Castle Donington Continue Their Progress with First Win of the Season

Castle Donington 1st XV continued with their improving form by racking up their first win of the season in the first league match of the new campaign. In fact this was Castle Donington’s first league win since 25th October last year, their only victory in the league last season, when they beat Nottinghamians 25-27 in a hard fought contest. The vanquished side this time was Skegness, who got on the wrong side of a 20-0 scoreline at The Spital. The visitors showed little signs of their long journey affecting them as, if anything; they started the stronger of the two sides and, almost immediately were awarded a penalty within kicking range. The Skegness Fly Half stepped up to take the kick but pushed the ball wide of the posts, much to the relief of the home players and spectators alike.

A period of sustained pressure was then exerted by Skegness as they struggled to breach the Castle Donington defensive line. Their efforts were in vain, however, as the Castle Donington defence held firm. The home side finally managed to break from their own half and some scrappy play saw the ball find its way over the Skegness line, as the ball dropped at the feet of French Flanker Jean-Eudes Michaud he seemed surprised at his good fortune and managed to fumble the ball in his attempt to touch down. This misfortune did, however, appear to spur him on and from there on Michaud was a central figure in almost every passage of play, in both attack and defence. Long suffering Castle Donington supporters could have been forgiven for thinking that it would be another of those days, but their fears were to be allayed shortly afterwards as the home side managed to bundle the ball over the line with Centre, Rick Bentley, coming up with the ball in his hands.

Fly Half Simon Moon had a mixed day with the boot and missed the ensuing conversion attempt. Although he was to make amends soon after when Skegness were penalised for a lineout infringement and from 30 metres out and 10 metres from the touchline Moon struck a beautiful penalty which bisected the uprights, giving Castle Donington an 8-0 lead. The remainder of the half saw Skegness camped solidly in the Castle Donington half as their large pack mounted attack after attack but the home defence held firm forcing Skegness back each time. The battering they were receiving was to take its toll as Hooker Tony Dykes suffered a neck injury and had to be replaced by veteran Front Row Forward Kevin (Spud) Wood. The Castle Donington defence held firm and the teams changed around with the score 8-0 in favour of the hosts.

The half time break saw the Castle Donington coach urging his players to play the territory in the second half and not to play their rugby in their own half. With those words still fresh in their minds Castle Donington received a long kick off from Skegness and instead of heeding the advice of their coach decided to run the ball from inside their own 22m line. The ball went to ground and was recovered by the Skegness attack. The home defence scrambled to try and atone for their error, but only managed to concede a penalty 15 metres out directly in front of the posts. Once more the Skegness Fly Half stepped forwards and once again he was wayward with his attempt, at which point Skegness really must have felt this was not to be their day. The next 10 minutes were evenly contested with the teams moving from end to end as attacks were exchanged and cancelled out by the respective defences. Skegness were the first to crack, however, as they conceded a penalty for offside as they fought to repel the Castle Donington attack. Moon elected to kick but from 38 metres out and directly in front of the posts he scuffed his attempt and the ball went dead in goal.

Once more Moon was to get the opportunity to make amends for his kicking error as shortly afterwards the Skegness kicker was to misjudge a penalty kick for touch. The ball was fielded by Full Back revelation Chris Holt 15 metres from his own goal line, electing to run the ball Holt headed for the open field and made it over his own 10m line before offloading the ball to Kyle Brentnall, making his debut in the Centres, Brentnall moved up to the halfway line and drew the covering tackle, before feeding the ball back inside to Holt, who had continued his run. Holt moved into opposition territory before being halted but the ball was recycled quickly and Scrum Half, Mark Boddy, fed the ball to Bentley who again drew the tackle and presented the ball. This time Boddy fed Moon and his dummy scissor with skipper Alan White saw them both go through a bamboozled Skegness defensive line and emerge unscathed in the back field. Moon slipped the ball to White who skipped round the covering Winger and drew the Full back across before delivering the killer pass to Moon who raced in under the posts from 25 metres out for a try. This time Moon managed to slot the conversion and Castle Donington started to see daylight between themselves and the visitors as the scoreline stretched to 15-0.

Unfortunately White, who was carrying a knee injury, was to take no further part in the game and was replaced by former skipper Dan Keeling. Skegness continued to pose problems for the home side and the players and the touchline alike at no point felt able to relax. Again the game flowed from end to end, again both defences showed great desire to hold their line. The best, however, had been saved until last. Dean Meakin, making his debut on the Wing, replaced Gareth Whittaker. Skegness mounted an attack but yet again the Castle Donington defence forced the error. The home side have been practicing their use of turnover ball and it paid dividends as the ball was quickly moved away from the contact area and good hands, once more, from the outstanding Brentnall saw Meakin receive the ball 2 metres outside his 22m line for his first touch of the ball. What followed was to bring the crowd to their feet and an alleged sighting of the Castle Donington coach breaking a smile. Meakin brushed off 4 attempted tackles and evaded 7 defenders to go the length of the field and score alongside the posts. This was truly a great piece of finishing, which he should be justly proud of, and the home support is looking forward to seeing much more of Meakin this season. Moon was to continue his erratic day with the boot by missing the conversion attempt, but with the lead now 20-0 the game was all but over.

The final 10 minutes were played almost entirely in the Castle Donington half as Skegness showed great determination in trying to break their duck. The Castle Donington line held firm, however, and referee Richard Fortt brought the game to a close, much to the delight of the home support. For his efforts, and despite his missed kicks, Moon was awarded the Man of the Match prize underlying what a good prospect he looks likely to be once he settles in to senior Rugby and his newfound position. Whilst the win was most welcomed, and has been a long time coming, the fact that the team managed to keep a clean sheet was just reward for all the efforts that they have made on the training field to tighten up their defence. This was a highly entertaining game of rugby served up by two sides that were determined to play. Our congratulations go to Skegness for their part in making this game the spectacle it was and we look forward to the return fixture at the end of the season. Next weekend sees Castle Donington travel to Loughborough to take on their 4th XV, kick off 3pm at Derby Road.

 

Castle Donington 1st XV V’s Skegness 1st XV;
Holt, Whittaker, Brentnall, Bentley, Lewis, Moon, Boddy, Bradley, Dykes, Whitehead, Harris, Robinson, Summers, Michaud, White (Capt).
Replacements; Wood, Keeling D, Meakin.