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Five in a row
Tony McArdle13 Oct - 18:06
Saints good form sees them keep top spot
Saints buoyed by the win which made it 4 out of 4 last week welcomed Blackburn to Eastham for the 5th round of the league. Sitting presently in 10th place Blackburn have not had an easy start to the season with only one win so far.
Conditions where excellent dry bright and the pitch in excellent condition, Saints chose to play into the light breeze and autumn sunshine. Within 4 minutes though Saints where on top after a 5m line out Joe Sanders, Anselmians top try scorer last season, drove from close range to score with an outstretched hand to score his 8th try of the season. With conditions a lot better than last week for kicking Nick Baldwin floated the ball between the sticks for a 7-0 lead.
Blackburn pressed hard, as they did all game, making the most of any handling mistakes but Saints defence held firm, Oscar Crowe turnover allowing the backs to put some width on the ball, Arthur Lennon collected the ball on the right wing going from half way to under the sticks outpacing the Blackburn winger and full back, easily converted by Baldwin for a 14-0 lead.
Blackburn thought they were going to score after their winger intercepted a pass only for Lennon and Dodd to come across and catch him on the 5m line, Baldwin clearing the ball. Saints pack made good yards up the pitch and Will Grabe found himself in a bit of space just over the half way line threw an outrageous dummy that the winger actually fell for and pack players only dream about before offloading the ball to the supporting Ben Jones who touched the ball down in the corner, unfortunately missed by Baldwin 19-0.
Blackburn again kept the pressure on Saints try line and were rewarded with a try under the sticks easily converted to pull the score back to a more respectable 19-7. Blackburn again pressed the try line and went over only for the referee to rule the try out, as held up. With HT approaching a drive from the Saints pack John Whittaker touched down again the man in the middle deemed it held up, half-time.
The second half started like the 1st half ended, both packs making ground, but failing to score, after 15 mins Saints making 3 personnel changes with changes to wing Woods on for Cotgrave, Grant for Byrne front row, and the returning Big Fred Clarke for Cross at 6. Within 2 minutes Dodd slipped the ball to Woods just over the halfway line for him to go over in the corner before slipping up the touchline to score behind the posts making an easy kick for Baldwin 26-7 and the try bonus point. With the changes in the pack Saints started to dominate the scrum putting the pressure on the Blackburn pack, they however stood up and where competitive in open play themselves having several chances to score however the Saints defence always seemed to have the extra man in the right place. With yet another promising attack by Blackburn, Clark came out of the maul and charged 30 m up the pitch before sliding a kick into touch averting another attack. Last score of the game came from Sanders with his 9th try of the season 2nd of the game when he drove low and hard from a ruck and the defenders were unable to keep him out, Baldwin stepped up for the extras and final score of 33-7. Saints not at their best, considering the excellent conditions, with far too many handling errors something to work on this week in training but 5-5 so far this season.
Home game again next week with a visit from East Midlands outfit Long Eaton 1st time the clubs have played each other I believe.
Conditions where excellent dry bright and the pitch in excellent condition, Saints chose to play into the light breeze and autumn sunshine. Within 4 minutes though Saints where on top after a 5m line out Joe Sanders, Anselmians top try scorer last season, drove from close range to score with an outstretched hand to score his 8th try of the season. With conditions a lot better than last week for kicking Nick Baldwin floated the ball between the sticks for a 7-0 lead.
Blackburn pressed hard, as they did all game, making the most of any handling mistakes but Saints defence held firm, Oscar Crowe turnover allowing the backs to put some width on the ball, Arthur Lennon collected the ball on the right wing going from half way to under the sticks outpacing the Blackburn winger and full back, easily converted by Baldwin for a 14-0 lead.
Blackburn thought they were going to score after their winger intercepted a pass only for Lennon and Dodd to come across and catch him on the 5m line, Baldwin clearing the ball. Saints pack made good yards up the pitch and Will Grabe found himself in a bit of space just over the half way line threw an outrageous dummy that the winger actually fell for and pack players only dream about before offloading the ball to the supporting Ben Jones who touched the ball down in the corner, unfortunately missed by Baldwin 19-0.
Blackburn again kept the pressure on Saints try line and were rewarded with a try under the sticks easily converted to pull the score back to a more respectable 19-7. Blackburn again pressed the try line and went over only for the referee to rule the try out, as held up. With HT approaching a drive from the Saints pack John Whittaker touched down again the man in the middle deemed it held up, half-time.
The second half started like the 1st half ended, both packs making ground, but failing to score, after 15 mins Saints making 3 personnel changes with changes to wing Woods on for Cotgrave, Grant for Byrne front row, and the returning Big Fred Clarke for Cross at 6. Within 2 minutes Dodd slipped the ball to Woods just over the halfway line for him to go over in the corner before slipping up the touchline to score behind the posts making an easy kick for Baldwin 26-7 and the try bonus point. With the changes in the pack Saints started to dominate the scrum putting the pressure on the Blackburn pack, they however stood up and where competitive in open play themselves having several chances to score however the Saints defence always seemed to have the extra man in the right place. With yet another promising attack by Blackburn, Clark came out of the maul and charged 30 m up the pitch before sliding a kick into touch averting another attack. Last score of the game came from Sanders with his 9th try of the season 2nd of the game when he drove low and hard from a ruck and the defenders were unable to keep him out, Baldwin stepped up for the extras and final score of 33-7. Saints not at their best, considering the excellent conditions, with far too many handling errors something to work on this week in training but 5-5 so far this season.
Home game again next week with a visit from East Midlands outfit Long Eaton 1st time the clubs have played each other I believe.
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