Elks battle through the rain for much needed victory

Both sides were fully committed with the Elks eventually running out deserved winners at 17-0

Elks had the slope in the first half and despite dominating territory were unable to break through as a combination of good defence and individual errors kept play mainly around half way.

Play was held up for several minutes as Ellis Hallam received an accidental blow to the head, he was taken to hospital but thankfully returned later after treatment to a nasty cut on the head.

Elks finished the half well and pressure told as Wellingborough conceded several penalties, this resulted in a yellow card for the No8, the last penalty was kickable and Jono Falls struck the ball cleanly to give the Elks the half time lead at 3-0

Elks came out the blocks much quicker in the second half and following a loose kick Falls counter attacked to the 22, Wellingborough knocked on attempting to gather the ball and Elks had an attacking scrum, Wellingborough were penalised and Joel Haigh took a quick tap, he drew the defence and slipped the ball to Jake Lamb who burst through under the posts to score, Falls added the extras to make it 10-0 after 43 mins.

The Elks took heart from the score and started to dominate up front keeping the ball well, another attacking scrum was driven forward and quick ball from the base found Lamb in space, he handed off the nearest tackler and showed great strength to score again, Falls with the extras making it 17-0 after 55 mins.

Discipline then became an issue for the Elks as a series of penalties forced them back into their own half, after another penalty the referee lost patience and sin binned Chris Tipton on 63 mins.

Wellingborough tried hard to take advantage of the extra man but their handling in the rain let them down, they were helped again by the Elks when Lamb was judged to have deliberately knocked on and was yellow carded on 69 mins.

The game became very scrappy in the last ten minutes although the Elks were playing in the right areas mainly in the Wellingborough half, following another penalty and another yellow card for the visitors . Final Score 17-0

Elks fully deserved the victory and adapted to the conditions better, especially in the second half, the forwards all put in a good shift which allowed Haigh to control things and he gets the nod for Man of the Match.

Next week sees another tough challenge as we host Kettering who have made a fine start to the season, kick off at the Stute 2.15