RRRFC 23 v 20 Keyworth RFC
11th February 2023
Rolls-Royce welcomed Keyworth to Fortress Moor Lane for their home return fixture. After a decisive defeat last time the sides met, the stage was set as Royces hoped to regain some honour.
Royces kicked off the match with a wide kick into Keyworth’s half, which was carried back but our Second row Big Bird had his wing covered. However, a phase or two later and a few soft tackles allowed Keyworth’s No.8 to burst through for an early try, which was converted, starting the scoring off at 0-7.
With heads now switched on, Rolls-Royce chased down the kick-off and took the game back to the opposition. Some hard-hitting running lines and tips from the pack earnt the team some forward momentum. The pressure eventually earnt Rolls-Royce a penalty, which our Fly-half Marcus slotted to bring the score to 3-7.
Building on this momentum, Royces again got on the front foot in the opposition’s half. A weaving run from our Centre Danny cut through Keyworth’s defence, with defenders hanging off him as he scored a try. Conversion was missed, score now 8-7.
The set piece was a weapon for Royces throughout the game, and a dominant scrum in the opposition’s 22 gave a great platform to our No.8 Matt to pick and go off the back, beating two defenders and diving over to score (Matt requested me to mention this). Marcus suprised us by converting the wide corner kick, bringing the score to 15-7. Keyworth answered with a penalty kick themselves, bringing the score to 15-10 at halftime.
Despite our high hopes of righting the wrongs from the first kickoff, Royces let another line break through, giving another early try to Keyworth. Conversion was missed, leaving the scores levelled at 15-15.
A well worked lineout set piece from Keyworth peeled off the maul and picked a pass to a crash ball from Keyworth’s Centre, which broke through our defence bagging them another try. Another missed conversion brought the score to 15-20.
Royces then drilled a penalty kick down towards Keyworth’s 5m line. With a well oiled lineout and a perfect ARRAH from our Hooker Scott ‘Legattelas’, the ball was secured for a driving maul. With a big push, our resident Scottie bundled over the line to score. However, with Marcus now wheezing on the sideline after a late hit, the conversion was missed, so the score remained level to 20-20.
It was a game of multiple turnovers at the breakdown, one of which led to Royces winning a crucial penalty in the opposition’s 22. Big game moments require big players to step up, and so forth came our Prop Hinchie to take the kick. With held breaths, the crowd and players watched as Hinchie charged at the ball and booted it just making it over the crossbar. From some angles it looked like he might’ve shinned it, perhaps one of his many well honed techniques. With only minutes left to go, the score was now 23-20. A few phases of play later, Royces kept their composure to secure the win for a famous victory!
Overall it was a great game of rugby which could’ve gone either way right up to the end. Thanks to Keyworth and the crowd for coming down and making it an enjoyable match. Notable mentions to our Centre Stevie’s MOTM performance with his impressive running lines and dominant defence aided by his cranial centre of mass, and Scott’s DOTD performance for banging on about who won the Calcutta cup, which as far as we can translate is a big deal for him.