Rugby Union
Eds are beaten at Eccleshall

Eccleshall 28 Edwardians 14

Midlands Three West (North)

EDWARDIANS fell to a rare defeat when going down in monsoon conditions at Eccleshall on Saturday.

It was just Edwardians’ second defeat of the season whilst for Eccleshall it was only their second victory, hinting perhaps that the conditions helped throw the form book out of the window.

The hosts went 5-0 ahead when charging down a clearance kick to score an unconverted try but Eds responded impressively and good pressure led to number eight Robert Gill going over near the posts for Dave Gray to convert.

Things were to get even better for the visitors when they worked their way back into Eccleshall territory where second row Michael Bourke took a quick tap penalty which caught the defenders unaware and he off-loaded well to send flanker Dave Coles over, Gray’s conversion stretched the lead to 14-5.

At this stage Eds appeared to be heading for the expected victory but Eccleshall had other ideas and began fighting back with two penalties to cut the deficit to three.

Now very much on the front foot, Eccleshall poured forward again and with Eds seemingly having no idea how to stop them, they grabbed an unconverted try to give them a 16-14 half time lead, a lead they would not relinquish.

Eds offered a response at the start of the second half and enjoyed good spells of possession but it failed to bring any reward on the scoreboard as defences dominated at both ends.

However, in the last quarter of the game it was Eccleshall who managed to tap into extra reserves of energy and score two tries in quite quick succession to seal a well deserved victory.

Eds take a break from league action on Saturday as they travel to Kidderminster Carolians on the North Midlands Shield.

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