Lichfield RUFC came up against newly-promoted Bedworth looking for a confidence boosting win in response to last week’s heavy defeat.
Dan Taylor, Chris Upton, Tom Paulson, Matt Smith and Brad Rowlands all returned to the starting line up and Paul Maxwell-Keys came onto the bench for his first appearance.
But the Myrtle Greens started the game poorly. Bedworth were firing on all cylinders, fresh off a narrow defeat of Camp Hill seven days previously. The home side were undoubtedly caught off guard, and found themselves deservedly 17-0 down after just 13 minutes of action.
Two tries in quick succession around the 20 minute mark and Lichfield were finally showing signs of life. Both Tom Adams and Greg Massey conjured up moments of individual brilliance to touch down. Josh Massey added the extras and to the relief of the Cooke Fields faithful, they were back in touch at 14-17.
Lichfield were finally beginning to assert a level of dominance they should have had from the off. Brad Rowlands justified his recall with an expertly taken try out wide on 36 minutes and Bedworth were on the ropes. Annoyingly, another lapse in concentration and the half time lead was forfeited. Trailing 21-24 at the break, hard work lay ahead for Sporcic’s men.
The second period was an equally topsy-turvy affair. After an early Josh Massey penalty levelled the scores, Bedworth hit the front once more, courtesy of a try from scrum half Steve Harwood.
Lichfield’s defensive line was being breached with alarming regularity. In an open contest, it was just fortunate that the home side were able to outscore their opponents two tries to one, in the crucial 10 minute spell that followed.
Greg Massey came to the fore again, breaking through to touch down under the posts. And brother Josh showed good turn of pace to round off a long range effort that started with a powerful Adams burst. A further two conversions took Josh’s personal tally to 18 points. The score read 38-36 with 15 minutes to go.
The drama didn’t end there, though. Lichfield continued to display indiscipline and an uncertainty in defence. Indeed, away fly half Alan Foster had two chances to steal victory at the death. The second of these, he may just have nightmares over. But the home side held on.
Five points gained, but a less than impressive performance.
Lichfield: Taylor, Gabbitass, Bassett (c), Upton, Thompson, Burton, Milner, Paulson; Smith, G Massey, Rowlands, Adams, Baker, Brear, J Massey. Subs: Machin, Goodwin, Maxwell-Keys.
