Sat 25 Jan 2025
For the second season in succession, Alcester were left frustrated in leaving Tile Hill, having surrendered a healthy lead, and on this occasion, second place in the league table as well, as the home side replaced them after this win.
They were also left to rue three yellow cards in the game, which meant they spent over a quarter of the game, a man down, with two of the cards overlapping in the second half, which saw them playing a few minutes with only thirteen men a period in which they conceded two tries.
The visitors scored the first points of the game from the boot of Tom Burgess before the hosts started to apply the pressure and were held up over the line by determined defence.
Alcester lost skipper, Christian Rushton, to the sin bin for a high tackle on the quarter of an hour mark, and the home side piled the pressure on and took the lead a few minutes later with their first try that was converted.
To their credit, and whilst still a man down, the visitors hit back and after some well constructed phases of play and accurate interchange of passes, fly half Ed Gough danced his way past the final defenders to score, before converting his own try, to give his side a 10-7 lead.
Just before the half an hour mark, teenage hooker, Jake Stephens-Smith, who has made an excellent start to first team rugby over the last season, scored his first senior try which Burgess converted.
Just before half time the home side’s powerful left winger, who was a danger throughout the game, exploited the overlap and scored out wide to bring the scores back to 17-12 in Alcester’s favour.
In the last play of the half, it was home side’s turn to receive a yellow card for ten minutes as one of their players was sent to the sin bin for a trip.
Alcester made the most of the numerical advantage and scored early in the second half. Skipper Rushton made a powerful break up field before offloading to Jack Green who dived over. Burgess again converted for a 24-12 lead.
With their numbers restored, the home side were galvanised and they quickly hit back through another try, before the visitors lost Josh O’Connor to the sin bin, for what the referee adjudged to have been a tip tackle. Three minutes later the home side levelled the scores with a converted try before the visitors lost Will Silk to the bin for not retreating quick enough at a tap penalty.
With a two man advantage now, Old Coventrians scored what turned out to be the winning try to give themselves a 31-24 lead.
With a few minutes remaining and with numbers restored and now actually having the numerical advantage themselves after a home player was yellow carded for side entry at a ruck, Alcester took play into the Old Coventrians twenty-two and were awarded a line out, but their play lacked the accuracy needed at this crucial stage of the game and the chance was lost.
Alcester host Evesham on Saturday, hoping to avenge a defeat in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.
