Sat 18 Jan 2020, 14:15
Wheatley Hills 21 – Roundhegians 22
Hegians travelled to Wheatley Hills looking for an improvement on their performance the previous week against Wensleydale. Dale Cowling returned to the 2nd row and Harry Wollaston came back at scrum half. Lee White came on to the bench to replace Oscar Jedras who had a knee injury last week.
Hegians started the game positively by pinning Wheatley Hills back in their 22 and when the home side tried to run the ball out they were met with some strong tackling as Hegians defence was a bit more aggressive than the previous week. Some good kicking from James Dobson was making it hard for Wheatley Hills to get out their 22.
After 6 minutes Hegians scored a well worked try when James Dobson chipped through and Elliot Jackson used his speed to win the race to touch down close to the posts. Unfortunately Alex Jones lost his footing and so pushed the conversion wide.
From the kick off Hegians were soon on the attack again as good runs from Ali Coe and Dave Wilson took them back on to the attack. Hegians were good at the breakdown and some good kicking from Alex Jones pushed the home side back. Wheatley hills were struggling to deal with the pace of the Hegians attack and started to concede a number of penalties. On 22 minutes Hegians were awarded a penalty in the 22 and Alex Jones added the 3 points to take the lead to 8-0.
Hegians were going through the phases well and were playing with energy. The line out worked well with Dave Gregory taking on the throwing duties this week. The home side gradually worked their way upfield but Hegians turned over the ball and Ali Coe forced his way over the half way line turning defence into attack. He then burst through a tackle and knocked over a number of defenders as he worked his way upfield. He eventually found Tom Bennett who fed the ball inside to Dave Gregory who stepped inside the defender and scored under the posts. With Alex Jones adding the 2 points for the conversion it took Hegians into a 15-0 lead as half time approached.
Half time Wheatley Hills 0 – Roundhegians 15
Hegians had been comfortable during the first half but from the kick off they started poorly as some poor tackling allowed the opposition second row to run 50 metres before he was dragged down. As the ball was spread wide only a smart interception by Iain Adamson prevented the try. However, Wheatley Hills were on the front foot now and despite some good tackling from the Hegians defenders, the home side eventually forced their way over for a try out wide. A good kick took the score to 7-15 in favour of Hegians.
Hegians responded well to this setback and were soon on the attack launching a wave of attacks against the opposition. On 50 minutes Hegians attacked wide on the right wing and Ewan Cameron stepped inside the defence only to be brought down just short of the try line. Hegians cleared out well and moved the ball quickly to the left and with a clear overlap Tom Bennett went over in the corner for the 3rd try. A superb conversion from Alex Jones took the lead to 22-7 and Hegians had extended their lead.
For the next 15 minutes Hegians launched a series of attacks as they pushed for the bonus point. The home side conceded a number of penalties as they tried to hang on and Hegians turned down a number of opportunities to add 3 points from penalties, preferring to go for a try.
On 64 minutes Hegians gave away a penalty and a lack of concentration allowed a quickly taken penalty to make too much ground. Once Wheatley Hills were on the attack Hegians again tried to defend but the home side forced their way over for a converted try to take the score to 14-22. As the game went into the last 10 minutes Hegians suddenly started to give away penalties and although the scrum had been solid up to now it started to become a weakness. Hegians were penalised in their own 22 for scrummage offences and surprisingly got away without giving a penalty try at a scrum near their line. Hegians changed the scrum and therefore were better at the next scrum but as the home side went wide Hegians conceded another penalty and the referee lost patience and awarded a penalty try.
A game that had seemed to be in the bag for Hegians suddenly looked close with 5 minutes to go. However, Hegians spent the last 5 minutes camped on the Wheatley Hills try line still looking for a try and eventually were awarded a penalty. Rather than kick the penalty they went through a number of phases until time was up and then put the ball into touch to claim the win
Full time Wheatley Hills 21 – Roundhegians 22
This was a better performance from Hegians than the score suggests and it was lapses of concentration that let them down. Harry Wollaston, James Dobson and Alex Jones all controlled the game well giving Hegians good field position throughout. Hegians tackled well most of the time and had good control at the breakdown. The forwards played well with good performances from Dave Wilson and Dave Gregory but yet again it was an outstanding performance from Ali Coe that caught the eye.
Hegians have no league game this Saturday but the 2nd team are at home v Bramley Pheonix 2s ko 2.15pm
