First XV battle at Wellingborough

The First XV had their first away fixture, and first loss, at Wellingborough on Wednesday. It was achingly close throughout, and a lucky break by either side might have swung the result, until Wellingborough put things out of Bilton’s reach with a late try.

Historically, Bilton have matched up to Wellingborough’s Seconds, but strong performances in recent years indicated that we should be up against their best.

Things did not get off to the best of starts, with one of our players having to change his studs before the match, which distracted a little from the build-up. That, and the bus trip, meant that Bilton spent the first few minutes tackling while Wellingborough piled on the pressure. Though still a little disorganised, the BG defence held firm with some crunching tackles.

Having survived the early onslaught, the Firsts then began to put on some pressure themselves. Jitters and handling errors scuppered any chance of a try in the early stages, however.

The opening score was Wellingborough’s; an ordinary move became a dangerous one when the flying Wellingborough winger outpaced the BG defence for an excellent individual try.

BG kept resolute, and Wellingborough had to opt for a field goal to come away with something from a period of pressure. Then it was BG’s turn to take the game to Wellingborough, and brave defence led to Wellingborough having a kick charged down, giving Charlie Bastable just enough space to squeeze over in the corner.

The second half was very even, with both sides looking to score the match winner. With the game moving back and forth, Bilton were sometimes guilty of letting strong runs turn into turnovers and carriers became isolated and the scrappy host openside flanker gaining possession for his side.

In the end, BG could not contain the big second row and number 8 that Wellingborough used very cannily. Their tall lock drove over the line to put the result out of reach for BG.

The boys aim to win every fixture, and losing is never good, but the team went some way to proving themselves against a bigger school. With the fixture at home next year, the boys will aim to close the gap further.


Tags: Prep, Rugby, Sport