Malvern RFC

Sat 8 Feb 2020

Malvern

16 - 10

(HT 0-0)

Barkers Butts

Malvern

Barkers Butts

Malvern 16 - 10 Barkers Butts

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Malvern manged to avenge last week’s result with a 16-10 win over Barkers Butts. This win came after Barkers edged Malvern in a 28-27 thriller in the reverse fixture – this resulted in Barkers leapfrogging above Malvern in the league to 3rd place. Today's game saw some first team regulars being absent, which saw opportunities given to Richard Fleming, Will Dovey and George Roberts given starts in the back line; John Friths and Charlie Kerr making the bench.

The first 20 minutes of the game epitomised the rivalry between the two teams with intense phases of possessions and big tackles coming in from both teams. However, neither team managed to get onto the scoreboard with both teams losing and turning over possession constantly - man of the match, Arran Carr leading the charge for the home side with his, how he would describe, ‘truffle pig’ style of rugby.
Half way through the first half, play was stopped for the best of part of half an hour. This was due to a Barkers player getting knocked out after a strong tackle from director of rugby, Rob Cook. We all wish him well for a speedy recovery. After the player was safely stretchered off the pitch by paramedics, the teams warmed up once again and the game resumed shortly after.
Barkers were soon on the front foot as they earned themselves a line-out in Malvern’s 22, off the line-out, their flanker picked the ball up from a ruck and had an easy run in to punish Malvern’s lazy defense. Soon after, tempers began to flare and handbags were thrown which resulted in a yellow card for a Barkers player. This brought the game to the long-awaited halftime.
The second half was a real test of Malvern’s character to see if they could fight their way back to secure a win. Malvern battled hard and they finally got their break through. A penalty taken quickly on the oppositions 5 metre line gave Dovey the chance to score in the corner to get the home side right back into the fixture. Barkers immediately gained their 5-point lead again after a penalty kick was converted, the score was 5-10 going into the last stretch of the game.

Malvern looked to snatch the game as they worked up a good position inside Barkers 22 metre line, a scrum was won and Pritchard shipped the ball down the blindside for Giggle to dive down in the corner. This brought the scores level with 5 minutes remaining.

Malvern, with the momentum, won a penalty within kicking range thanks to a Josh Moorhouse turnover. Dan Batty kept his cool and slotted the kick perfectly, despite the tough conditions. This was much to the delight of the Malvern faithful who stuck around for the whole entirety of the game. Shortly after, the game was fully secured thanks to another Dan Batty penalty.
This game was a real test of character for this Malvern side and it showed the resilience and adaptability of the team to win after some difficult circumstances against such a strong, talented team. There is definitely no love lost between the two sides and it is always entertaining seeing these two battles it out over 80 minutes of physical and intense rugby.
Next Saturday, Malvern are hosting Earlsdon at Stadio Spring Lane. The reverse fixture, earlier in the season, was a close encounter with Malvern coming out on top in 15-5 win. This game promises to be another blockbuster.

Up The Vern!

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