Aston Old Eds 5 Vs Stafford 41

Three Sundays to go, and this Spring morning in Brum was our last but one away match and a good chance for some of our players returning from injury to get some minutes in.
Stafford started brightly straight from the kick off as Fraser put some great pressure on the receiving team and immediately Ed (captain for the day) began getting involved in the breakdown. If Aston weren’t aware that the Terriers were here to play, they were woken up at the first scrum as Stafford stole it against the head and through Carta made good ground. It was also in the lineout that the Terriers were causing chaos and if it wasn’t for a couple of penalties probably should have got themselves in front.
The team were pushing without getting the break that they deserved when a turnover and long kick by the home team was chased and miss judged by Elijah, who touched it before the line and then touched it down over the line, providing Aston with a scrum 5 metres out. Like we have seen all season, the Stafford defence bends but rarely breaks and again they did the job. Eventually Elijah would clear the Stafford line and a great chase by Fraser and Leon got Stafford back to half way. It wouldn’t be long till Leon got a chance to get some more steps in , this time with ball in hand, a great carry saw him get deep into Aston territory, some quick recycling and punchy carries by the forwards saw Carta get the ball in space, set his man and provide Rich an opportunity that he finished well. (0-7 Elijah conv).
From kick off, Stafford moved the ball quickly and Carta again found space , the centre looked certain to score from 50 out having beaten defenders but as he looked to make the angle easier for the kicker, the centre was caught, the support though led by Tyler was there quickly and eventually Harrison would pop up to score and extend the lead. (12-0 missed conv).
The Stafford pack were purring and the carries from Bobby and Oli were making good ground. The result was a scrum in a decent position, Ed saw the space to pick and go blind, Tyler ever in support picked and went, Carta took a crash ball and Ed who started the move, scored a lovely team try (19-0 Elijah conv).
Aston through their forwards were pushing and making some in roads but the pack and the returning Mason and Jonah were clearly enjoying themselves in defence, (not necessarily what the opposition wanted to see). With a lineout deep in the Stafford half, the ball was secured and through Connor and Tyler, Stafford began to move the ball and were awarded a penalty. Aston managed to scramble and turned the ball over but within a phase Stafford had won the ball back and some lovely hands from Elijah who popped and looped Carta before releasing Connor, saw the winger make it to the 22. Unfortunately, a knock on stopped the move but Stafford were looking to add to their lead before the break.
They did just that when the forwards again won one against the head, Ed again went blind, popping the ball to Elijah who fizzed a miss pass to Connor and the wing powered through some wannabe tacklers to score in the corner. (24-0 missed conv).
Aston would try and get a foothold in the game before half time but some great defence by Harry W and Mason held the ball up over the line and the score would remain the same.
It was time for the players to catch their breath having worked against the slope in the first half and who had really come out the traps well. Aston though would start the second half as they finished the first. Despite good tackles from Declan out wide and Matty in defence, Stafford kept giving away penalties and finally after the third one, the defence broke, and Aston would get a try. (24-5)
Aston were feeling it and despite good carries from Leon and Danny, the home team managed to move the ball back into the 22. Time for the Captain who had done it in attack to show up in defence, having put a great tackle in the blue capped Ed, bounced back onto his feet and smashed a wannabe scorer backwards and forced the turnover. Like all the lads in the pack he does the dirty unseen work so well.
Stafford would get back into the game and it wasn’t a surprise that it was Elijah who made the half break, fed Fraser and the winger scored out wide to put any thoughts of a comeback to bed. (29-0 missed conv).
From the ensuing kick off, the home team conceeded two penalties on the bounce and Stafford were back in the opposition half. Elijah again from a set piece moved the ball, pulling out a lovely dummy scissors before feeding Connor who would score his second of the day. (34-5 missed conv).
Then came arguably play of the day that if it had resulted in a try would have been a treat for all those watching. Aston cleared the ball almost into the Stafford half, Harry in at fullback near his own 10, saw the opportunity to go quick from the line out and fed Will Vn, the scrum half accepted and ran past halfway before feeding Leon whose quick feet beat two and as he set his man he fed Declan outside him. The winger who has scored two in two weeks was unfortunate not to get a third as a good cover tackle just metres from the line prevented a try.
From the turnover and with the field broken due to tired bodies, Aston tried to break, Will who had followed the previous play managed to get a great tackle in and keep the pressure on, forcing a kick from close to the line. The kick was shanked, Connor took it cleanly, set his man and put in Fraser for his second of the match. Again, the kick was out wide, this time though a big foot was required, up stepped Jack who doing his best impression of Jonny Wilkinson, nailed it clean between the uprights to finish the game (41-4 Jack conv).
This was a great team effort against a typically physical Birmingham team and the boys stood their ground and never backed away from the challenge, they also played some lovely heads-up rugby, with five different players scoring seven tries.
It was also great to see;
Players getting minutes having been injured,
Mason smiling having dealt with a potential flashpoint,
The engines and desire from the forwards to get to breakdowns and do the graft
And the backs moving the ball so four of the tries were scored by wingers, on another day where the wind wasn’t so swirly, this would have been over before full-time.
MOTM this week, firstly an honourable mention to Ed, captained well and was a thorn in the Aston side in attack and defence. However, this week, its Elijah who was smooth in defence and attack, was constantly vocal, sometimes forgot he was playing contact instead of touch and led from 10 really well, fizzing passes and stepping players at time for fun.
Quote of the day from Steff “was the kick thing missed”, love our Terriers family.
So, it’s on to our last home game vs Tamworth, a developmental game and chance for players to get extended game time while others prepare for Stoke and the last game of the season.