ELKS SIGN OFF WITH HALF CENTURY

Classic Wines and Spirits Man of the Match – Steve Mahoney

The Elks completed the championship winning season in style with a resounding victory at Sleaford.

Having already secured the league title, with their home win over Coalville two weeks previously, the trip into Lincolnshire has a festive air about it with a large contingent of travelling supporters celebrating the season’s success. The home side generously acknowledged the fact by welcoming the ELks onto the pitch through a tunnel of applause. The team duly provided a scintillating display which made the long trip worthwhile and gave the fans much to cheer about.

In the early minutes, however, it looked as though the party would be spoilt as the home side tore into the visitors defence. Adamson’s clean break through midfield should have opened the scoring but Dan Taylor was on hand with a timely tackle. Pocklington could also have got the scoreboard ticking, although Sleaford’s electronic version wasn’t working, but Andrew Chapman and Steve Mahoney managed to hold him up when he had crossed the line.

Matters got worse with just seven minutes gone when player/coach Scott Rudkin was forced out of the game with a foot injury, later diagnosed as a broken bone. Chris Kemsley came off the bench to take up his place on the wing with Jono Falls moving to fullback and Dan Taylor moving to partner his brother in the centre.

With fifteen minute gone the Elks made their first visit into the opposition half and stunned their hosts with the simplest of tries. Bryn Locke won a lineout on the twenty two and the forwards trundled the maul forward despite several efforts of the home side to collapse the juggernaut. Rich Burne peeled off the blind side and strolled to the line with no defenders in sight. Jono Falls struck a superb conversion from wide out into the stiff breeze to open his account in the battle between himself and flyhalf JJ Connolly to finish top points scorer for the season.

Having repelled the early pressure the Elks began to find their rhythm with swift passing, changes of angles and support always in hand. Sleaford simply had no answer to the pace of the Taylor brothers in midfield, the guile of JJ Connolly at flyhalf and the power of Dan Mahoney on the wing. With Jono Falls, Chris Kemsley and Dan Mahoney opting to run the ball at every opportunity Sleaford were often left chasing shadows.

The next score, the first of four bagged by blindside flanker Steve Quinn, came on nineteen minutes and had its origins in the destructive power of the Elks’ scrum where Mat McGuire, Jason Falls and Craig Charlton dominated their opposite numbers. The Sleaford pack were shunted back on their own ball, scrumhalf Andrew Chapman harassed his opposite number and as the ball bobbled free, from a suspiciously looking knock on, Quinn scooped it up and sprinted clear to the line.
The score to see the visitors stretch the lead to nineteen points clear was classic Elks play. Adam Stoker’s lineout take was moved swiftly across the pitch and then back again to put Greg Taylor into the corner. The ability to recycle the ball in contact and have support runners available meant that Taylor’s finish was made simple for him. Jono Falls converted again and JJ Connolly could see his challenge for the season’s points honours slipping away.

The next score came direct from the restart where the Elks, unlike the start of the game, cleanly fielded the ball via Steve Mahoney and released Rich Burne. The ball was taken on by Bryn Locke and hooker Jason Falls before the forwards released their speedy backs. Dan Mahoney bounced his opposite number out of the way and turned the ball back inside to Jono Falls who exchanged passes with the ever supportive flanker Steve Mahoney and the Taylor brothers before touching down between the posts. JJ Connolly drop kicked the conversion to open his account and make the score 0-26 at halftime. However, it was to be his last scoring contribution for the day to enable the younger Falls to take the season’s top points scoring title.

The second half saw two changes to the line up as Rich Burne lost an impromptu game of scissors, paper and stone to decide which of the back row would make way for Adrian Montague and Jason Falls retired to be replaced by Tom Holland, yet another product of the Development side, who slotted in at loose head with Mat McGuire moving to hooker. Holland would appear to have a very bright future on the evidence of his powerful scrummaging and general work around the park.

With ten minutes of the half gone the Elks again disrupted Sleaford’s scrum close to their own line, Adrian Montague picked the ball up from the base and fed Dan Taylor who dived, theatrically, over in the corner. This was swiftly followed in a matter of minutes by Steve Quinn’s second try when intelligent inter-passing by Jono Falls, Mat McGuire and Steve Mahoney created a gap for the flanker to power over. He also claimed the next two tries to take his tally to four with the first coming, once again, as the result of the Elks’ scrum which allowed him to pick from the base and dive over with Dan Taylor converting via a kick which bore a strong resemblance to a cheap firework rocket. The second followed an Adam Stoker lineout take and Dan Taylor break in midfield with his perfectly timed pass putting Quinn clear and moving the score on to 0-48.

With the time ticking away the biggest cheer of the day from the home supporters arrived when Sleaford’s Dores raced into the corner after some good approach work, bringing some reward for their battling, never say die, spirit. The last act of the game, however, belonged to the Elks as a superb individual effort from Greg Taylor made the final score 5-53.