Minety 1st XV 33 – 26 Minety Old Boys
4th September 2021
This weekends game saw the new Minety players face off with ex-Minety players from years gone by. The game was played in three twenty minute periods. The first twenty-minute period kicked off with the 1st XV kicking to the old boys going up the hill. The old boys caught the ball and ran it hard at the 1st XV’s lines. The difference in size made an impact in these opening exchanges. The ruck area became important to both sides with the old boys contesting every ruck and every half chance at a turn over. The old boys pushed hard in the opening twenty to take three tries down the hill. The 1st XV took a bit of time to settle in attack, but Garin Garland managed to help the 1st XV stay in touching distance with two well taken tries.
The second twenty the 1stXV had the hill and settled into their attack pattern, with the forwards forming their pods and helping to pin the old boys back into their 22. Although the attack didn’t lead to a direct try the fact that the old boys infringed so often close to the line and preformed a dangerous tackle that stopped a try lead to the referee losing patients with them and awarding a penalty try to the 1stXV. The old boys answered with a try of their own.
The final period saw the 1stXV kicking back up the hill to the old boys. Having found their attacking form, the 1stXV pushed up the hill to put Matt Stone in the corner and then Garland went over for his third of the day putting the score at 33-26. The old boys attacking hard down the hill were looking to level the scores in the dying minutes of the game but the 1stXV had found their defensive shape and managed to to hold the line despite the ferocity of the attack.
The player of the match went to Charlie Webb. He led the defence having worked on it in the week.
Speaking of the game after the match Captain Ben Scott said: “The lads did really well today against a big strong side. We didn’t start as strongly as we would have like but found our feet in the mid 20 and finished well. With two more games to go before the season starts for real, we will look to address the slow starts we have had and keep building into the season.”