Morley entertain Aireborough

Conditions were great for expansive rugby and that’s exactly how both teams started although a few early errors resulted in Morley scrums. The boys couldn’t quite press home the advantage though and eventually, Aireborough started to get on top and pressure the Morley line. The game was being played deep in the Morley half but strong tackling from Owen, Luke and Nathan kept them at bay. The first period finished with a try saving tackle from Ben Yates on the Aireborough winger. No score going into the first break.

A new Morley team took to the field and immediately had Aireborough under pressure. Jamie, playing at scrum half, made an excellent darting run from the back of a ruck but the Aireborough defence did extremely well to hold him up on the line. The boys were settling in and started to move the ball out wide to the wings which brought the first try of the match – a slick move allowed Jaime and Ed to work the ball out wide to Matthew Ainley who finished with a trademark dart to the line. Aireborough did well to bounce straight back after their scrum half pounced on a loose ball to go over in the corner and bring the scores level. The Morley half back pairing then worked well as Ed offloaded to Jaime to go over to take Morley back in front. This second period was end to end stuff and right on teh whistle, Aireborough were back in it after a strong forward drive to go over down the middle and finish at 2 tries apiece.

In the third period, Morley were denied ball as the Aireborough forwards dominated, resulting in a sustained period of pressure that eventually brought them two tries. It could have been more had it not been for some determined defence but the Aireborough tactics had worked as they succeeded on stopping Morley’s running game.

The final period saw Morley dominate with their running game although initially, Will Kinder had to save a certain try with a great tackle on the Aireborough winger. That seemed to galvanise the boys and they had great success in getting the ball quickly through hands to teammates in space. First came a try for Jo Frain who was starting to enjoy the space he was increasingly finding and a similar move allowed Morley to score again a few minutes later with the ball going though half the team and finished well. That made the score 4 tries apiece and in the dying seconds, Ed made a break and released Will Kinder down the wing who looked odds on to score the winning try, but a brilliant tackle from the Aireborough full back spoiled the perfect finish for the boys.

So the game finished all square but a great spectacle with flowing rugby.

Notable performances:
Joe Stead – powerhouse up front
Jaime – great scrum half display
Ethan – real aggression making it difficult for the opposition
Jo Frain – finding space to display his running skills