In November a very understrength Kidderminster had been on the wrong end of a 51-5 thrashing at Old Salts,by far their heaviest defeat of the season,but coming into the reverse fixture against the second placed Birmingham side on the back of a six match winning streak in league and cup this encounter promised to be a much closer affair and so it proved.
Inside the first two minutes a terrific eight man shove by KC’s disrupted a Salts scrum on halfway and to make matters worse for the visitors their No 8 was forced off with a leg injury.Kidder played some high tempo rugby in the opening exchanges and following more good scrum possession they won a penalty on Salts 22 to the right of the posts and scrumhalf Chris Pinner made no mistake to establish a seventh minute 3-0 lead.
Salts had the advantage of a stiffish breeze and used it to kick long out of defence but KC’s back three looked dangerous running from deep and the forwards more than had the measure of their opposite numbers,using the driving maul to good effect as well as continuing to inflict scrum damage.The hosts fifteen man rugby,with flyhalf Rhys Pritchard looking particularly dangerous,created a number of try scoring opportunities but they were not taking enough care of the ball to make them count and with twenty minutes on the clock they paid the price.A quickly taken tap penalty by Salts No 9 Dwaine Evans just inside KC’s half caught them unawares and before they knew it the ball had been moved swiftly on to flyhalf Lewis Beaty and inside centre James Mason who raced clear to score under the posts.Beaty converted and the visitors first real threat had put them ahead 7-3.
Despite the set-back Kidder continued to see plenty of the ball but eight minutes later a dropped catch on their ten metre line proved costly as Evans broke down the blindside from the resulting scrum and combined with his left wing Tom Burrows before going over for a second try,again improved by Beaty.From the re-start KC’s took the play straight back to the opposition and five minutes of relentless pressure was rewarded when skipper Rob Delahay plunged over from close range to reduce the arrears to 14-8.Although they continued to stretch Salts for the remaining ten minutes of the half there was no further scoring and the home side found themselves behind at the break but had only themselves to blame.They had enjoyed the majority of possession and territory but at times had been guilty of overplaying and forcing their passes which had led to a string of handling errors whereas the visitors had fed off scraps but clinically finished the only two real chances which had come their way.
KC’s needed a solid start to the second period but in the very first minute a mistake in the backs saw the loose ball hacked upfield by Burrows who won the chase to touch down under the posts for a sucker punch try and Beaty’s conversion left them trailing 21-8.Kidder responded with a concerted spell of pressure deep in Salts 22,driving them back from a succession of lineouts and scrums.The visitors were under siege and had a huge slice of luck when No 8 Layton Wilkinson clearly grounded the ball amidst a sea of bodies on the line but the referee,poorly positioned and unsighted,ruled that he had been held up.KC’s continued to camp in the red zone, only to be denied by what appeared to be a deliberate knock on,also unspotted,before a knock on of their own and a yellow card for second row Jack Tunstall at last enabled Salts to clear their lines with a penalty to halfway.From the lineout their forwards made ground into Kidder’s 22 and with seventeen minutes played outside centre Tom Lee found right wing Zac Mann who finished well at the corner to extend the lead to 26-8.KC’s still refused to throw in the towel and after Beaty had missed a far from easy penalty chance from near the ten metre line they re-established themselves in Salts 22.After losing prop Greg Mitchell to a yellow card the visitors almost broke the stranglehold when Mann threatened to go the length of the field but just as he was about to sprint out of his own 22 he was brought down by a tremendous Rich Sollom tackle from behind.The loose ball was miskicked to fullback Jordan Hatch up in support of the Kidder offensive and he ran it back into the danger area where it was moved to centre George Morgan who crashed through the last tackler to score at the left corner and cut the deficit to 26-13.
KC’s now had the bit between their teeth and a surging charge by hooker Ben Turner almost took the forwards over but they were held up on the line.Another drive was stopped by Salts just short but they lost possession in their in goal area and Pinner got a hand on the ball for a try which he converted himself.With still enough time,Kidder were right back in the game at 26-20 but two minutes later they were dealt a body blow when Evans broke from an attacking scrum and Burrows came in off his wing to score under the posts.Beaty’s conversion restored Salts thirteen point lead but KC’s were not finished yet and from a scrum in the 22 Pritchard danced down the short side to score and Pinner converted excellently from wide out to set Salts nerves jangling once again.Right at the death a Salts scrum in their 22 was driven back but they were able to cling on to the win when Kidder were penalised and the relieved visitors kicked the penalty to touch to end the game.
This was a match which KC’s could and probably should have won but credit to Salts for making the most of their good fortune and taking their chances.Kidder’s disappointment was mitigated by the news that Moseley Oak had unexpectedly lost at Ludlow and that their two well deserved bonus points were therefore sufficient to move them up to third place in Mids 2 West (N).
Supporters are reminded that the last four league matches will revert to 3 o’clock kick offs,beginning next week at Shrewsbury.