Lichfield RUFC’s triumphant first half of the season continued with a 50-19 home win over Silhillians.
The visitors have been claiming scalps in recent weeks, having got the better of third placed Hereford and second placed Burton, and they showed their intention early on with strong running rugby.
Sils got into the Lichfield half, but were then penalised at the breakdown. The Greens knocked on from the set piece, but managed to turn over the scrum. Within two phases they had shifted the ball the full width of the pitch and Greg Massey beat the last defender to score in the fourth minute. Josh Massey converted and Lichfield lead 7-0.
It was again an error from Sils that gave the hosts the ball back. Some poor defence allowed Maxwell-Keys to cut through the backline, before feeding the supporting runners or Cotterhill and Southern, who raced in to score again with under ten minutes played.
From the kick off, Lichfield moved the ball well and it again travelled from one side of the pitch to the other, with Cal Turner making a break down the wing. Support came flooding through, but the final pass from Massey went to ground. It was well gathered, and in their haste, Sils gave away a penalty on their 22. A scrum was called, and an excellent set piece move saw Greg Massey power his way over in the corner. Josh Massey converted in difficult conditions.
The Greens kept pressing and some excellent interplay and running lines between forwards and backs saw Cotterhill come close to his second, only for the ball to be lost in the tackle.
Sils eventually started to play with more accuracy, but although they were keeping hold of the ball they couldn’t find a way through the defence. The hosts started to disrupt their breakdown, meaning the visitors couldn’t get the speed of ball they wanted to play with. This began to force errors and from a scrum Maxwell-Keys broke through and set off down the pitch. He was well supported by Tom Adams, but the wind was proving difficult even with close range passes, and the killer ball went to ground.
Lichfield continued to press and the visitors were being forced to kill the ball illegally in a bid to slow the game down. The Greens again opted for scrums from the penalty and Will Cotterhill was able to dart over and score. Massey added the conversion, with only five minutes of the half remaining.
But there was even better to come from the break as the forwards pushed on before Southern broke the line and fed to Doubleday. An excellent side-step saw him go past the full back and score. Massey converted, and Lichfield went into half time leading 31-0.
It was Sils who started the second half sharpest, as they strung together their longest phase. The hosts were guilty of tackling too high and missing too many, as they started to get penalised. The visitors marched up the pitch and a number of close drives saw them crash over. The try was converted and they had prevented a whitewash.
The visiting side continued to try to play, but the home defence was resolute in hitting back and disrupting the breakdown. This forced an error and Lichfield got back to business from the scrum, with the backs making it to the five metre line. A lineout resulted in Southern going over from close range for his second.
Maxwell-Keys was in unstoppable form as he constantly broke the gain line. The Greens then saw the pack carrying well, meaning it was only a matter of time before the ball worked its way back to the other wing and into the hands of Maxwell-Keys, who outpaced his marked to score. Massey converted to give his side a 43-7 advantage.
Lichfield now exploited the wind and pinned Sils deep into the half. Tireless defence forced an error and the home side capitalised. From the scrum, the backs pulled the defence wide, before strong carries allowed some excellent hands between the front row to see Dave Bassett crash over from close range, with Massey converting.
Sils weren’t done though and as Lichfield eased off, the visitors created two good tries within the space of five minutes, leaving the final score 50-19.
An excellent 2013 has seen Lichfield open up a 15 point advantage in the league.
Lichfield: Taylor, Gabbitass, Bassett (c), Thompson, Southern, Doubleday, Turner, Burton; W Cotterhill, L Massey, J Massey, Maxwell-Keys, Adams, D Rowlands, G Massey. Subs: Clarke, Raybould, Wedgwood.
