Sat 5 Oct 2002
Wednesbury – 6
Uttoxeter – 3
The rugby in this Midlands 4 North West clash at Hyde Road was as dull as the weather in a whistle punctuated and lacklustre game.
Even though visiting Uttoxeter were able to field their strongest combination of the season so far, they could produce no fluency in their play, but then neither could their hosts.
So the partisan home crowd were unusually muted until the final whistle, which was a measure of how dull the proceedings were.
An early bath for two players following a fracas, which reduced the teams to 14 apiece was sadly the only bit of excitement, and also meant that the refeeree from then on became too quick on the whistle, ignoring any advantage which might have developed, and as a result proceedings became a series of set-scrums and penalties.
Uttoxeter had suffered a set back prior to kick off, when they lost full back Matt Thomas, who sustained a leg injury in the pre-match warm up.
Then, to make matters worse and increase their injury worries, Matt Williams, who switched to full back in Thomas’s place, was carried off two minutes from the end with a painful knee injury.
With no specialist scrum-half available, Jason Cabrera once again filled both the No 9 jersey and the skipper’s job.
Partnered at outside half by Andy Gagie, making his season’s debut, even his vision from No 10 was unable to open up the field of play for his threequarters sufficiently to produce the goods on the day.
Donald Hayes took over his injured brother Dean’s spot at hooker, with Gareth Davies and Spike Moult at prop, while Dave Hodgkinson returned from injury to partner Shaun Gorman in the second row.
The home side made a dream start, playing with the wind at their backs, when they won an early penalty, which full back Andy Field slotted over from wide out on his right with just two minutes on the clock.
The home side were awarded a glut of penalties during the first quarter, and with 15 minutes played, Field extended their lead with another well struck three pointer.
The strong swirling breeze, which was to dictate the style of play throughout, encouraged the home side during the first period and the visitors following the change round to kick away far too much possession, in what should be primarily a handling game.
When Uttoxeter did keep the ball in hand it almost bore fruit, with both Bould and Hudson making powerful runs following driving play by their forwards, which had brought the backs into play for the first time.
At this point, with Uttoxeter looking poised to score, the two opposing back row players were red carded, with the Town gaining the resultant penalty in their favour five metres out.
However, they inevitably then proceeded to concede one themselves and Wednesbury were able to clear the danger.
Although Uttoxeter finished the first period strongly, with explosive breaks by Hodgkinson and Cabrera, setting Gagie up for an excellent touch finder into the left corner, the whistle blew for half-time, before the visitors could capitalise on the pressure.
Despite now facing into the strong breeze, Wednesbury began the second period by taking the game to their visitors and applying the squeeze.
But Uttoxeter’s determined pack went trundling upfield from deep defence to snatch the initiative with some textbook rucking and driving.
Hayes then took the ball against the head at a set-scrum, and the visitors looked as if they might at last provide the game with a much-needed try.
But it was not to be, and despite the Oldfields side exerting sustained pressure they were only able to come away with a penalty goal, which Gagie stabbed over from in front of the posts when Wednesbury were caught offside.
It was scant reward for the Town’s best passage of play in the match and was only a brief show of what they are capable of producing.
Matt Williams was given little opportunity to show his blistering pace, but on one occasion he did launch a counter-attack out of deep defence a forward pass halted the Town’s impetus.
Wednesbury put in a grandstand finish to try and put the match beyond doubt, but the Town’s defence was as resolute under pressure as their hosts had been and they held out at the expense of the Williams injury.
So two league matches and no points for Uttoxeter, who always knew it was going to be tough this term in a higher division, but also knowing that Saturday’s game had been theirs for the taking had they only been able to turn pressure into points.
On Saturday Ludlow are the visitors to Uttoxeter and the Oldfields side must put this one behind them and get themselves together to try and reproduce some of last season’s
