The Elks came out on top in this close encounter

Paviors 6-14 Ilkeston

The Elks continued their winning ways at Burntstump on Saturday with an impressive win against playoff rivals Paviors.

The victory keeps them in second place, extends their run to 13 games since defeat and makes it 5 games since they conceded a try. The importance of this fixture drew a large crowd and showed in the early stages as the players from both sides looked to avoid mistakes and play safety first rugby for the first 10 minutes choosing to kick rather than move the ball.

Once the nerves had been settled the game developed into a fascinating tactical contest with two equally matched sides seeking to exploit the open spaces and search for any chink in the opposition armour. The visitors made the first breakthrough on 12 minutes when from a scrum on half way Corcoran fed Haigh who attacked the short side and set Greg Taylor away. Taylor was dragged down close to the line but earned a scrum. McGuire, Moore, and Holland secured the ball and as it was moved Paviors were caught offside. In midfield and Connolly slotted a simple penalty to give the Elks a 3-0 lead.

The home side should have levelled the scores from the restart when Chenoweth was penalised but Billam pulled the ball wide. With Paviors exerting pressure the Elks were forced to play from deep, a challenge they were ever ready to accept. From a scrum inside there own 22, Hallam, Haigh, Connolly, and Lewis Taylor combined to take play the length of the field and earn a line out inside Paviors 22. The ever reliable Stoker secured the ball and the forwards mauled the ball forward. When the ball was moved, Dan Taylor and Gatehouse created space and fed Greg Taylor who carried the ball and 2 tacklers over the line. The referee however deemed the ball had not been grounded and awarded the Elks the put in to a 5 meter scrum.

The ball was again secured and Haigh picked up from the base and jinked, twisted and wriggled over despite the attentions of the entire Paviors back row. Connolly’s conversion fell short and the Elks were left with a 0-8 lead.

It was short lived as Paviors came straight back and earned a penalty which Billam converted to reduce the arrears to 3-8.

As the home side applied the pressure the Elks were grateful to the tactical kicking of Connolly and Haigh enabling them to escape their own half and the presence of Chenoweth, Carney, and Quinn whose ball carrying ability kept Paviors on the back foot.

With the slope in the second half Paviors must have been confident that they could overhaul the slender lead but perhaps underestimated the determination and the defensive qualities of a side which has not had its line crossed for 5 games and a total of 100 minutes. The confidence in the side also came to the fore with Lewis Taylor, Hallam, and Greg Taylor ready to punish wayward kicks and support each other in attacking from deep.

Ten minutes in a swift counter started by Haigh put the ball through the hands of Carney, Gatehouse and McGuire to create a gap for Dan Taylor to speed in behind the Paviors defence and set up a ruck. In desperation Paviors conceded a penalty and Connolly made no mistake.

The 3-11 lead lasted barely 3 minutes as Paviors broke through midfield to earn a penalty in front of the posts which Billam stroked over to make it 6-11.

As the pace and contact took its toll, Chenoweth and Hallam both limped off to be replaced by Bennett and Ayres.

The game entered the last quarter and Paviors threw everything at the visitors but could not find a way through. Connolly found space inside his own half and jinked through a gap to link with Corcoran, Quinn, and Bennett to earn a penalty shot which he duly accepted to stretch the Elks lead to 6-14.

With the clock running out Paviors laid siege to the Elks line. Try saving tackles first by Ayres then Greg Taylor denied a score. The work of the line out and scrum secured valuable ball to take play from the line and keep Paviors at bay until a very welcome whistle arrived and the Elks took the spoils at 6-14.

Classic drinks Man of the Match – Joel Haigh.