Nuns 10 Bridgnorth 47

Nuns 10 Bridgnorth 47.

NUNS SELF DESTRUCT TO HEAVY DEFEAT.

An already depleted first team squad was hit by a late withdrawal that resulted in forwards coach Nick Smith starting at hooker. This meant regular hooker Dale Bowyer reverting to the back row. With Elliot Brown injured and Scott Makepeace unavailable, with the Royal Navy XV, Theo Knight and Arron Skyrme took their places. Ben Kirby was unavailable and Jackson Hughes switched to full back with Sion Cowdy taking Hughes’ place on the wing. The signs were not good.

From the kick off Nuns won a penalty and chose to kick to the corner but from a good attacking position the Nuns lost the line out. From the clearance kick the Nuns ran the ball back only to concede a penalty just 5 metres from the try line. On 5 minutes another attacking phase saw the Nuns awarded another penalty for a high tackle. No yellow card was given, but a kick to the corner resulted in a line out which set up a try for lock Thomas Aherne. With Ben Cooper’s conversion the Nuns led 7-0.

At last the visitors got into the Nuns half and from close range prop Jonah Boyce got over the white wash and with the conversion from Llew Williams the scores were level. Bridgnorth were now playing with a high degree of intensity which was equally matched by this makeshift Nuns side. Back came the Nuns and on 18 minutes Cooper stroked over a penalty to give them back the lead. A confident Bridgnorth kicked to the corner when an attempt at goal seemed easy. Good defence kept the visitors at bay however at the cost of losing Theo Knight to a yellow card. A man down the Nuns could not withstand the extreme pressure put on them and prop Joe Cave scored a try which Williams was unable to convert. This was quickly followed by a try for scrum half Gareth Bladen which Williams converted and suddenly the visitors had a 9 point lead.

Nuns played out the half generally on the defence but with Knight back on they were still in the game at half time trailing 10 – 19.

The second half was barely a minute old when after some unnecessary roughness by Bridgnorth, Nuns Tom Aherne was red carded for his intervention. It didn’t take long for the visitors to take advantage. Almost immediately Boyce went over for his second try and with the conversion Bridgnorth had stretched their lead to 16 points. Despite being a man short, the Nuns tried desperately to get back into the game. Declining a kick at goal, they opted for a kick to the corner only to be penalised and lose the attacking opportunity. Throughout the game the visitors played with high intensity dedicated to scoring as many points as they could and there was no let up.

An interception by Nuns Ryan Leake relieved some of the pressure but an alert visitor’s defence quickly snuffed out the counter attack. From repeated scrums near the try line, Bridgnorth were awarded a penalty try and with it Nuns’ James Redman was yellow carded and the lead was extended to 23 points. Down to 13 men the Nuns bravely fought on but had no answer to a searing run by winger Jordan Burgess to score his sides 6th try and the conversion was duly added. With their pack being driven back at the set piece, Nuns conceded a 7th try when Bladen went over for his second try of the afternoon and with the conversion from Williams the scoring was brought to an end.

A tough day for the Nuns and their followers. Up against a highly motivated and clinical Bridgnorth side, a depleted Nuns side fought bravely but were in the end simply overwhelmed.

Team : James Redman, Nick Smith. Sam Greening, Thomas Aherne, Adie Hall, Arron Skyrme, Callum

Grant-Smith, Dale Bowyer; Tom Smitham, Ben Cooper (capt), Sion Cowdy, Dylan Bale, Theo Knight, Nemani Rayabo, Jackson Hughes.

Bench : Ryan Leake, Moses Liwaliwa, Huw Thomas.

Scorers: Aherne (try), Cooper (conversion & penalty)