Powergen Midlands 2 East

Banbury Bulls 8  Kettering 25

‘Blues get the two points on the road!’

Kettering made it two wins on the trot for the first time this season as they travelled home from Banbury on Saturday with both points.  The performance was nothing like as good as the week before but it was good enough to beat a Banbury Bulls side that is short of confidence after four league defeats and also certainly short of experience at this level.  The Blues squad showed two enforced changes from the side selected, skipper Ryan James’s leg injury keeping him out for at least another week and another of the back row Tom Spencer was also missing due to a training injury, but with Kettering having strength in depth in the back row department, Rory Keir moved from the bench into the number seven shirt and Patrick Brown came into the side at blind side with Steve Freeman remaining at number eight, and second team skipper Chris Chapman left his young charges at Waverley Road to make his league debut for the clubs senior side.

The Bulls kicked off in great rugby conditions, but immediately the Blues took charge of the game as they started to create a number of chances but it was to take 15 minutes before they were able to make their possession count and put some points on the board.  A typical bullish Paul Gibson run was eventually stopped but the ball was offloaded and Tom Bridgeman was in support for the try, Tim Jones converting and five minutes later the lead was increased as Jones kicked a penalty.  The constant Kettering pressure was immediately rewarded as from a Blues scrum on the half way line, Darren Etheridge set off on a typical break and he then switched the ball to Tom Coles whose pace was too much for the home sides defence.

Gibson was then sin-binned right on half time and the Bulls at last saw some ball and in the space of a couple of minutes before the referee blew for half time they had pulled the score back with a quick try followed immediately by a penalty as the Blues as is their usual practise in recent games took their eyes off the ball.

Half Time:     Banbury Bulls 8  Kettering 15

Kettering started the second half looking to get their rhythm back by upping the tempo and not for the first time in the game they put the home side under pressure and again they made their hosts pay as Etheridge took a quick penalty rather than taking the three easy points and his quick thinking caught the Bulls defence asleep and Rory Keir was wide awake to take the pass and go in for the try.

The rest of the half was a bit forgettable as both sides although putting in lots of effort never got things just quite right, and chances went begging as the play seemed to stay in the middle of the field, but the Blues were to have the last say as the game drifted to an end.  With the Blues backs and forwards always looking to combine their efforts suddenly the game opened up and Tim Jones put in a delightful chip ahead which was cleanly taken by Patrick Brown who galloped in for the try through a static defence.

So the Blues now have a weeks rest having been given a bye in the Intermediate Cup and there next action will be again on the road as they travel to Derby in a fortnights time for another crucial league game.

Final Score:  Banbury Bulls  8  Kettering 25

Other Scores:

Kettering 2nd XV 40          Peterborough 2nd XV 5

East Midlands League.

An excellent win against a side that usually comes out on top in these fixtures, but the new look second string made easy work of this encounter.

Scorers: Jack Walther (2); Tom McGoldrick (2) and George Chudley (2) plus 5 conversions.

Kettering 3rd XV  29          Leighton Buzzard 3rd XV  0

Another good win for Kenny Rogers third team in a rearranged fixture after N’thampton Mens Own 2nd XV had conceded the two league points on Friday night when they could not put out a side.

Scorers:  Jack Hawkes (2); Rob Vials (2) and Terry Grannon plus 2 conversions from Andrew Jackson.

Kettering 5th XV  v  South Leicester Development XV         

This game was a complete mismatch as Tom Elliott’s side conceded over one hundred points to the Leicestershire sides young Development side, who were able to run in tries at will.

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