Nine-try return is just the job for Ashbourne
ASHBOURNE returned to action after the festive break with a resounding 57-3 win away to Ashby in Counties 2 Midlands East (North).
They came out of the blocks quickly and, despite conceding more penalties than they would have wanted, had the try bonus point on the board before the break.
In an early attack, Jonny Cantellow heeded Ollie Ruddock’s call and sent a brilliant cross-field kick which put the winger in the clear for the first try.
James ”Monty” Lyon, on his return from a nasty ankle injury, crossed for two tries, the first from a pick and go on the line from which he muscled over and his second after an excellent offload from Will cross put him in space.
Jonny Riley then got on the board after a good switch in direction of play from Cantellow who beat a few defenders and gave Riley the ball. From there, he made it look easy, brushing off defenders and getting over the line.
For the second half, Ashbourne addressed their discipline without letting go of their hold on the match.
Strong back line defence from a midfield scrum led to an interception try for Ruddock, who plucked the ball out of the air and went straight under the posts.
Riley was frequently tearing apart the Ashby defence and when Will Allen received a clearance from Ashby and threw a wide ball out to Riley, he powered through for his second try.
With Cantellow pulling the strings from fly half, there was more to come and Lyon powered his way through from 15 metres out to complete his hat-trick.
Man of the match Henry Ainsworth was next on the scoresheet, receiving a wide, flat pass from Will Cross to nip through a gap and under the posts.
With the game safe, Woody Austin came on for his debut at full-back and contributed superbly to set up the last try, collecting a clearance at speed and racing past defenders to the 10m line before offloading to Eddie Trethewey.
When he was tackled, Cantellow combined with Riley, who went over for his hat-trick try and Ashbourne’s ninth, six of which Riley converted.
To cap an excellent day, Stewart Bailey also made his first team debut and did so alongside his son Josh.