SEDGLEY PARK    33

PERTEMPS BEES 34 

National League Division One  

SCORING 33 points against the Bees at Park Lane is not such a good idea it appears.

For the second time in successive seasons the Tigers put that many points past their visitors from Birmingham & Solihull, yet once again it did not guarantee victory: last season it was a 33-33 draw yielding three league points; on Saturday in ended in a defeat by the slimmest of margins, yielding just two league points.

Yet being the Tigers’ first points of the season they were still very welcome, even if they could and should have been five.

Leading 33-31 with five minutes to go it looked like Sedgley would finally get the morale boosting win they have been looking for after losing their first three games.

But in the 78^th minute Tigers’ skipper Jimmy Ponton, who like a true openside always straddles a thin legal line, was adjudged to have gone offside at a ruck 10 metres out from his own line, as the Bees buzzed around trying to conjure up the winning points themselves.

His yellow card was then compounded by the sight of Bees’ winger Matt Nuthall easily banging over the three-pointer to guarantee the Bees a last-gasp victory.

Being the first game of the season against a fellow part-time side, it was noticeable how close the contest was throughout.

For the first time Tigers took the lead when centre Chris Briers made a great break out of defence and appeared to have the legs on the Bees’ defence, only to be stopped 10 metres from the visitors’ line where the Tigers were awarded a penalty.

A textbook catch-and-drive from the resulting 10-metre lineout saw Jaco Swart drive the ball over the line by the right corner flag, with Phil Jones adding the conversion to open up a seven-point gap.

That was doubled four minutes later when good pressure, beginning with an Adam Newton run, resulted in a penalty kick, and the tap-and-go preceded a rolling maul which drove the Bees’ defenders over their own line between the posts where prop Gareth Roberts grounded the ball. Jones obliged with the two-pointer and the Tigers led 14-0.

Prior to the game Tigers backs’ coach Andy Northey had asked for more aggression and it was delivered when Swart and hooker Jonny Roddam became entangled with a number of the Bees’ forwards, but referee Tim Beddow had the good sense to just settle everyone down and let the game go on.

Unfortunately, from the ensuing penalty the Bees kicked and from the lineout it was their turn to catch-and-drive, with impressive Fijian flanker Akapusi Qera getting the touchdown which Nuthall converted.

With a quarter of the game gone Bees’ winger Adam Billig was yellow-carded for not rolling away from a tackle and the Tigers made the most of the man-advantage immediately when turnover ball close to the line allowed Jon Skurr to drive over with Jones again supplying the extras.

The topsy-turvy nature of this game continued. Within five minutes the visitors had pulled the gap back to a converted try when they gained possession from the fumbled restart, a lineout and a brace of scrums later prop Hotilli Assi barreled over close to the posts to allow Nuthall’s boot to make it 21-14.The Bees then notched two more tries from second row Mark Gabey (a real forwards’ try – pick-and-go, pick-and-go) and Nuthall showing his pace out wide to see the Bees lead 21-26 at the turnaround.

Within three minutes of the restart it was all square again after Phil Jones capitalised from Skurr’s powerful drive to send a miss-pass out into the waiting hands of Andy Craig and he showed a clean pair of heels to go over in the left-hand corner.

Back came the Bees’ forwards and a series of set-pieces ended with their other South Sea island flanker, Leo Halavatau, pouncing on lineout possession to drive over and restore his side’s lead.

On 63 minutes Tigers’ Director of Rugby Tim Fourie decided to throw himself into the fray, whether it was desperation or inspiration is not clear but within 13 minutes he had scored what every Tigers’ supporter hoped would be the winning try when he rounded off a powerful driving maul, set-up by good work from Skurr and Ponton, to touch down between the posts, giving Jones the easiest of kicks to make it 33-31.

Unfortunately, with just two minutes remaining, victory was snatched from their grasp when Ponton strayed offside at a ruck close to his own posts and after being yellow-carded had to watch dejectedly from behind the in-goal area as Nuthall slotted over the resulting penalty to claim victory for his side.

This was a game the Tigers should have won, but it did prove one thing, against other part-time teams they are more than a match.Indeed, with a bit more composure and luck that elusive first win of the season could have been achieved. Surely now it will not be long off. 

SEDGLEY PARK: De Jager, Roko, Craig, Briers, Voortman, P. Jones, Leck, Roberts, Roddam (M. Jones, 64), Gazzola (Du Plessis, 58), Swart (Fourie, 61), Norris (Bennett, 56), Newton (Jope, 64), Ponton, Skurr. Replacements not used: J. Albinson, Naulivou. Tries: Swart (8), Roberts (12), Skurr (20) and Fourie (74). Conversions: P. Jones, 4 

PERTEMPS BEES: Goodridge, Billig, Knight (Henderson, 40), Davies (Martin, 53), Nuthall, Higgins, Baxter (Spee, 75), Dunning (Long, 44), Miles (Pearle, 50), Assi (Lewis, 71), Gabey, Cornwell, Halavatau, Qera (Touhy, 44), Matthews. Tries: Qera (17), Assi (24), Gabey (33), Nuthall (38) and Halavatau (52). Conversions: Nuthall, 3. Penalties: Nuthall, 1.