What a roller coaster of a season the development side have had so far.

Kettering 3rd XV RFC 52pts vs. Towcestrians RFC Development XV 15pts

What a roller coaster of a season the development side have had so far.

Unable to field 15 players without last minute phone calls to the 3rd team Tows travelled away to Kettering to play a fairly well organised 3rd XV.
The first half started fairly even as both side tried to gain some dominance over the other. Kettering possessed the heavier forwards and larger backs which eventually proved to be the downfall of Tows.
When Towcester had ball in hand and attacked Kettering’s blind side they looked like scoring but it was always that last pass or the last decision that turned over the ball to the opposition. When the ball ended up in the opponent’s hands Kettering’s forwards used their size to their advantage.
It wasn’t long before Kettering with more time on the ball gained territorial advantage which eventually gave them the lead in the first half.
The score at half time was only 17 – 15 which was a credit to Towcester to hold Kettering to such a close score. The team talk at half time was more of the same for the second half with the emphasis on first up tackles and a solid defensive structure.
The home side started the second half the strongest.
Kettering scored as Towcester’s defence missed their first up tackles and the defence never realigned to stop the Kettering attack.
Heads started dropping as the pressure never stopped. Numerous missed tackles lead to more tries and with no replacement the fatigue set in. Kettering used their replacements well and the tries started to rack up.
As is usual Towcester never gave up but the pressure was always too great to overcome and the home side never relented.
Thanks to Moggy and Tetsi for manfully standing in at last minute.
Next week there is a bus trip to Market Rasen with the 1st XV for a friendly against their seconds.