Doncaster Pheonix 32 - 17 Sheffield Medicals

After a few losses on the bounce, the medics were looking to regain some of the fluidity and confidence that characterised the beginning quarter of the season. They arrived at the Doncaster ground with plenty of time to spare, and enjoyed some of the perks that came with playing at a championship ground – a thorough pre-match pitch inspection and extensive sky interviews with M. Clark.

The warm up was sharp and focused - the forwards moving clinically through their set pieces, whilst the backs were quickly adjusting to a heavily changed starting line-up. The still, rainless day promised to be an almost perfect for a game of rugby – all except the immense cloud of fog that had made Donny Knight’s stadium its home for the day.

The match started with a medics restart. Early pressure, and strong defense lead to what would be a repeated set of events; Strong defense and frequent infringements from both sides saw the score line tick-over like a premiership final. 3-0. 3-3. 6-3. 6-6. Half time blew with the scores standing at 6-9: credit to Matt who kicked excellently, and to the Donny 10 who had a flawless game with the boot. The possession had been mostly Donny’s but the solid defensive effort, that’s been present all season for the medics, kept the try-line untouched. Despite going in at the break down by 3, it was pretty clear to both sides that the game was far from decided.

The medics knew they’d have to come out strong, and reign in their off-side infringements if they were to win the game, but for the first time the defense gave way. The Donny backline managed to break through, and their sustained pressure eventually lead to a try. 10 points down, the medics came back strong. They Scored from a well taken driven line-out, and a quick snap-back play from Ted, finished off by hightops. Again a period of offensive stalemate – big tackles coming in from both sides, but a notable effort from Flinty in D.

Unfortunately, the fog had well and truly settled, and for some reason unbeknownst to anyone except the powers that be, the lights remained off. And as the light dwindled, so too did the medics’ window of opportunity. A second try scored by Donny, and strong defense in the last 10 left the score line at 32-17.

MOTM - Matt Coxon
SOTM - James Flint
TOTM - Will Watkinson