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The Tigers 4th XV faced up to a strong Broughton 1st XV on Saturday and attempted a giant killing feat; Broughton were yet to drop a point and sat at the top of the table with a mammoth goal difference whereas the Tigers (although by some unknown miracle found themselves sat at fourth in the table) had the worst goal difference in the league!
The Tigers arrived at Yew Street with certain stalwart members of the team missing - Adam Lewis and Tony Jones - both absent as a result of injuries sustained in the cup match vs. Congleton the previous week. Couple these losses with Mark Knight suffering with back problems and transferred to the wing and a pack that on the whole had not played together, the side was somewhat weakened.
However, any weakness in the constitution of the side certainly didn't show on the pitch and the SP boys played with passion and pride making good ground from the start and they quickly made the much feared Broughton side aware that this was not to be an easy fixture.
The game was well contested on the whole and again, going forward with the ball in open play, the Tigers dominated and managed to drive Broughton backward. The Broughton side were not the best tacklers and SP made the most of this driving through the line and yards were made well by both forwards and backs. However, the handling and tactical errors made by SP were enough to give Broughton the edge.
It must have quickly become apparent to the league leaders that the Sedgley forwards were not on par with their practiced side and they used this to gain as much advantage as possible at both the scrum and the line out, stealing ball and driving the Tigers backward, notching up the scores. The points started to mount for Broughton although (I'm overjoyed to report) these did not go unanswered.
Some fine play from the Sedgley side saw them rapidly break up the left hand side of the pitch, picking and driving from the ruck and pushing Broughton backward. Some quick hand/foot work saw Sedgley dive over the try-line beneath the posts and scoring for the first time since Marple!
The game continued in this vein with Broughton dominating at the set play and SP holding them off as best as possible. At the final whistle, Broughton emerged victorious, the score-line reading 37-7. Special commendations must be given to Sedgley's new winger Colin and to all Tigers who played in unfamiliar positions. Thanks must also be given to the two Broughton lads who pulled on Sedgley jerseys following injuries to Gav Tetley and Mark Knight.
By the same aforementioned miracle, the 4th XV still find themselves sat at 4th place in the league and play Bury 3's on Saturday.
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