Keyworth IIs 29 – Mellish IIIs 17

The first two scrums set the tone for the match as the Keyworth eight smashed their opposition, driving them backwards and it didn’t seem to matter what positional changes were made, Keyworth had the upper hand at the scrum throughout.

Keyworth took the lead after 10 minutes, with a great individual try from Man of the Match, Lawrence Chan, who broke through from 30m and shrugged off several would-be tacklers to score under the posts. Sam Tilaks added the conversion. Lawrence ran some great lines, kept the Mellish back line on their toes throughout and tackled hard in defence to justify his award.

Seven minutes later, the visitors extended their lead when openside flanker Edd Smith crossed the whitewash after much criss-crossing of passes and lines between Edd and Mark King, following a couple of great drives by the forwards. Edd was real contender for the Man of the Match award as his support play was magnificent throughout, alongside his handling and linking skills. Unfortunately he wasn’t always supported by his fellow forwards who struggled to get as many players to the breakdown as the heavier Mellish pack.

The riposte from the home side was immediate and effective. A great run from their tall outside half set up a scoring pass for their left winger to cross in the corner. The touchline conversion from their out-half was magnificent in the windy conditions. Not sure why the wind at Mellish deserved a reference, as no one in living memory can recall a game at Mellish that wasn’t dictated by the conditions! Keyworth certainly made good use of the wind in the first half, with Sam Tilaks, Aaron Browning and heaven forbid, Hightower, putting in good clearance or attacking kicks. The problem with the kick from Lee was that once he’d tasted success he thought he could repeat the feat. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case and thankfully he ceased his kicking duties for the day.

Next score went to Keyworth and almost inevitably to Tsangy who maintained his excellent record this season. After good work by Matthew Ellis in only his second senior game, all Alex had to do was cross the line and let Sam add the extra two points. This was on the 30 minute mark and that’s how it remained with the Keys sitting on a 19 – 7 half-time lead.

Keyworth were the first to score in the second half with Sam Tilaks slotting the second of two penalty attempts to extend the lead and keep the pressure on the home side. Mellish however, with a full squad of 22 players, who had been out an hour before the game running through moves, were not about to lie down and from a maul on the Keyworth 22, their loose-head prop peeled off, went blind and could hardly believe his luck to find absolutely no defence in place. This immediately cut the lead to 10 points and that was halved again when the young Mellish lock caught the kick-off and managed to run through the entire Keyworth pack, making around 25m of ground, before this was taken on and the ubiquitous loose-head scored his second try of the game.

This woke Keyworth from their reverie and they stormed back into action with good interpassing amongst the backs, initiated by Lawrence Chan, finally saw Jack Starr on the wing, feed a superbly timed inside pass for Edd Smith to race in unopposed from 23.74m to dob down under the sticks. Young Tilaks did what he does best and neatly chipped his third conversion for Keyworth to take a 29 – 17 lead which was where it finished as the last 20 minutes remained scoreless.

A massive tactical substitution took place at this point in the game as ‘old man Starr’ returned to action after many weeks out and completely confounded the concept of an impact player. His only contribution to the game prior to this had been to hold up play as the contents of his clipboard spread themselves to the four winds as he went to adjudicate a conversion attempt. What a wally!

Congratulations must go to a very young match official in only his second game, who did well in the face of vociferous players and spectators all attempting to offer him advice on his decision-making. If he can cope with the wiles and cunning of some wise old heads on both sides, I’m sure he’ll have a long and successful career ahead of him.

All in all, a solid if not spectacular performance from this Keyworth side. There will be concerns over the defensive lapses but there was much to celebrate in this victory against a team who definitely fancied their chances of taking the honours and who had run the league leaders very close the previous week. Not least, the impressive game had by Jaron Leung, who worked tirelessly in both tight and loose. He took responsibility for the lineout throwing, moved from second row to front row, when asked and carried well when the opportunity arose.

Another very positive point was young Nellie (Matthew Ellis) who was introduced into the centre when Alex Tsang took a knock early on. Having never played there before, he acquitted himself superbly, particularly in defence with some solid tackling. When subbed on and off into different positions, he was happy to do whatever was asked of him. Similarly, young Doug Martin started in an unfamiliar wing position but did what was needed and unselfishly committed to the teams requirements.

It was good to welcome back Neil Shanks, who with the ever dependable James Maddock gave Keyworth the solid platform in the front row that laid the foundations of the victory. Jack Pitchfork moved into the front row to ensure competitive scrums and did very well against a massive Mellish tight-head. Another returnee was Lee Broadhead who made some great charging runs early on but his lack of match fitness did restrict his effectiveness, slightly in the second half. Lee was also an important source of lineout ball for Keyworth throughout the match.

As always, Aaron Browning played really well at full back, running the ball back at the opposition, from deep and catching cleanly in defence. His kicking game continues to improve and it’s just a case now of knowing when and where to kick, which will only come through experience and the mentoring by older players. Talking of which, Mark King put in another strong performance, having laundered the shirts beautifully during the week and his quiet marshalling of the younger players around him is an essential role within any team with this type of mix.

On the wings, Zander Wiles gave his usual sound game, getting involved in rucks and mauls when the forward cover hadn’t arrived. Jack Starr retired to the flank after sustaining a shoulder injury in the forwards but had little to do, which is far from his usual modus operandi. Liam Harrison started on the bench but when introduced into the 2nd row added impetus and had one nice little foray with the ball, peeling off a maul.

Keith Scott’s troops did him proud as he carried the ball on many occasions and encouraged them at all opportunities, often exhorting them to greater efforts. He will be pleased with what is a second consecutive six point Security Plus Pennant League fixture. Next week, Keyworth IIs find themselves in the Pool, looking for an appropriate fixture, hopefully at the Stadio Widmerpool, so players are advised to keep checking the club website for details.