KC’s,holders of the North Mids Shield,travelled to Oswestry to defend their trophy in a semi final tie against a team who play their rugby in South Lancs/Cheshire 1 and are propping up the table with only one win and a draw from their 24 games so far but if Kidderminster thought they were in for an easy afternoon they were given a rude awakening as the home side belied their league form to provide a stern test which the visitors only just survived and they were very relieved and perhaps a shade fortunate to scrape through.
Oswestry made a lively start,clearly intent on playing an expansive game,but it was KC’s who landed the first blow after twelve minutes.Following a scrum midway between their own 22 and the ten metre line,outside centre George Morgan made a strong run into the hosts 22 and from ruck possession second row Simon Clarke looked certain to score but was not allowed the benefit of an advantage as play was brought back for a Kidder penalty which flyhalf Rhys Pritchard duly dispatched.
The hosts knocked on at the restart and from the scrum right wing Arthur Morgan cut through their defence but with only one more man to beat he hesitated and was tackled,resulting in a penalty for the O’s which enabled them to clear to halfway.Oswestry’s flyhalf then found a good touch on Kidder’s 22 and although the throw was secured and a few yards made KC’s knocked on when they tried to work the short side to give the hosts a scrum at which No 8 Jess Smith did well to wrestle back possession but an attempted clearance kick was charged down and in trying to recover the situation Kidder were penalised for obstruction and O’s kicked to five metres.They then moved the lineout ball right to their fullback who had acres of space outside but surprised KC’s by cutting back inside and an absence of tackling allowed him to dab down by the posts and their No 10 knocked over the simple conversion for a 7-3 lead with twenty minutes played.
For the next ten minutes Kidder enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and territory but giving away penalties,losing lineouts and making handling errors they were unable to take full advantage until a short throw routine on Oswestry’s ten metre line went to plan and they won a penalty just outside the 22 which Pritchard converted.
Shortly afterwards the Oswestry right wing struggled to deal with a high kick and his opposite number Jake Shellis hacked the ball into their 22 where KC’s earned a scrum but again possession was lost too easily and the hosts were able to clear. .However,after Smith had set up a ruck a fine interchange between George Morgan,his brother Arthur and Shellis resulted in another penalty for the visitors on the 22 and Pritchard kicked his third successful goal to edge them back in front 9-7 but the lead lasted only three minutes.An Oswestry attack ended with a penalty award which was eminently kickable but they chose to run and Kidder immediately infringed again,this time slap in front of the posts,and the No 10 took the points to give the home side a 10-9 interval lead.
KC’s had made hard work of the first half with only their set scrums giving them any obvious superiority and even that apparent dominance went largely unrewarded by the referee,so a big all round improvement was badly needed and a real chance presented itself straight from their restart,which was dropped by Oswestry.From the resultant scrum possession inside centre Tom Maher burst into the 22 at pace and when he was taken down the hosts were penalised at the ruck.Pritchard’s kick at goal struck the left post and the rebound just eluded Kidder’s chasers and they had to settle for a scrum ten metres out at which the hosts forwards turned the ball over to enable their flyhalf to clear.
A neat move in midfield resulted in another KC’s penalty but the opportunity was hooked and with ten minutes played and still no breakthrough head coach Stuart Eades decided to empty the bench and send on all three substitutes.Whether by design or good fortune,the move paid immediate dividends with a rare moment of real quality as Arthur Morgan spotted James Whitehouse coming up on his outside and delayed his pass perfectly to send the fullback over the whitewash five metres in from the left touchline for a lovely try which Pritchard converted excellently to put the visitors ahead again 16-10 but once more the lead did not last long.
Oswestry’s response was impressive and after an attack down the right was switched inside they won a penalty at a ruck in front of the posts but turned down the kick at goal and opted instead for a scrum at which they were awarded another penalty,quickly taken by their scrumhalf who darted over and the No 10 added the extras to restore their single point advantage at 17-16.
KC’s reacted well to going behind again,playing with much greater urgency and a spell of sustained pressure in the Oswestry 22 was rewarded when they won a scrum penalty in front of the posts and Pritchard kicked what proved to be the decisive goal even though there were still almost twenty minutes remaining.They stayed on the front foot until a huge Oswestry penalty kick from their own 22 found touch a metre or so from the right corner flag.After defending two five metre lineouts Kidder got into trouble following their own put in at a scrum eight metres out and were penalised for not releasing.Astonishingly,Oswestry did not go for goal but kicked to touch and after knocking on at the lineout they never got a better chance.
The closing minutes were very much cut and thrust.At the very end Oswestry tried to mount one last attack from deep but KC’s just about managed to scramble the ball off the park to clinch a far from convincing win and a place in the final on 7th May against either Droitwich or Veseyans.
First though, in their last league match of the season they will entertain Veseyans at home on 22nd April - KO 3.00 pm.