Post by Communications Team on Mar 12, 2012 11:26:46 GMT
Moseley Oak In Thrilling Draw
Moseley Oak 29-29 Tamworth
Somehow from having victory in the bag Moseley Oak allowed Tamworth to grab a deserved draw. Both sides could have nicked it at the death but it wasn’t to be. The result was an honourable 29-29 outcome at Billesley Common.
Moseley Oak had a somewhat depleted team, missing their best inside centre, a prop and two back row starters. But Tamworth are a dogged side, worked hard for each other and refused to give an inch.
On the 1st XV pitch, Moseley Oak started the brighter, quickly taking the lead. Good forward work by Duncan White and Nyasha Maphosa turned the ball over, it was swept down the line, and centre Jack Richards got in at the corner flag. Dan Pons converted.
Despite a lengthy warm up it took Tamworth some 20 minutes to get their rhythm. Their tactics weren’t right either – they never figured out that down slope and down wind you kick for position and go from there.
But actually it didn’t matter much.
Every time they really asked Moseley Oak a question someone on the home team fell off a tackle and by half time Tamworth had scored three tries.
First classy full back Danny Norton weaved his way over, converting his own score. Then Dave Goodwin did the same and the last play of the half saw South African No. 8 Euisabius Saayman punch through. That made it 7-19.
Moseley Oak opened the second half sloppily, influential second row Duncan White went off with an injury, but then good interplay between forwards and backs saw Antonio Solomon in – Pons failed with the conversion.
More quick hands got Solomon over for a second, with Pons adding the extras.
Pons notched a penalty and then Solomon, the star performer on the day, cantered over from 30 yards out for a third after picking up a Tamworth knock forward – something of a gift. And that was the bonus point.
At 29-19 the game should have been over, but Tamworth had other ideas.
First they got Joe Madden in for five points and then after further pressure on the Moseley Oak line Chris Lakin sauntered in at the corner. That equalised the scores and Norton’s conversion attempt – from a Tamworth point of view – dropped agonisingly under the cross bar.
Moseley Oak could have pinched it with the last play of the game as Luke Hickey broke clear, but his offload tipped off a hand with the line beckoning … and it was all over.
I usually enjoy the Oak games, but this one was very disappointing.
There seemed to be no urgency, the body language was lethargic and no one seemed to be bothered till after half time in contrast to last week's game against Stafford when everyone seemed up for it. Maybe it was because of "a depleted team", but surely that should be no excuse for mooching about the pitch.
No one was following up the kick offs with any sense of wanting to get there, and the visitors were allowed two soft tries early on with tackles going in far too high to be effective.