Match report - 24th Mar 2018

David Daniels
SCRFC 1st XV Team Manager

Sutton 1st XV continued their strong winning drive towards the end of the season with a comprehensive 42-10 win at Castlecroft last weekend as basement club Wolverhampton felt the full force of the rejuvenated ‘Green Team’, who scored 6 converted tries and in doing so secured an all important try bonus point to bank 5 league points towards their quest for survival in this league. The all important victory means Sutton have now won 4 of their last 5 games the only loss being at home to league leaders Burton 5 weeks ago, which bodes well for the final 4 games of the season, with 3 of the games to be played at home with only 1 away fixture, at Burton RFC in the penultimate game on 14th April 2018.

In the first of the final 4 games, this Thursday, 29th Mar, Sutton host Stourbridge Lions in a floodlit evening contest at the RSG, Walmley Road ko 7.45pm. The fixture was postponed from earlier in the month due to waterlogged pitches and the game should provide an exciting evening of high quality rugby and social engagement ahead of the Easter celebrations. All will be welcome.

As to the game itself Wolves kicked off in dry overcast conditions but with a decent pitch underfoot considering the recent rains and although the home side made a positive start advancing into the Sutton half it was the visitors who made the most of their possession, as newly returned prop Liam Hills proved his mobility and pace in open play by claiming the ball in his own half before racing deep into the Wolves 22 putting Sutton on the front foot and in a strong attacking position. In the ensuing play Sutton lost possession but an attempted clearance kick was fielded in his own half by Sutton's right wing Tom Burrows, who made ground before passing in side to fullback Nathan Burchell, who set the visitors on their way by waltzing through the home defence to score a spectacular try for the 2nd game running. Fly half Ben Morgan added the extras to give Sutton a 7-0 lead after just 4 minutes play.

Sadly Sutton lost influential flanker Peter Meachin after 20 minutes when he incurred what appeared to be knee and ankle ligament damage following a line out but unfortunately x-rays taken on return to Sutton showed that Peter had suffered a broken bone and is now in plaster. He will be greatly missed and we wish him a speedy recovery.

On the day Peter's place was taken by Colt Jack Wells who proved to be a more than capable deputy and the young flanker made a valuable contribution through out the afternoon..

With the greater share of possession and territory Sutton assumed complete control, attacking round the fringes as well as stretching the host’s backline and the only surprise was that it took till the 25th minute for Sutton to add to the scoreline when No 8 Luke Stewart picked up at the base of an attacking scrum in the Wolves 22 before putting right wing Tom Burrows in at the corner with a slick pass for what proved to be the first of the flying wingers 3 tries on the day; Morgan’s touchline conversion extended the lead to 14-0 with the promise of much more to come.

However, fair play to Wolverhampton who continued to attack from all areas of the field with their limited possession and they were finally rewarded as half time approached when their powerful No 8 Mark Evans forced his way over from close range; although the conversion was missed the half closed with Sutton’s lead pegged back to 14-5 restoring some belief and encouragement to the beleaguered home side.

As it turned out any hopes the hosts had of a comeback were quickly dashed as the second period got underway with the outstanding Luke Stewart sprinting clear of the despairing home side rear-guard defence to register his 5th try of the season with just 4 minutes of the second half played and the loyal Sutton supporters didn't have long to wait until Burrows was on the end of another fine passage of play helped by centre Paul Spiby's deft pass to score in the right corner and secure the try bonus point; with Morgan converting both tries the lead had been extended to 28-5 after 10 minutes of play in the second half.

The hosts were living off crumbs by this stage but their propensity to ‘tap and go’ and run everything cost them dear when midway through the second half right wing Burrows gambled and his interception from near halfway allowed him an easy run-in to score his 15th try of the season (9 in his last 5 games) under the posts and complete his first hat trick for the Club in this his debut season. What a star!!

Fly half Ben Morgan added the simple conversion to stretch Sutton lead to 35-5 with 20 minutes to play but sadly on the injury front the day took another turn for the worst when great clubman Tom Foulsham, playing in the 2nd row, broke his arm quite badly whilst attempting a tackle and will now miss the rest of the season. We wish Tom all the best for a speedy recovery and thank him for his valued contribution to the team effort during a challenging season.

Soon after another injury was to force ‘born again’ centre Paul Spiby from the field but thankfully Paul has made a full recovery and he will resume his impressive midfield partnership with fellow centre Jack Duthie in the forthcoming floodlit game this Thursday.

In spite of the injuries Sutton kept up the pressure and it was deserving that newly returned tight head prop Liam Hills marked his return to the Sutton side as the Sutton pack drove for the line and he ended up at the bottom of the pile with the ball for try number six after 77 minutes play; once again Morgan was able to add the extras from the touchline to push the lead out to 42-5 before the hosts had the final word in the last play of the game when Mark Evans capitalised on a Sutton error to score his 2nd try of the afternoon leaving the final score at 42-10 with the conversion being missed.

Overall, for an away performance in a crunch relegation battle this was a job well done. Sutton were able to win nearly all their own set piece ball, their defence was generally excellent throughout and for the most part the visitors were able to generate quick ball at the breakdown, which in turn presented the backs with the kind of ball they crave.

However, had Sutton at times been a bit more inclined to build the phases and been a bit more more patient they really could have put on a big score particularly in the first half...but a bonus point win at this stage in the season ticks all the boxes and clearly there is more to come from this revitalised in-form team, who are now reaching their full potential.

Good luck to Wolverhampton who never gave up and deserve much credit for their willingness to keep playing. They have many talented players and everyone at Sutton wish them well to the end of the season and in the future.

On Thursday night Sutton are at home to Stourbridge Lions in a re-arranged fixture knowing that another bonus point win would take them out of the bottom 3 for the first time in a long time, kick off is at 7.45pm.

Team: Sean Harrison(Capt), Dean Ginn, Liam Hills, Harry Moxon, Tom Foulsham, Mike Burns, Peter Meachin, Luke Stewart, Tom Harris, Ben Morgan, Chris Duckworth, Jack Duthie, Paul Spiby, Tom Burrows, Nathan Burchell. Subs(all used): Jack Wells, Dave Smith, Ollie Green.

Sutton other team results:

Happily Sutton 2nd XV joined their first team colleagues on the winners rostrum at Wolverhampton on Saturday after an epic 25-22 victory over a useful Wolverhampton side and with the Sutton Women winning their semi-final on the Sunday this was a winning weekend for the Sutton Club to celebrate.

The table published by Pichero on our website is wrong.
To see an accurate league table:
http://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/competitions/midlands-division/2017-2018/group/22845#/table