ELKS WIN EPIC BATTLE AGAINST PAVIORS

Classic Drinks Man of the Match – Joel Haigh

The eagerly awaited duel between these two local rivals, with the visitors parading two former Elks’ players, finally arrived on Saturday with the battle between third and fourth in the league.
In the late November gloom at the Stute the floodlights were deployed from the start to light up the pitch and the two sides proceeded to light up the action in a fast and furious battle which saw one of the best games of rugby seen at the Stute.

Both sides were forced to make changes from the line-ups announced earlier in the week where the Elks were deprived of the third Taylor brother, Lewis, due to injury, to be replaced on the replacements bench by Toby Fenn.

Playing up the slope Paviors started brightly and moved the ball upfield with some slick handling to earn a penalty at the breakdown and then go for touch on the Elks’ twenty-two with the kick.
From the ensuing lineout Paviors broke infield but lost the ball in the tackle. However, a miss hit clearance kick allowed Paviors to kick the ball back into the corner and apply further pressure on the Elks’ defence. Securing the ball at the lineout the Elks nudged the ball forward only to lose it in a ruck and only further frantic defence, principally by the back row of Steve Quinn, Rich Burne and Adam Corcoran, kept the opposition at bay, turned over the ball and allowed scrum half Joel Haigh to put in a clever box kick to halfway.

Trying to take the approach of attack being the best form of defence the Elks tried to move the ball through midfield with two half breaks from centres Scott Rudkin and Alan Cook but their handling in close quarter battles let them down. With the game being played at real pace and with players from both sides rattling into the contact zone the Elks continued to probe the Paviors’ defence but the handling errors continued and deprived them of the hard earned territory. From a lineout on the Elks’ ten metre line Burne stormed through to earn a penalty from an infringement in the tackle and flyhalf James Connolly drilled the ball further into the Paviors half for an attacking lineout. Forgetting the difficulties they experienced in this area two weeks previously the Elks secured the ball through Bryn Vernon and mauled the ball down the slope. Corcoran broke of the side to earn a penalty in the tackle zone some twenty five metres out. Connolly stroked the ball into the near upright from fifteen metres in field and with the crowd groaning, thinking that it had bounced back into play, there mood changed into glee as both touch judges raised their flags indicating that it had, in fact, bounced just behind the far post. With fifteen minutes gone the Elks had opened the scoring to ease ahead 3-0. Players and crowd alike were breathing heavy at the speed and aggression of the action and there were a further sixty five minutes of the all out action to come.

Immediately from the start Paviors pushed into the Elks’ half in order to open their own account. Another poor clearance kick gave the ball back to the visitors who moved the ball swiftly back and earned a penalty for handling on the floor. Referee Sharpe gave the Elks a stern warning and the Elks were driven into the corner and asked to defend the lineout. The second row pairing of Adam Stoker and Vernon combined to take the ball against the throw but another clearance kick failed to find touch. Paviors stuck to their game plan and moved the ball swiftly back, drifted past despairing tackles wide out and with the home support groaning Quinn arrived like a missile to drag the winger down and into touch to prevent a certain try.

Stoker again secured the lineout ball and swift service from Haigh sent the Elks’ backs free. An excellent break from within their own half involving Connolly a show, shimmy and swivel from Cook sent Greg Taylor speeding clear he was also stopped just short at the other end of the pitch only moments later. The action continued at breath taking speed, the ball moving up and down the pitch like a yoyo. A Rudkin break appeared to offer the answer but with fullback Dan Taylor speeding up on the outside his pass failed to go to hand and Paviors gleefully snaffled the ball. Immediately switching the point of attack they stormed up field again and were only stopped by last gasp tackles from the Taylor brothers. Elder brother Dan returned the action down the slope after turnover ball in the middle and with Mat McGuire in support the ball was spilt close to the line. The Elks front row of McGuire, Jason Falls and youngster Tom Holland were looking solid and sensed their chance. An almighty shove shunted the Paviors’ scrum back and around. With the reset being awarded to the Elks the front row again licked their lips in anticipation. The ball was presented cleanly and Haigh, Connolly, Rudkin and Cook moved the ball to the blindside where from the ensuing ruck Corcoran picked the cleanly presented ball and dived over after thirty eight minutes. Haigh converted the score to leave the Elks 10-0 ahead.

The dying stages of the half saw the Elks again under pressure and their first poor scrum of the game resulted in a hurried clearance kick which was charged down and the situation was again rescued by flanker Quinn as the half time whistle sounded.

Playing up the slope in the second half the Elks continued to suffer from handling errors piling pressure on themselves. Their back row kept them in the ascendancy by hard work on the floor and winning the ball back. Another good clearance kick from the base of a ruck by Haigh earned the Elks some respite. Paviors secured the ball at the lineout but a poor kick allowed winger Greg Taylor to run it straight back at their defence. A long, flat pass to Cook gave the centre some space and he drew the defender before setting Dan Mahoney away to beat his man on the outside with sheer pace and score wide out after fifty five minutes. Connolly struck the ball beautifully to convert the try leaving the Elks 17-0 ahead and looking at stretching ahead.

However, Paviors had different ideas and they hit back direct from the restart to take the score to 17-3 following a penalty when the Elks were again punished for not releasing the tackled player. The seesaw action continued when the visitors were attacked from the restart and swift hands through midfield saw Dan Taylor touch the ball down, the home crowd celebrate but only to subside when the fullback was penalised for a double movement.
Some three minutes later his brother Greg seemed determined to break the Paviors defence with a clean counterattack from within his own half, ably supported by Cook, Vernon and Rudkin. The move was stopped inside the Paviors’ twenty two but they came in from the side and were penalised. Connolly’s attempt drifted well wide as the high tempo drama failed to produce a further score for either side.

After sixty three minutes the Elks started to ring the changes with Marc Moore replacing Falls at hooker. He was so keen to get involved in the action that he darted onto the pitch still wearing his woolly beanie, much to the delight of the crowd. Five minutes later Greg Taylor slumped on the pitch clutching his right knee following a collision when he seemed to be clear. Despite his protestations to the contrary he was replaced by Toby Fenn on the wing.

The Elks now started to demonstrate good ball retention and handling skills as they moved the ball through several phases with tight forwards McGuire, Moore, Holland, Stoker and Vernon joining the back row in supporting their backs. After seventy two minutes the Elks made their last change as Burne was replaced at No.8 by Rory Maddocks.

However, Paviors were not lying down and they pressed in search of further points and only aggressive defence from the home side kept them at bay as they camped inside the Elks’ twenty two. Making one mistake at a ruck, where the ball was not served quickly, the Elks saw the ball turned over and they infringed in trying to retrieve the situation. They swiftly felt the ire of referee Sharpe at the next breakdown where Corcoran was penalised and was sent to the sin-bin. The Elks were slow in building their defence and from a quick tap Paviors moved the ball wide and scored with the conversion successful leaving the score 17-10 with five minutes left.

Despite their best efforts Paviors could not breach the Elks’ defence again, despite their numerical superiority and when the final whistle sounded both sets of players fell to their knees exhausted and the crowd drew breath for the first time in eighty minutes.

Match report by Rochelle O’Dwyer.