Aston headed into this much-anticipated clash with FiveWays full of confidence following their win against Droitwich, and with the addition of three more debutants, Aston looked to continue their fine run of form.

Starting XV – Alex Brown, Jordan Young(Captain), Luke Gough, Matt Essex, Joe Carroll, Alex Henley, James Lyttle, Kieran Sandford, Jacob Heath, James Plant, Connor McGill, Conor Byrne, Josh Gorman, John Perkins, Aaron Rudd. SUBS – Alex Wood, Luke Rathbone.

Aston welcomed back several players to the starting line up today, with Alex Brown, Matt Essex, Alex Henley and Kieran Sandford all returning. Added to this, Aston had three players making their debuts, with Jacob Heath, Conor Byrne and Connor McGill all looking to make their mark in Aston colours.

Defending the slope, Aston were forced into defensive duties early on, to which they responded with strong tackles and good organisation. Aston’s efforts were rewarded, when after good work at the breakdown secured a turnover, where the ball found it’s way out wide to full-back Aaron Rudd, who cut through the ‘Ways back line to score under the posts, James Plant added the extras. With ‘Ways looking to respond, Aston had to defend their line again, and once more, excellent defense led by the Aston back row, saw Aston’s line remain untouched. It was this pressure that led to a spilled ball from ‘Ways, on which debutant Conor Byrne pounced, ran and side-stepped his way over the try line from 50 metres out, with James Plant adding the extras again. ‘Ways returned deep into Aston’s half, with Aston losing full-back Aaron Rudd to injury following brave defensive efforts, Luke Rathbone came on in what was a solid display. Despite the defensive battling of Aston, ‘Ways managed to cross in the corner, with conversion missed. Aston restarted, and took this opportunity to display their range of ball-carrying options, with strong carries from both forwards and backs, following a succession of quickly recycled ball, Luke Gough found himself crossing the line following a typical barn-storming run from the tight-head, with James Plant converting once again. ‘Ways looked to respond quickly and reduce the deficit, using their bigger strike runners to attack the fringes, making Aston work hard to repel the offence. On his return from injury, no.8 Kieran Sandford showed just how valuable he is when fully fit, putting in tackle after tackle, well and truly spearheading the Aston defensive efforts, it was this bravery that led to him putting in a typically strong tackle, but unfortunately, came out of the collision injured, leaving the pitch on a stretcher, heading to hospital via ambulance with the extent of the injury unknown. The rest of the half seemed to be played at a much slower tempo, but in the final play of the half, James Plant spotted a mismatch, to send through Conor Byrne for his second of the game.

HALF TIME – ASTON OLD EDS 26 – 5 FWOE

Having done the hard work playing up the hill in the first half, Aston started the second strongly. Spending the majority of the half in the ‘Ways half. Despite plenty of attacking flair from Aston, ‘Ways’ defence stood firm, forcing mistakes seemingly every time Aston had possession. It was this tenacity in defence that earned ‘Ways good field position, and following a lineout deep in Aston’s 22, ‘Ways crossed the try line with a well-worked rolling maul. This seemed to deflate the Aston side, who seemed to lose their attacking fluency and defensive organisation. After again giving away more silly penalties, Aston found themselves back on their own try line, and after defending their line from numerous phases, ‘Ways found a way to crawl over their line from only a couple of metres out. It was this that seemed to re-ignite the Aston pack, who from the restart, re-found their dominance and made it pay, several carries later, the ball found itself in James Plant’s hands, who cleared the lines once more, when ‘Ways returned the kick, the Aston pack pounced, earning a penalty for their efforts. With the ball duly booted to touch by Plant, the Aston lineout looked to show what it could do, this saw James Plant pick the biggest of holes in the opposition defence, to cross in the corner, converting fantastically. Aston dominated the final encounters, with Josh Gorman outpacing the whole opposition back line, to score the final try of the game.

FULL TIME – ASTON OLD EDS 38 – 15 FWOE
Well done to the three debutants, Jacob Heath who had a superb game linking play between forwards and backs. Conor Byrne, who crowned his debut with a brace of tries. Finally to Connor McGill, who produced a solid display, including strong tackling and impressive carries of the ball.

Man of the Match – Conor Byrne

Cleggy Award(s) – 1) Josh Gorman – for not realising he’d been moved from Outside Centre to Full-Back
- 2) Alex Henley – for asking whether we’d won or not during the post-match team talk!

Best wishes go to Kieran Sandford, who left Sunnybank in an ambulance headed for hospital. Hopes are for a speedy recovery!