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Last minute try steals precious points from All Blacks
Daventry 14 – 15 Northampton Casuals
Another fierce encounter between two local rivals saw a heavy Casuals
pack come up against a dangerous back line fielded by Daventry.
Playing with the wind in their face, Daventry started the game
confidently, using the boot of Alex Rose to gain territory, if not
possession. However, the Casuals forwards were dominant from start to
finish, especially in the scrum where the All Blacks were under constant
pressure.
On one of the few occasions they were in possession, the Daventry backs
evidenced their superiority and were able to penetrate. Luke Jones
showed power and awareness to break through the Casuals defence and
offload to a supporting Ricky Haynes who scored under the posts. Rose
converted.
Almost immediately following the restart, Daventry found themselves
under pressure. The visiting pack drove their way up-field and were able
to score a well executed forwards try. This was shortly followed by a
drop-goal to leave the score at 7 - 8 to Casuals at half-time.
Now playing with the wind, Daventry should have been able to gain field
position. But once again, Casuals overpowered Daventry up front, with
too many Daventry forwards refusing to compete at the breakdown. A
notable exception to this was second-row Mark Hyde who was later awarded
Man of the Match for his efforts.
Again, it was a rare break from the backs which led to a Daventry try.
After being set free by good passing play, Luke Jones showed a turn of
pace which led to him scoring between the posts. Rose converted.
With minutes left and the All Blacks ahead 14-8, Daventry were
ferociously defending their line. However, following three infringements
at the breakdown, the referee chose to award a penalty-try to the
visitors. Although the game ended a disappointing 14 - 15, there were
some encouraging performances, notably from the two colts, Luke Jones
and Mark Hyde, and a returning Gareth ‘Puppy’ Dudgeon.
Scorers : Ricky Haynes, Luke Jones
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