Veseyans Colts welcomed Dudley Kingswinford for a combined League and Quarter Final Cup fixture on a glorious day for open rugby.........we weren't to be disappointed. The visitors chose to play with the slope and a strong breeze on their backs first half which meant the home side would need to be accurate and resilient against the expected onslaught of pressure. For the opening exchanges Veseyans played sensible controlled rugby and it was only an excellent flat pass which cut out 2 defenders which allowed DK to get the opening score. Similarly, their second try was through a well executed move which again created space out wide and pushed the visitors lead out to 0-10. Direct from the kick off DK went straight onto the attack and an excellent move down the blindside allowed their winger to romp in from the half way line and the lead was up to 0-15. Undeterred, several changes to the pack allowed the home side to create extended spells of pressure in their oppositions half but could not convert any of it into points but managed not to concede more either. Against the wind a 15 points margin was a good return for all their efforts.
The second half started in much the same way as the first and probably our only defensive error all day led to the visitors 4th tray and a 20 point margin. Just like many previous matches this year the 2nd half was much stronger for us and we built good pressure through good decisions both with and without the ball. DK were now under continued pressure in their 22 and from a conceded penalty several pick and drives led to Oscar Ratlidge going over next to the posts and we were now into the game 7-20. Shortly after and with 15 minutes left of the game an excellent pick and go from Oscar at N0 8 from the base of a scrum got us in behind their defence, a grubber kick was perfectly executed and Jamie Higginbotham dived over in the corner. From an acute angle Toby Page added the extras and at 14-20 a comeback was definitely on the cards. With only minutes remaining Dan Poller made an excellent break down the wing and with the try line beckoning its was only a desperate tap tackle which prevented him from going under the posts and stealing the game......what could have been.....and DK were relieved to get over the winning line. However, another fantastic performance from the whole squad and everyone to a man contributed in a really entertaining game of cup / league rugby.
With the performances improving game on game it must only be a matter of time before that elusive 1st league win is in the bag.....well done everyone
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