Sat 9 Nov 2019, 14:15
Roundhegians knew they were to face a tough task this Saturday just gone, having to travel to take on third place Old Grovians knowing that maintaining the unbeaten away record would open up a bit of a safety cushion in the automatic promotion stakes.
Hegians definitely had the better of the opening 10 minutes as a penalty was awarded after just 3 minutes 40m out but unfortunately Jones pushed his effort wide to the left. He didn't have to wait long to make amends however as another penalty went Hegians way just 4 minutes later and 10m closer to the sticks and he made no mistake this time to put the visitors 0-3 up.
Grovians replied almost instantly however, once the restart was taken a high bomb resulted in a Hegians knock on and the first real chance for Grovians to have any possession. They worked a nice short side move from the scrum and put a speculative kick over the top of fullback Jones, he did look as though he was going to be first to the ball in the in goal area but a wicked bounce found its way past a diving outstretched arm and left Grovians with an easy touchdown from one of the two chasers to take the lead 5-3.
On the 22nd minute mark another good kick over the top from Grovians forced winger Miyambo to carry the ball over his own line to prevent a try and gifted the Grovians pack a 5m scrum right in front of the posts. A penalty from the resulting scrum gifted Grovians an easy 3 points and chance to move 5 points clear at 8-3.
The extended lead didn't last long however as Hegians were in for their first try just 5 minutes later. After winning a scrum on the Grovians 22, good straight running to draw defenders in and accurate hands to the right gave Miyambo a sniff of the try line still with a little bit of work to do. Clinical as ever he managed to finish out in the corner to get his 7th try in 8 games. Unfortunately Jones couldn't add the extras and the scores were tied at 8-8.
With just 5 minutes to go until halftime, Hegians thought they were in again. A great targeted run by Jones enabled him to dummy to Miyambo on the wing and then create a 2 on 1 with the opposition full back, being chased down by the opposition winger Miyambo placed the ball to a supporting Cowling but it was adjudged to have gone forward preventing a certain try. Hegians kept the pressure on though and a poor clearing kick into touch from the scrum was capitalised by the boys from North Leeds as Coe couldn't believe his luck ending up with the ball in front of a large gap in the Grovians defensive line. After waltzing in from 20 out untouched, Jones was able to add the extras this time to give Hegians a 8-15 lead going into halftime.
After a physical start to the second period by both teams, Grovians started to find themselves coming back into the game. With penalty advantage in the middle of the park they worked a good 2 on 1 out wide and Miyambo had no choice but to try and play the ball as it was passed to his opposite number, unfortunately he couldn't catch it and he was sinbinned for a deliberate knock on much to the delight of the jeering home supporters.
2 minutes later and Grovians had another penalty advantage further forward than the previous one and they opted to go for a penalty which was easily converted to bring the score back to 11-15.
Another two minutes passed and Grovians found themselves with yet another penalty and this time Coe was given 10 minutes for an accumulation of penalties against him. Hegians knew that they were going to be up against it now as they were down to 13 men for the next 6 minutes.
However, just 4 minutes later on the hour mark Cowling made a good break with no defender stood marking the ruck. The Grovians defence tried to scramble back but they then ended up knocking the ball on with a certain try looming had the ball got to Bennett on the Hegians wing. The referee decided that it was similar enough to the first Hegians yellow and produces a third yellow card of the afternoon. Hegians opt for the posts and take a minute out of their two sin bins and Jones converts to make the score 11-18.
Once the returning Hegians players from the sin bin returned to the fold and the three fresh subs came on, they were in the ascendency again seemingly having weathered the Grovians storm. Coe made a sensational break and managed to go all the way from the halfway line before being brought down inches short of the try line, a simple pass to Hegians fly half Dobson from the resulting ruck allowed him to bulk over for his fourth bulk over of the season. Jones appeared to rush the conversion however knowing that there were just 10 minutes remaining to try and get a further try to seal a bonus point win and his effort failed to clear the crossbar 11-23.
With Hegians throwing everything at Grovians to try and get the fourth try a penalty was awarded to Hegians out wide on the left and Dobson was asked to put it into the corner. With a great nudge he gifted Hegians a lineout just 5m out from the Grovians line and a well worked lineout allowed Jedras to score his first try of the season and give yet another bonus point win to the table toppers. Final score 11-28.
Hegians knew that they were always going to be in for a tough game at Grovians as it is every season and that was the case for the first hour of the game, the last 20 minutes with a numerical advantage and fresh legs just allowed Hegians to up their game and come away with a good away win. Another away game next week against third bottom North Ribblesdale will be another tough test for the side at the top of the league who are well aware that they never really found top gear this weekend.
