St Josephs 54 v Crigglestone All Blacks 16

High flying Crigg came crashing down to earth with a comprehensive defeat at the hands of the men from Fartown.  After a tight opening it was Crigg who took the lead on 11 minutes.  Tom Malyan broke the line, with Martin Brooks in support.  Brooks fed Ryan Horsley who dummied to go in under the sticks.  When Malyan goaled to make it 6-0, the Crigg following settled in for what they assumed would be yet another win for the league leaders.

Within minutes however, Crigg spilled the ball coming off their own line, and St Joes moved the ball along the line to score by the posts.  The conversion drew the scores level.  Two minutes later Crigg were behind as a smart chip over the defence caught Crigg cold resulting in a try in the corner.  The Saints were now on top and their experienced pack dominated the Crigg forwards, starving the exciting backline of possession.

Horsley and Andy Webber were stand-outs in defence for Crigg, but were unable to withstand the Joes attack that seemed to always come with plenty of support options.  Two more tries followed for Saints before Paul Townend, Steff Haslam and veteran forward Pete Eyre were introduced in the 38th minute to bolster the Crigg defence, but the game was already lost and a further try before half-time left Crigg trailing 22-6.

Two more tries came after the break, before Crigg scored again.  Webber was held up over the line on the last as Crigg finally built some pressure.  Fine defence in the next set earned Crigg good field position, and quick scoots from dummy half by Webber and Horsley got Crigg back to the Saints line, where Will Field dived over from acting half.  Malyan goaled to leave Crigg trailing 30-12.

Two further tries for the home side stretched the lead to 42-12, when a fine interception by Malyan provided some relief.  A well-timed inside ball to Horsley saw the skipper race away to score out wide.  Malyan was unable to convert.  With ten minutes to go, there was still time for two further tries to the home side, who underlined their own title aspirations with magnificent support play, that set the benchmark that Crigg need to surpass to stay top of the table.

Next match * Saturday 11 November * Moldgreen Away (Second v First)