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Sat 19 Oct 2019 · Midlands 3 East (South)
SaintsQueens
29
32
St Neots RUFC 1st XV – Saints Match Report
Paul Warmington21 Oct 2019 - 08:55
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St Neots 29 – Bedford Queens 32
St Neots have been building momentum this season, with ever-improving results, and this fixture was a target for the squad to really kick-start the campaign. In what ended up being a game of two halves, Saints were narrowly defeated with the final kick of the match.
Another excellent opening 20 minutes enabled an early lead to be established, firstly from Lewis Hall’s boot and then two swift tries from Matt Cartwright and Rory Dingemans, after punishing breaks from Ross Hubbard and Callum Austen. Queens hit back to close the deficit, but the response from the Saints was excellent. The short side was exploited by Nick Robinson, who slipped the ball to Cartwright, who had Austen on his shoulder to stroll in.
Half-time approached with St Neots in the ascendency, and the bonus point was secured when fine hands from Nick Ashford, put Lewis Rook free on the outside to open his tally for the season. There was time for a fifth, as Jake Bailey began to put his imprint on the match. Several earlier carries had resulted in excellent yards, but this time he would profit from others. A turnover was exploited by great hands by Johnny Berwick and Lewis Hall to turn Rook free. His chip ahead was initially gathered by Queens, but his follow-up hit dislodged the ball to Austen who put Bailey through the gaping hole to extend the lead.
After half-time the tide began to turn as Queens used the boot effectively to keep Saints in their own half. Slowly, Queens chipped away at the lead with several tries born from forward power. It felt that another score would have put the game to bed, but despite a period of dominating possession, some loose handling gave the ball to Queens who did well to retain it and exit from their own half. The match reached 29-29 as the last play was called, but a late penalty was conceded, and Queens slotted from in front of the posts to take the points.
The defeat was a difficult one to take after such an excellent 1st half, but an immediate chance to correct the errors comes next week in a trip to Rushden and Higham.
Another excellent opening 20 minutes enabled an early lead to be established, firstly from Lewis Hall’s boot and then two swift tries from Matt Cartwright and Rory Dingemans, after punishing breaks from Ross Hubbard and Callum Austen. Queens hit back to close the deficit, but the response from the Saints was excellent. The short side was exploited by Nick Robinson, who slipped the ball to Cartwright, who had Austen on his shoulder to stroll in.
Half-time approached with St Neots in the ascendency, and the bonus point was secured when fine hands from Nick Ashford, put Lewis Rook free on the outside to open his tally for the season. There was time for a fifth, as Jake Bailey began to put his imprint on the match. Several earlier carries had resulted in excellent yards, but this time he would profit from others. A turnover was exploited by great hands by Johnny Berwick and Lewis Hall to turn Rook free. His chip ahead was initially gathered by Queens, but his follow-up hit dislodged the ball to Austen who put Bailey through the gaping hole to extend the lead.
After half-time the tide began to turn as Queens used the boot effectively to keep Saints in their own half. Slowly, Queens chipped away at the lead with several tries born from forward power. It felt that another score would have put the game to bed, but despite a period of dominating possession, some loose handling gave the ball to Queens who did well to retain it and exit from their own half. The match reached 29-29 as the last play was called, but a late penalty was conceded, and Queens slotted from in front of the posts to take the points.
The defeat was a difficult one to take after such an excellent 1st half, but an immediate chance to correct the errors comes next week in a trip to Rushden and Higham.
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