Drop fears
Relegation battle for Boro
MIDLANDS 2 EAST (NORTH)
COALVILLE 29 LOUGHBOROUGH 7 LOUGHBOROUGH RFC are facing a fight against relegation from the Midlands 2 East (North) after a heavy defeat at the hands of neighbours Coalville sent them to the bottom of the league table.
Loughborough opened the game looking strong encamping themselves in the Coalville half but on 10 minutes Coalville broke out with Tang finishing off a team move with a try in the right hand corner.
Rumming was Coalville’s next scorer with a try again starting 50 metres out with the try in the same right hand corner. Loughborough’s tactic perhaps showed the side’s achilles heal in that it appeared as though Loughborough didn’t trust their threequarters to handle the ball keeping possession with the forwards whose sole intention was to take a maul from the halfway to the try line.
Of course, it never happened as wiley Coalville were well versed in stopping such action and at half time Coalville were in front 10-0.
Coalville blitzed Loughborough for 35 minutes of the second half running in three tries and having a fourth denied.
With 77 minutes on the clock Loughborough finally trusted their threequarters with the ball. From a lineout Kirby spun the ball wide and with an extra man in the line Aaron Francis scythed through the Coalville defence for a try beneath the posts, which was converted to give the visitors a long time coming consolation try but Coalville took the win 29-7.
This defeat, coupled with Southell’s 16-5 win over fellow strugglers Notts Casuals, sees Loughborough rooted at the bottom of the table, two points behind Notts Casuals, but with a vital game in hand.
They are due to face Ashbourne away this weekend in a match which has been postponed twice in recent weeks, before their final home match of the season against second placed Dronfield and two futher away fixtures against midtable sides Ilkeston and Lincoln.