overcame a competitive Old Hales team to close out a dramatic 15-11 victory. The victory gives Sutton a commendable playing record for 2020 of played 5 won 4 and lost 1 to turnaround the misfortunes experienced in the first half of the season moving them out of the relegation zone, where they resided for much of the season, taking them up to 10th place in a league of 14 teams, with the bottom 3 teams destined for relegation.

The revival in the fortunes of the Sutton side is clearly down to the return of key players re-joining the Sutton line up to add bulk and strength to the pack making them a formidable force in the set plays putting Sutton on the front foot and providing good possession for the talented Sutton side to exploit to good effect. The results have also benefited from an excellent defensive performance in the recent games following a concentration in training on line speed and defensive lines of running, which have been executed much more effectively and proved successful on the field to the great satisfaction of head coach Joe Gavin and his team of committed coaches, who are now seeing the reassurance and the results their coaching techniques deserve.

The lack of serious injuries in the recent games has also meant that Sutton have been able to select essentially a settled side with few changes from game to game and so it proved last weekend as Sutton kicked off in decent dry conditions against a gusting wind that was the forerunner of what was to follow on Sunday but was not a major factor in the game that was about to unfold. The in-spired Sutton side followed the kick-off deep into the Old Hales 22 putting the visitors under intense pressure from the outset and Sutton made the perfect start when after 3 minutes of play their efforts were rewarded when they drove the first scrum up to the Old Hales try line then spun the ball to the right but as the play was stopped short of the line no8 Jack Ward was on hand in the ensuing play to drive over from short range to claim the opening score close to the posts.

Fly half Ben Morgan calmly added the conversion to complete the perfect start giving Sutton a 7-0 lead after 3 minutes of play but true to their competitive creed Old Hales fought back and on 11 minutes after a flurry of activity in the Sutton 22 Old Hales moved the ball from left to right across face of the posts to create an opening for second row Alex Gordon to scramble over the try line for an unconverted try in the right corner closing the score to 7-5.

It was now Sutton's turn to respond to conceding a try and this they did by stepping up the pressure in the Old Hales 22 leading to a penalty when the visitors were caught off side in their 22 and Ben Morgan added the points to extend the Sutton lead to 10-5 on 21 minutes but in the second quarter of the game Old Hales took over the control of the scoreboard with two penalties both converted by winger Luke Fenton, the first wind assisted from 35 meters on 36 minutes and the second from 25 metres taking Old Hales into a narrow 11-10 lead deep into injury time at the end of the first half.

Spurred on by their strong first half display Sutton stepped up their game at the start of the second half but unfortunately although Sutton dominated the territory and possession throughout much of the second period the luck was not with them as chances came and went with the ball knocked on over the try line, powerful drives stopped just short, and then a short bullet pass sent out towards an overlap on the left wing hit the chest of the receiving player and was knocked on...but in spite of these errors Sutton maintained an admirable positive approach to the game with young second row Lewis Belton performing an excellent role in the lineouts and along with second row partner Lamaar Lawrence leading the way in open play keeping the visitors under sustained pressure in their own 22.

As the game moved into its final phases Sutton again set up a forward drive to the left of the posts and as the forward movement was stopped the ball was moved quickly from left to right with good hands to give right wing Chris Duckworth space to squeeze skilfully into the right corner. The difficult conversion was missed but the score saw Sutton retake the lead at 15-11 with 12 minutes to play following the restart.

With time running out Sutton worked had to protect their slender lead against a closing onslaught by their erstwhile opponents, who according to their officials and supporters were playing above their recent levels and were intent on snatching the victory from Sutton during the intense and dramatic closing period. However, Sutton also raised their game during this critical period of play and the Sutton defence held firm noting that in one crucial incident with time running out right wing Chris Duckworth made a crucial intervention when faced with an overlap just feet from the Sutton try line he intervened to claim the ball and drove play away from the try line to clear the immediate danger and engage with his supporting teammates to make the ball safe. In this way Sutton ran down the clock and secured a deserved and much needed victory to continue their progress up the table to safety as they celebrated a 15-11 victory.

This weekend Sutton travel to Stoke on Trent RFC looking to continue their successful return to top form in recent games, seeking to reverse a 22-10 defeat in the home fixture back in October 2019. KO 2.15pm.

Match summary - 7th Feb 2020

UOB School of Engineering 38pts v Sutton 2nd XV 26pts

Friendly Fixture

Sutton 2nd XV travelled to face a University of Birmingham School of Engineering XV in a Friday evening friendly fixture played under floodlights in a great atmosphere with both teams well supported both on and off the field.

In a highly entertaining and enjoyable game Sutton struggled to settle into the game during a difficult first 40 minutes and UOB took full advantage sweeping into an impressive 31-12 lead by half time but the second half saw a much improved performance by the Sutton side, who outscored their opponents by 2 converted tries to one unconverted try i.e. 14-5 in the second 40 minutes but unfortunately they were unable overcome the halftime deficit completely losing 38-26 at the end of an excellent contest.

Sutton scored 4 tries credited to Joe Gregory on 12mins, Miles Gregory on 30mins, Harry Bamber on 55mins and Luke Hennessy on 60mins, with Chris Hendley adding three conversions.