KCRFC v Silhilians RFC - Saturday 23rd October

Silhilians 24 KC 13

KCs came out of the blocks strongly and with possession in the Silhilians half Andy McClellan made a well-judged cross kick which was gathered just inside the touchline by George Tildesley who used his speed to score. Jack O’Hagan made the conversion.
KC continued to look dangerous for a while and another McClellan kick/Tildesley chase came close.
Silhilians came back with their own pressure and were camped close to the KC line for almost five minutes, KC’s defence was solid against the repeated forward moves however their line was crossed when Silhilians spun the ball out to their left winger. Their conversion failed.
KC were looking strong at this point with much possession and just before half-time were able to convert their control into points with a well taken Jack O’Hagan penalty. For KC forwards Blue Archer, Simon Clarke and Mike Prothero were prominent.
Early in the second half another O’Hagan penalty gave the travelling KC supporters confidence, however this was misplaced.
Silhilians changed their tactics for the second half and bringing on some heavy forwards started to take control with rolling mauls and forward drives which KC found difficult to contain. KC were struggling to get good possession and Silhilians were making ground and the dominance through their forwards earned them two tries both converted.
KC were disrupted when centre Jack O’Hagan went off with a muscle injury midway through the second half, he had been playing well in both attack and defence.
Even though KC were on the back foot, they were still only a converted try from snatching a win. Late in the half KC came close with a great move, started by the backs and taken on by the forwards. However, a dropped pass when pressuring the Silhilians line was punished by Sils who took play back into the KC 22 area.
Sils kept up their pressure with more forward attacks to score a further unconverted try to seal their victory.
So, the game was of two halves; KC getting the better of the first period and Silhilians having the upper hand in the second half to earn their win, the final score line flattered them somewhat.

Bob Davies