Aston Old Edwardians 22 vs Matlock 12

Matlock arrived at Aston for their first ever tour match against a side they'd never played before and knew nothing about. What lay in store in this Midlands derby. It turned out to be a close fought contest against a combined team containing a number of boys a year older than their Matlock opponents.

From the kick off, Aston showed they were up for a contest. A strong run down the wing was halted close to the try line and further determined by Matlock defending kept the hosts at bay.

From an early line out, the ball was passed along the line to Danny McCrea who gained half the pitch in territory. Jack Gothard put in a great tackle in the centre of the pitch and the forwards made their presence felt in the scrum in some of the best scrumaging of the season.

The boys were clearly determined to make an impression early on. As the game progressed, it became clear that this was a level of performance that would be sustained throughout.

Great running and passing in the centre of the pitch almost led to a breakthrough for Harvey Graham. Daniel Cruise was running tirelessly to break up Aston's rhythm.

Great rucking led to possession and a first try for Matlock from a guest player from the visiting side. It was answered by Aston within minutes following a quick pass to the wing and run into the corner.

George Bowen won possession for Matlock with determined tackling and interception. From the resulting play, Danny McCrea ran through to score between the posts to make it a straightforward conversion for Jack Gothard as Matlock eased into a 12-5 lead.

Tom Pollock, George Bowen and Jack Gothard put in a series of tackles on the wing, but couldn't prevent Aston barging the ball through for a second try to bring the score to 12-10 at half time.

Tuesday training paid off from the second half kick off as Matlock passed the ball quickly along the line. Tigerish tackling and great work from the front row kept Matlock firmly in the game in a tightly fought contest.

The match entered a period of attrition. A series of hard fought scrums and tackling from both sides meant neither side was able to establish dominance.

The deadlock was broken by a great run down the wing by Ned Tatler who lost out on the chance of a superb try only by a single step into touch.

Against the run of play, Aston took the lead after Matlock failed to clear their lines. A conversion took the score to 17 - 12

The game began to open out as Aston began to tire. Tackling became ferocious and the competition fierce as both sides pushed for the victory. A superb try saving tackle from Ned followed by a second from George kept Matlock in the game as it entered its last 4 minutes. At the death Aston added a try with the penultimate play of the game to take the score to 22-12.

It had been a great game, played in the right spirit with the Matlock boys able to hold their heads high after playing some of their best rugby of the season and a fitting end to the 2015 tour.

Man of the Match: George Bowen

Matlock (Baileans) Rugby Club

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