Bosworth’s league fate in the balance
ST IVES 20 MARKET BOSWORTH 38 THIS game was to be the last in the season and the new leagues would be sorted out without any play offs. This result, however, for some reason means that Market Bosworth do have to play one more game which will be away at Newark in the next couple of weeks.
Both teams have ended up fourth in their respective Midland Two East leagues and there is only one place available in the new league structure.
The first few minutes of play consisted of St Ives keeping possession and testing the wind by exploratory kicks ahead which proved a waste of time.
Bosworth’s lock, Borley, was substituted by Ben Thompson after only six minutes of play by which time they had not got out of their own half. A knock on by Bosworth gave St Ives possession, running the ball back into Bosworth’s twenty-two where mistake after mistake by the visitors let the home side win a line out five metres out and dive over to open the scoring, but the kick went wide.
Bosworth seemed to wake up at this point and set up an attack towards the St Ives line but it was St Ives who scored next to give them a 10-0 lead.
Things were beginning to look bad for Bosworth playing against this team who were five places below them in the league and a game that they had to win.
However, from the restart Bosworth got their act together but still unable to master the weather conditions they decided to use close passing to get Harry Milner over under the posts to open Bosworth’s tally and give Joe Randon a straight forward kick.
The wind still playing its part, prevented the ball crossing the ten metre line from the restart so it was back to the half way for a scrum, won by Bosworth and cleared into the St Ives twenty-two. Then another scrum to Bosworth for a line out infringement was won giving number eight Harry Parkes the opening to dive over for Bosworth’s second try, converted by Randon and putting Bosworth now ahead by two points.
A further try by Bosworth winger Dean gave Bosworth a 19-10 half time lead.
Within a couple of minutes of the restart Bosworth turned up the pressurem, from a five metre scrum sent Harry Milner over for Bosworth’s fourth for the bonus point. Joe Randon adding the conversion.
From the outcome that was anticipated after the first quarter things had changed considerably with Bosworth now showing their form again when Harry Parkes ran in a solo try from the half way for his second try, converted by Randon.
St Ives started to use both the wind and their big players as battering rams to get them nearer and nearer to Bosworth’s line and then from a quick penalty they strolled over for a third try but no conversion.
End to end stuff followed but eventually it was Bosworth who managed to break through the St Ives defence letting full back Clarke get over in the corner but again too wide for the kicker. In the dying moments of the game Bosworth won a scrum in their own half only for the ball carrier to run into his own man, judged by the referee to be an offence and so letting St Ives kick for touch, win the line out and mount a rolling maul which Bosworth were unable to stop giving the home side a consolation bonus point but again no conversion as Bosworth ran out 38-20 winners.