ELKS OUTSCORED FOUR TRIES TO TWO

Classic Drinks Man of the Match – Ellis Hallam

In the penultimate home match of the season the Elks were hosting fourth placed Old Northamptonians, who are enjoying a highly successful season following their promotion last year. On a sunny but chilly spring afternoon at the Stute, Ilkeston were again without Captain Rich Burne and the injured Taylor brothers Greg and Lewis. In Burne’s absence the skippers arm band went to Adam Corcoran for the second successive week.
The game started badly for the home team as they conceded a try, scored by Briddon, within the first three minutes of play following a rolling maul set up from a line out. However, the conversion was missed leaving the visitors 0-5 before the Elks had hardly touched the ball. Right from the start the visitors were determined to dominate with their fast paced level of play, as a result the Elks were failing to see any of the ball and were forced to defend on the back foot despite playing down the hill.
Seven minutes into the half the Elks stirred and bounced into play with a good combination between Alan Cook and Dan Taylor which saw them push forward and make good ground. However, the visitors defence was working well and the Elks’ efforts were to no avail. Ilkeston earned their first penalty of the game, following a big hit from flanker Rory Maddocks, for holding on in the tackle and this was successfully taken by centre Andy Thompson from forty metres putting the score at 3-5.
Immediately from the restart the Elks fluffed their lines. Failing to gather the kick-off they immediately gave away possession and then gave away a penalty, this time was coming into the maul from the side. Goodman successfully converted to move the score onto 3-8 in the visitors favour. Midway into the first half of the match and the Elks’ scrum was functioning well, although the lineout was not functioning as well with problems throwing into a strong wind. A promising move developed from a solid scrum when lengthy pass from scrumhalf Joel Haigh preeceded a switch between Scott Rudkin and Taylor in the middle but the final pass failed to find its intended target and the opportunity for a try went begging. The poor finish was soon forgotten though as touches from Maddocks and Corcoran earned a penalty in front of the posts, which was cleanly struck by Thompson, taking the score to 6-8 on the half hour
Despite Ilkeston closing the gap Old Northamptonians appeared none too impressed as they struck back within a minute as their captain, Blank, showed his pace with a try as he went over in the corner. With Goodman missing the conversion the score stood at 6-13. As the see-saw nature of the game continued a penalty ensued for the Elks for holding on in the tackle which again saw Thompson place the ball cleanly between the posts to move the score on to 9-13 some six minutes before the break. However, tighthead prop Jason Falls was replaced by Tom Holland due a niggling shoulder injury.
Minutes before the half time whistle Barker broke for the visitors from inside his own half and made a good ground with a fast paced run, the Elks defence seemed to drift into torpor as Barker was left free to run the rest of the pitch with no attempt of a tackle. With a successful conversion the score was taken to 9-20. Seconds before the break another near certain try by the visitors, who now clearly had the upper hand, was averted when a good tackle from Ellis Hallam put a stop to the run of his opposite winger.
The restart saw a slight reshuffle for the Elks as Corcoran, suffering from stomach cramps, was replaced by Toby Fenn with Rudkin taking over as Captain. The start of the second half followed the same template of the latter stages of the first as again Old Northamptonians were putting further distance between themselves and the Elks on the score sheet after only three minutes, this time from a penalty taken by Goodman from forty metres. The visitors were using the late afternoon wind and slope to their advantage as they were keeping the Elks pinned back and forcing them to play from deep in their own half. This visitor’s domination was further evident after fifty one minutes as Ilkeston lost possession from their own line out, conceded a penalty for being off side and fell behind 9-26.
Thirteen minutes into the half the Elks were forced to make their third replacement of the game as Thompson had to bow out with a hamstring injury, Paul Stevenson entered the fray on the wing and Hallam moved into the centre. The Elks’ plight was worsened some four minutes later when Maddocks was shown a yellow card, for being off side, although the penalty was missed by the visitors from fifty metres.
Elks briefly broke out from inside their own half but a loose pass from Alan Cook ended a promising attack. A knock on from the line out gave Elks a scrum but the ball was taken against the head and resulted in the visitors making a break and threatening the Elks line once more. Poor tackling in the middle from Ilkeston let them go over for their fourth and final try which Goodman converted making the score 9-33.
Trying to score another it required good defending by Rudkin to prevent a break from the visitors which also saw the visitors skipper, Blank, becoming the second player of the game to be sin binned for playing the ball on his knees. A clean lineout take by Bryn Vernon on twenty five metres saw a glimpse of just what the Elks can do when they have a mind to. A series of slick passing with deft hands was strung together by the Elks, as the ball was passed through numerous pairs of hands at the back and finally to Hallam on the loop who crashed over in the corner. With Haigh failing to convert the Elks had dragged the score back to 14-33 with some six minutes left. Could they reproduce this and close the gap even further as the crowd voiced their approval of what they knew the Elks are capable?
Several good passages of team play followed from the Elks and determination and grit really began to shine through in the closing stages of the game. Ellis and Rudkin made some incisive breaks and set others free with good timing of their passes. Thee move continued up field and soon involved Hallam, yet again, and Taylor with assists before the ball was recycled wide out with the move ending with Vernon scoring a try. This time Haigh successfully converted but the referee had indicated that it would be the last kick of the game leaving the final score 21-33. The latter part of the second half saw the Elks step up a gear, put in a good performance and display an excellent team effort.