ELKS KEPT AT BAY BY DOMINANT DUNSTABLIANS

Classic Drinks Man of the Match – Lewis Taylor

By any stretch of the imagination this was a bad day at the office with the Elks rarely finding any rhythm and even more rarely threatening the visitor’s line. After last week’s victory over local rivals Matlock and a narrow early season victory away at Dunstablians much was expected, but on the day the visitors showed greater hunger, urgency and tactical awareness to comfortably claim the spoils. Playing catch up from the first minute, when Murphy slotted a penalty, there were few bright spots for the home side, although the Taylor brothers Dan, Greg and man of the match Lewis did try to inject some urgency into the proceedings. Steve Quinn and back row partners Rory Maddocks and Rich Burne strove to establish a base in open play but Dunstablians’ defence always held the upper hand where they were much sharper at the breakdown.

The nature and margin of the defeat was most surprising considering that the Elks’ scrum functioned well and even gained the upper hand as the game progressed. With the lineout also producing a regular supply of ball through Paul Shoebridge, Adam Stoker and Burne a tighter score line should have been produced.

Failure to satisfy the requirements of referee, Mr Jenkins from the West Midlands Society, was the root of the Elks’ problems with a string of penalties preventing any continuity and conceding the advantage at crucial points in the game. This, aligned with their persistent backchat ensured that the result was to go only one way. Two yellow cards, one each for Maddocks and Burne, meant their task was even harder with a quarter of the game being played with a man short. Indeed, others were lucky not to also spend time on the sidelines.

Having gone behind in the first minute the home side appeared to have drawn level three minutes later when Andy Thompson’s penalty sailed between the posts but for some reason both touch judges failed to see what the players and spectators witnessed. With slippery conditions underfoot and a greasy ball, handling was always going to be a test of technique and as such the game developed into a kicking contest. With the breeze and slope to their advantage the visitors edged this area and on twenty minutes established an attacking lineout deep inside the Elks’ twenty two. The ball was secured by Frost and driven infield. When the ball was released failure to defend the short side allowed Murphy to barge over.

The Elks’ instinct to keep the ball in hand and move it from deep came undone with ball carriers unable to keep hold of the ball in the tackle and gifted Dunstablians a scrum in front of the posts from which Murphy claimed a drop goal to establish a 0-11 lead with twenty three minutes gone.

A promising move involving Greg Taylor, Stoker and Mat McGuire came to an abrupt end with a knock on. The same fate was scant reward when Quinn made a break close to a maul and Maddocks found space with a storming run only to end metres short.

A deficit of eleven points did not seem insurmountable as the Elks started the second half with the benefit of breeze and slope. They started brightly and a ranging kick from Thompson established an attacking scrum inside the visitors’ twenty two. The ball was carried forward by McGuire, Marc Moore and Maddocks before being released to Dan Taylor but the chance was lost with a knock on in the tackle.

Following a number of treatments to a leg injury sustained in falling awkwardly Greg Taylor limped off to be replaced by Scott Rudkin who stepped in at fly-half with Thompson moving to fullback. Ten minutes into the half the hill to climb became a mountain when Maddocks was sin binned for a late tackle. Dunstablians punted the ensuing penalty ball into the corner, won the lineout and drove the ball over to make the deficit 16 points. Jason Falls retired on the hour and two minutes later Stoker followed with a shoulder injury being replaced by Tom Holland and Bryn Vernon respectively. The change could have disrupted the pack but the scrum continued to function and Vernon easily secured his lineout ball.

As the Elks looked for ways to bring themselves into the game kicks at goal were spurned with them opting to set up lineouts from which a try could be fashioned. Whilst the ball was always secured nothing was gained as a series of knock ons and penalties enabled Dunstablians to protect their line. Efforts by Alan Cook, Joel Haigh and Lewis Taylor to pick the lock and open the visitors defence came to nothing, as were promising charges from Quinn and Maddocks.

When Murphy landed a penalty following another Elks indiscretion the home side threw caution to the wind and their high risk approach led first to Burne being yellow carded for handling in a ruck and then a converted try for the visitors when Swart intercepted and dashed clear from his own twenty two to leave the final score 0-26.