A blistering start by KC’s laid the foundations for an emphatic win which consolidated their fifth spot in Mids 2 West (N) and extended their advantage over sixth placed Yardleians from two points to seven.
The hosts made immediate use of the wind at their backs with a long kick by fullback Andy McLellan into Yards’ in goal area and gaining possession from the 22 drop out they swarmed all over the visitors.A break by flyhalf Freddie Morgan and an incursion by Laurence Hughes coming off his wing at a great angle both threatened the tryline and then,running the ball from a five metre scrum,KC’s won a penalty under the posts which was quickly taken to enable to enable flanker Mike Protheroe to plunge over from close range and the conversion by skipper Chris Pinner gave the hosts a 7-0 lead with only seven minutes on the clock.
The re-start was knocked on by Kidder but at the scrum they shoved Yards off their own ball to maintain their superiority and after left wing Hughes was tap tackled by the last defender the ball was quickly recycled to right wing Arthur Morgan who scorched over at the corner and Pinner’s excellent conversion from wide out made it fourteen points in fourteen minutes.
Yardleians then briefly enjoyed some meaningful possession for the first time but from a freekick at a lineout on KC’s 22 they were promptly turned over and Pinner’s clearance kick was knocked on to give the home side a scrum on halfway and field position once again.At a lineout just outside the visitors 22 a short throw to Steve Price saw the second row make inroads and from the ensuing ruck McLellan burst onto a short pass with great determination which took him through five or six despairing tackles before he was eventually stopped and Price was on hand to score what really was a super try.
Yardley appeared to be shell-shocked but KC’s went slightly off the boil and when their backs were caught offside the visitors kicked the penalty to touch for an attacking lineout from which Kidder had to defend seriously for the first time but they did so very competently and a good exit kick to halfway by flyhalf Freddie Morgan cleared the brief threat.The sides then exchanged kicks from hand but it was advantage to KC’s with McLellan unflappable under the high ball and using his trusty left boot to continually get his team into good positions on the pitch.With their scrum dominant and their forwards bossing the breakdown Kidder remained in control and it was no surprise when from more turnover ball near halfway centre George Morgan prodded a kick through Yard’s defensive line and his brother Arthur gathered the ball to run round close to the posts for the bonus point fourth try,the winger’s second,which was comfortably improved by Pinner.
With five minutes to go before the break there was still time for KC’s to add a fifth try as McLellan,who was right on top of his game and had a magnificent first forty minutes,came into the line again and displayed terrific improvised handling skills to shovel the ball on to Hughes and send him on his way to the line for another fine try and a healthy 31-0 interval lead.
The start of the second period was more even handed until a dropped ball in midfield by Yardley enabled Pinner to take play into their 22.With territory re-established,a further score looked on the cards but a knock on sparked a length of the field breakout by the visitors who then managed to move the ball along their backs to create a rare overlap for their left wing James Hendrick to at last put them on the board.Any thoughts of a comeback were,however,quickly dispelled as KC’s almost got over at the left corner following a strong run by George Morgan and then almost immediately afterwards did extend their advantage when Yards made a mistake in midfield and Freddie Morgan popped the ball to replacement right wing Josh Winfield who showed the defence a clean pair of heels for an opportunist try and Pinner added the extras with another very good conversion to take the lead to 38-5.
With the bit between their teeth KC’s exciting young backs now looked to run the ball from deep at every opportunity and some great interplay produced a number of half chances which they could not quite finish off and Yardleians held out until the last fifteen minutes when they conceded twice more.Firstly a surging run by Price set up ruck ball in their 22 which was spread left and Winfield appeared on his opposite wing to score his second try and then the Baldwin twins combined with second row Chris sending over No 8 Alex for KC’s eighth try.Pinner’s fifth successful conversion brought up the fifty points to round off a highly impressive performance which the Marlpool Lane men will be hoping to replicate next week when they travel to Shrewsbury – KO 2.15 pm.