Another positive start for Dixonians against Birmingham Barbarians

Written by Paul Gardner (designated Man of the Match).

This week marked the first official game for Matt Sexon as Dixonians captain, with the team looking to carry the preceding form onwards under new leadership in hunt of 9 wins from 9. No pressure then…
Another positive start for Dixonians saw a good deal of early possession, pushing deep into Barbarians’ half. They were feeling the pressure early on, conceding a couple of penalties to give Dixies successive 5m lineouts. A third penalty came, and Matt Sexon broke free to put 5 points on the board after 10 minutes, with Lev slotting home the resulting conversion despite an awkward swirling wind.
Barbarians’ kick off was short, and after the ball was collected, Mo came through the opposition pack with ball in hand to add another 5 points, complimented again by Lev’s boot.

Heads were understandably up, and following more good possession in the midfield and opposition half, Dixies were awarded a scrum on the attacking 22. A quick break and some neat footwork from Lev earned another 7 points. 21-0 after 20 minutes, everything was looking good!
And so it continued. Some strong carries in the midfield from the returning Ronnie helped keep possession, with a line out on the 22 the result. This was lost, but another followed quickly, being won and setting up a strong maul from the pack. Another 5 points, another try for Lev, and another 2 from the boot.
Barbarians looked resigned to a long afternoon of defending, however a penalty and another turned over line out raised their spirits a little, only for Sean to find himself on the end of some great hands from the backs to and yet more points in the corner. A tricky conversion was missed, but Dixies looking strong at 33-0.

Things got worse for Barbarians just before half time. A driving maul inside their 22 and an interesting attempt to slow it down from one of their forwards, jumping on top and earning himself an extended half time break!
Mo added insult to injury, running in another score before the break. 38-0 at the half way stage, with Barbarians not troubling the Dixonians’ 22 once!
The team talk warned of a fightback from Barbarians early in the second half, and they didn’t disappoint. A sustained period of pressure brought a succession of penalties, getting closer to the try line. And they almost got their reward, but for some strong defending from the forwards and hands in the right place from Craig as the ball was held up on the line. The pack continued the strong defence as the ball was stolen from the subsequent scrum.

The second half was slower attack-wise, but that was punctuated with a 55th minute try from Simon following a 5m line out and a break from Mo.

More Dixies pressure kept Barbarians on the back foot, with further scrums and line outs in the attacking half. It felt like it had come to nothing when Barbarians won a penalty inside their 22, but a brilliant interception by Lev led to his 3rd try of the day, not a bad return from injury!

The scoring was completed 5 minutes later when Lex successfully chased down a kick from Lev, making it 55-0. Mo took over conversion duties, but the wind hampered his efforts.

Barbarians were not ready to give up though, and gave one final push for some consolation points. A couple of quick penalties and a scrum came, some huge defensive hits in response. Barbarians again closed on the try line and thought they’d avoided getting nilled, but yet again there were hands under the ball preventing the score.

Another Saturday, another win for Dixonians, and a winning start to the captaincy for Matt Sexon. A superb team performance from all involved, including Rob, Lee and Tirath who switched allegiance to provide Barbarians with some extra reinforcements. Back to the league next week, 10 out of 10 anyone?!