Metro League 4 – Old Wesley 4ths 20 Bective Rangers 2nds 28
Wesley arrived on the crest of a wave having dug out a plucky victory the week before against Lansdowne. The game opened with a calamitous start, Wesley down two tries in the opening few minutes due to poor structure and poor tackling. Signs of a fightback emerged as Wesley then scored 10 unanswered points with a try, conversion and penalty from the mercurial Stevie Young. Overall, Wesley showed delayed signs of early-season-syndrome with an error strewn first half. Having done much of the hard work in building momentum in phase play, doors still remained shut. HT 14-10 Bective.
Half time saw a few tactical changes, followed swiftly by two enforced changes with injuries to Claxton and Handcock. Bective again were rewarded with two tries and an ominous scoreline of 28-10. Wesley continued to battle their way into the Bective 22 only for unforced errors to punish them consistently. With ten minutes remaining, Wesley managed to string together some momentum which resulted in Dave Taylor going over to make it 28-15.
Determined not to give up, Wesley once again built their way into the Bective 22 in the closing stages. New man Daniel Cloffey wriggled through the defence and found himself in some space to dot down to bring the score within 8 points. The kick remained to give Wesley an opportunity to gather a losing bonus point and one last shot at redemption. Having rode their luck the week before in the dying seconds, it wasn’t to be this week. Final score 28-20.
All told it was a tough evening out for the 4ths who were punished for lapses in concentration at the start of both halves and were left to rue what felt like, the one that got away….
Young: Try, Con, Pen
Taylor: Try
Cloffey: Try