Mellish RFC - Match Reports


		League - 25th November 06 Memorial Ground, Nottingham Mellish RFC 30 v 7 Ashby RFC
Mellish Line up: Fretwell, Scott, Harris, Mason (c), Greathead, Williams, Gray, Lewis, Cocking, McConnell, Wheldon, Crossley, Myers, Bexon, Walden, Butcher, Weatherall, Linney Tries: Fretwell, Mason, Williams, Lewis (2), Bexon Conversions: Pens:
Mellish came up against high flying & newly promoted Ashby in what was sure to be a huge battle between the two big packs. Once again Mellish were at full strength & with the return of Paul Linney to the bench had their first full strength squad available. A new kit was also on show for the Mellish boy's who were determined to carry on the good form & rattle up 6 consecutive wins in the league. From the first whistle Mellish were in ferocious fashion with mauls into the big Ashby pack with some aggressive rucking & mauling from both sides. After only 3 mins the pack drove from a lineout which was well taken at four by Matt Willaims with the ball being driven up field. This caused a series of driving mauls to which Ashby had no answer. Matt Williams was driven over the line for a try which went un-converted by skipper Mason. The kick-off was caught cleanly again & the forwards provided a solid platform for Jonny Cocking to provide good ball so that Sean McConnell could push Mellish upfield. The resulting lineout was won by Ashby, however the Mellish backrow didn't let this setback go and caused the fly-half allsorts of problems and his kick was parried into touch. Mellish again caught good line ball & drove big Ryan Lewis over the line to score giving a Mellish a 10 – 0 lead. Good rugby continued to be played by Mellish & the whole team contributed to good interlinking between forwards & backs. The ball was won by Mellish right in front of the posts and shipped down the line where Mason caught the attention of two defenders to give a crisp pass to young Joe Bexon allowing him to score in the corner giving Mellish a well deserved half-time score of 15 – 0.

The second half started with Ashby fighting more up front in an attempt to salvage something out of the game. Mellish had also taken their foot of the gas but started to up the pace and regain control the game as they had in the first half. Further tries were scored in similar fashion to the first 2 tires with Andy Fretwell going over & Ryan Lewis to take his tally to 5 for the season. With the score at 25 – 0, Ashby did cross the Mellish line with a mix up out wide meaning that the Ashby winger raced in from 50 yards to score and to which was successfully converted. This fired Mellish up again & after sustained pressure Matt Williams and Ryan Lewis helped to drive skipper Mason over the line for him to score in the corner for his first try of the season. The score has proven that it was another fine display from Mellish who have stepped a gear since losing their opening 3 fixtures. This means that Mellish have now won 6 league games on the trot, however we must remain consistent and continue to play as a team. Praise must go to the pack this week who were superb all afternoon & outshone their counterparts. The backs played well & created lots of space for the remainder of the team. Stand out players this week were Paul Crossley who had another fine game at inside centre, the back-row trio of Woody, Ryan & Matt were awesome once again. The man of the match award this week goes to Wayne Gray who was thorn in the side of Ashby all afternoon Mellish Man of the Match: Wayne Gray.

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