Match Report courtesy of Press Secretary Martin Easton....

Head coach Ian Bletcher had warned pre-match that KC’s were “down to the bare bones” and although his team displayed the same grit and determination that had seen them come through at Bedworth this time it was just a step too far against a Newbold side who were able to field a strong set of forwards on a heavy pitch.

The home side were on the front foot from the start and the first fifteen minutes were played entirely in KC’s half but Newbold’s forays were met by solid Kidder defence and they were unable to create any scoring opportunities apart from a missed penalty.Having weathered the early storm,KC’s were at last able to establish field position with a lineout on the hosts’ 22.The throw was lost and Newbold worked their way up to their ten metre line but found KC’s backs in their faces and an alert interception by centre Mitchell Hardwick saw him race away to score under the posts.Chris Pinner’s simple conversion put Kidder 7-0 ahead completely against the run of play and Newbold were clearly rattled but wasted little time in taking the game back to the visitors.From a lineout on the left fifteen metres out they created a two man overlap on the right but fullback Rhys Pritchard picked off a careless pass and the chance was gone.Pritchard then distinguished himself in a one on one against Newbold’s left winger,stopping the No 11 in his tracks with a crunching tackle.
With the half hour mark approaching,the home side were again wide with another kickable penalty but then had a sizeable slice of luck.Awarded a penalty,they kicked to the corner but the ball clearly went into touch in goal and KC’s should have had a 22 drop out.Instead,Newbold were awarded a five metre lineout and their powerful forwards made the most of their good fortune to drive over for a try which was well converted to level the scores.An excellent Pinner tackle saw off another Newbold threat and for the first time KC’s then put together some good attacking phases,winning a penalty under the sticks which the No 10 slotted over with the last kick of the half for an unlikely 10-7 interval lead.
Five minutes into the second period there followed a passage of play which was to prove decisive.KC’s were penalised at a ruck and Newbold opted for a five metre scrum.An eight man shove had Kidder backpedalling but No 9 Alex Thompson seemed to have mopped up the initial danger until the visitors were again penalised and the hosts went for another set piece.KC’s managed to stop the rumble towards their line but only at the expense of a third packdown.They were under immense pressure from Newbold’s strong scrummaging unit who succeeded in getting over the line at the third time of asking but were held up.At the fourth successive scrum Kidder were again in deep trouble and this time the ref awarded Newbold a penalty try ,duly converted to put them ahead 14-10.
KC’s made forward changes to try and stem the tide and five minutes later Pinner reduced the deficit to 14-13 with his second penalty.The momentum was,however,still with the home side and midway through the half they missed a thirty metre penalty from straight in front.Both sides then went down to fourteen men when replacement second row Nathan Small and Newbold’s No 3 were shown yellow after an incident at a five metre lineout which KC’s were trying to defend.The hosts secured the re-throw and their flyhalf cut through for a converted try to stretch the lead to 21-13 and although there were still twenty minutes to play KC’s were on this occasion left with too much to do.As expected,they battled away to the final whistle but for only the second time this season they came away without a bonus point and on the balance of territory and possession they could have no complaints.
Next fixture : Banbury (H) – Saturday 16th February.