Elks good form continues with 5 tries against Bugbrooke

Elks kicked off with the slope and Jacob Heath was soon in the attack bundled into touch just short of the line. Elks soon regained possession but knocked on in midfield. From the scrum Elks turned the ball over and Adam Corcoran broke blind and fed Jono Falls, the ball was recycled and Greg Taylor broke through the defence, he fed Jack Partington to score after 5 mins, Falls missed the extras to make it 5-0.

Bugbrooke came back up the hill and forced a penalty at the next scrum, they kicked into the 22 and from their next possession Elks were penalised in front of the posts, this was converted to make it 5-3 after 13 mins.

Bugbrooke knocked on from the kick off and from the scrum the forwards took the ball on, the backs were released and the ball moved left to Falls to score in the left corner, the difficult conversion was missed making it 10-3 after 17 mins.

Elks next attack was knocked on but the Bugbrooke counter was turned over by excellent work from G Taylor. Both sides seemed to be struggling with their own scrummage ball and play was mainly concentrated between both 10 metre lines with defences on top.

Bugbrooke were penalised at Elks next attack and the ball kicked deep into the Bugbrooke 22, the line was taken by the impressive Richard Hutchinson and the maul driven forward, Bugbrooke held up the drive and turned over possession, at the ensuing scrum the Elks pack destroyed the Bugbrooke scrum and drove it 10 metres back over their own line with Steve Mahoney getting the important touchdown, Falls missed the extras making it 15-3 after 36 mins.

Bugbrooke finished the half on the attack and following a knock on Hutchinson was yellow carded for a deliberate knock on. Half Time 15-3.

Bugbrooke kicked off the second half with the slope looking to reduce the deficit, Bugbrooke were kicking deep looking to chase ahead but Heath was solid at the back and counter attacked well.

Isaac Taylor came on for Tom Pottinger after 48 mins and was soon involved in the next attack, he made a great break down the right wing but was forced into touch just short of the line.

The next ten minutes was all Elks as they pressed the Bugbrooke line, individual errors were halting any real chances, Tom Southall stole a line out and Bugbrooke were penalised for offside, Falls scored to make it 18-3 after 57 mins.

Bugbrooke were trying to get a foothold in the game but solid defence from the Elks were stopping their big runners, Corcoran and G Taylor in particular shone in defence.

Paul Shoebridge replaced Dan Rollins and Toby Keep replaced Dan Bell, from the next Elks scrum Bugbrooke came round offside but the penalty was reversed for punching.

Bugbrooke had a good period of territory and possession but the Elks defence was still strong with G Taylor again to the fore getting vital turnovers, this allowed Jake Lamb to clear.

At the next lineout Hutchinson took another clean ball and Elks attacked, good ground was made into the 22 and G Taylor capped a great performance with a try of his own deceiving the defence and darting clear, extras missed but Elks had clear daylight at 23-3 after 77 mins.

Bugbrooke launched a final attack but this was turned over and the Elks counter attacked to score the try of the game with most of the team involved as the ball was moved left and right and recycled several times, Matt McGuire offloaded well and the ball finally fell to Lamb to finish off in style, Partington added the extras as full time blew leaving it 30-3.

This was a top performance from the Elks with strong defence and clinical finishing when chances appeared, Hutchinson and Corcoran stood out although the whole pack played well, the backs looked sharp both in attack and defence but the stand out performance of the day was Greg Taylor who turned over at least 4 Bugbrooke attacks and was a threat throughout in attack so he duly gets Man of the Match.

Next week sees the short trip to local rivals Derby and the Elks must be relishing the challenge to get local bragging rights coming into the game in strong form. Kick offs have now moved to 2.15pm so get along to Haslam’s Lane to cheer on the Elks.