Elthamians win ugly to finish year in second
OLD Elthamians director of rugby Gavin Lach hailed his side’s grit and determination as they held off a second half Canterbury onslaught to finish 2016 in winning fashion.
A try in each half from centres Ben Hough and Max Wilkins was enough to ensure OEs go into 2017 second in the division.
Lach said: “It wasn’t pretty and there were a lot of errors from both sides, but I thought our defence throughout was quite superb. Games between the two sides are always close and Canterbury came into the game as the form side in the division.
“So we knew what we were up against and I’m delighted to have secured what was a hard-fought victory.
“We break for Christmas now, we are in the top three which was our target at the start of the season and we’ve won the most games in the division. If you’d offered me that before a ball had been kicked, I’d have ripped your arms off for it.”
There was little to choose between the two sides throughout a typically bruising but scrappy derby encounter.
The Old Boys just about deserved their victory thanks to a disciplined first-half performance which saw them take a 13-0 lead after only 23 minutes through two penalties from Tom White and Chris Surman, and a try out of nothing from Hough after a sniping break from scrum-half Ollie Claxton.
OEs were given the best possible start to the second half when Canterbury conceded a scrum in their 22 in front of their posts, the ball was moved wide to Wilkins, who forced his way over for a try.
To their credit Canter-
bury, behind 18-0 and with a mountain to climb, dominated for long periods of the second half.
Great work by their forwards saw flanker Tyler Edwards driven over on 46 minutes and when wing Guy Hilton dived over in the corner after slick hands from the backs on the hour, an unlikely comeback appeared on the cards.
However, having been pinned in their own half, OEs were finally able to clear their lines through scrum-half Tom Parker’s hacked clearance and they were able to run down the clock in the final ten minutes in the visitors’ 22.
Canterbury director of rugby Andy Pratt admitted his side’s error count cost them dearly.
“We were poor in the first half. We were pumped up maybe a little bit too much, didn’t think clearly and made too many basic errors,” he said.
“In the second half we showed our spirit, but in the end the mistake at the start of the second half, which allowed OEs to score their second try, was probably the crucial moment in the game.
“To give away a scrum in our 22 in front of our posts is tough to defend. It was disappointing but that’s often the difference in these games.”