Resounding Win from Droitwich 1XV

Aiming to build on the hard work put into pre-season training, Droitwich 1XV travelled to Old Saltleians expectant of a solid performance built on good foundations and that is exactly what was delivered.

Droitwich dominated the match throughout, with only short periods of pressure from Old Salts, who were at times simply outclassed in all aspects of the game.

Starting well, the team moved the ball quickly from the ruck to create chances from both wings, so it wasn't long before Dan Wilkinson took the ball on the right wing and ran the ball in from the 22m line and touched it down underneath the posts. The try was quickly converted with a drop kick conversion under the posts to make the score Old Salts 0 - 7 Droitwich RFC.

Pushing on, Droitwich continued to put the pressure on the Old Salts defensive line, finding breaks and gaps to push forward. Some great back play put Brad Smith, playing his first senior match, into space on the left wing and he turned on his speed to run the ball over the line. The conversion attempt was missed, making the score Old Salts 0 - 12 Droitwich RFC.

After the restart play continued in much the same way, quick ball, line breaks and the Droitwich XV pushing on towards the try line. This time some great forward play around the ruck gave Rob Poke a chance to touch the ball down over the line, however his attempt was thwarted when the ball became dislodged as he went to ground. Old Salts scrambled to reclaim the ball from a dominant Droitwich scrum and cleared the lines.

The pressure was soon back on however when some powerful tackling and good support work from the forwards led to a turnover on the right side of the pitch. Some fast hands from the backs saw the Old Salts team turned and running back towards their own try line as the ball was shipped wide to Brad Smith to score his second try of the game. A simple conversion attempt was scored and the lead was up to 19 for Droitwich.

It was seeming somewhat inevitable that another score would come soon and it proved to be an Old Salts mistake, a loose pass, which allowed Brad Smith to pounce on the ball and run it in from distance to complete his Hat Trick. Continued fine kicking brought the score up to Old Salts 0 - 26 Droitwich RFC going into half time.

The second half started in much the same way the second ended, with continued pressure from Droitwich, exploiting gaps to make ground, breaking the Old Salts line time after time. It wasn't long before one of these breaks led to a chance for Matt Barnes to receive a pass and run into space, beating the Old Salts full back to cross the line and place the ball under the posts. A quick conversion pushed the lead out to 33 for Droitwich.

After all the success of the backs, the forwards were itching to take some of the plaudits, so when an opportunity arose for Pete Knight to run in from close range, he seized it with both hands (quite literally) and went over the line to score Droitwich's sixth try of the match. Another successful conversion made the score Old Salts 0 - 40 Droitwich RFC.

A few minor knocks for both sides led to some substitutions. Being a friendly game, the Droitwich coaching team were keen to ensure that the team stays healthy for the upcoming season and so made good use of the bench to place some fresh legs on the field and rest some key players.

Moving forward deep into the Old Salts 22, Droitwich picked a quick ball from the back of the ruck on the 5 metre line and shipped it to the blindside where Dan Wilkinson was waiting to run over his second try of the game. A fantastic kick from out towards the left wing saw the try converted bring the score to Old Salts 0 - 47 Droitwich RFC.

As the game drew to a close, droitwich continued to demonstrate great attacking prowess amongst short periods of hard hitting defence. Determined to hold the Old Salts team to 0, they continued to press hard and not content with a 47 point win, put Matt Barnes into space to cross the line just a few minutes before the full time whistle for his second. Converting his own try, the win was complete with Old Salts not able to respond to the efforts of Droitwich. Full time score Old Salts 0 - 54 Droitwich RFC.

Ever the good sportsmen, Old Salts congratulated the team on a dominant performance. Thanks have to go to the Old Saltleians for hosting the Droitwich 1XV in this friendly match and for a spirited performance which they persisted in even to the dying part of the game.

The team will now regroup and head back into training, knowing that the hard work they are putting in is being reflected in the way they are executing the game on the pitch, but they will need to continue to train hard to work towards a successful league season.