Twickenham Hopes Go West For Sils

Following the Midlands Final heroics back in March, Sils faced North region winners West Leeds, with the Twickenham dream looming large for the Men in Maroon. The task was a formidable one – stop the side who have become something of regulars at HQ, and won ‘The Northern Treble’ last season. Sils, then, were underdogs in the cup. But we’d heard that before…

Aside from a wake-up call against Berkswell and Balsall last weekend, preparation had been spot on. To add to an excellent week of training, Sils were boosted by the return of captain Olly Beech from a hamstring tear sustained nearly two months ago, as well as Matt Lee who had been struggling with a similar hamstring problem. Pete Nicholls was also back in the fold, having not played since the Midlands Final with a knee injury. Unfortunately, Shelf's availability and the RFUs controversial 'one piece of household furniture per squad' rule meant Ed 'The Shed' Atkins was ruled out.

Perfect conditions greeted a swelling crowd that included a substantial Leeds following, and it was the travelling side that began the better, capitalising on Sils’ error-strewn start as three knock-ons were conceded in the opening two minutes. Possession and position were handed to Leeds and they built slowly towards their first score on just 5 minutes, sending forwards phases through the middle to sweat the Sils defence before eventually spinning wide for the right wing to dive over in the corner. A tricky conversion from wide was missed.

Sils got going from the restart, as West Leeds kicked deep but Jack Hobbs collected his own up-and-under to put Sils back on halfway. The home side combined forwards and backs to generate some phases of their own, and were rewarded with a penalty for tackler not releasing in the centre of the park, about 30m out. Tom Lee sent the kick over. 3-5.

Now would have been a good time to build off some decent rugby, but Sils slipped from the restart, which landed somewhere between about 5 of the forwards for the Leeds wing to pounce on. Leeds were straight onto the Sils 22 with the ball, and although Sils managed to salvage possession shortly afterwards, the attempted clearance kick did not relieve much pressure. Sils dealt with the subsequent lineout catch-and-drive but the patient, well-drilled Leeds bided their time and after a couple of fierce scrums, piled over from close quarters for their second score.

Again, Sils responded well from the kick-off, regaining possession and working the ball to try and impose themselves on Leeds. The away side’s resolute defence wasn’t giving much away, and line breaks were at a premium. Harry Pick stepped inside to draw the man and put Ben Crowe into space at one stage, but Leeds scrambled back and possession was lost in the subsequent phases. Not long after, the Leeds 10 put a speculative penalty kick attempt wide from just inside halfway. Still 3-10.

The game swung back and forth for the period that followed. Leeds had a sniff around in the scoreboard corner that went unrewarded before Sils built a great chance of their own. A well-worked lineout move led to solid carries from Shelf, Howard, Trace and Pick which got Sils within 7 metres of the line. Leeds killed the ball at the expense of 3 points. At 6-10 down, and given the poor start, Sils were right in it.

As expected, when Sils had the ball they were being allowed to play, but opportunities to break the line anywhere, and particularly out wide for speed merchants Jack Hobbs and Matt Lee, were few and far between. Leeds were defending solidly across the park, and in attack were relying on a tight, forwards-orientated game plan contrary to Sils’ expectations.

The game’s decisive moments were to come either side of the break. Sils conceded a penalty on halfway, and the resulting kick was most fortunate to go into touch within 5 metres of Sils’ line. In their attempts to bundle over, Leeds were held up, but from the resulting scrum a penalty try was awarded and converted. The offence wasn’t clear, but Sils found themselves 11 points down at the break. 6-17.

Early in the second half, Leeds kicked another penalty to the opposite corner and used their catch-and-drive lineout to rumble over for their fourth score in the shadow of the clubhouse, converted to make the score 6-24. With the game getting away from Sils, they rallied again to try and get their first score on the board. At a rare opportunity to go wide, Leeds held Al Mulcahy up and pushed into touch, but Sils had the lineout. Another well worked peel move led to Tom Manise getting a run at the Leeds 10 with the line begging, but the ball was dropped in his attempt to reach over. From the resulting scrum, Sils got the nudge and steamrolled Leeds to earn a penalty. Kicking at goal was no longer an option, and from the tap and go Fred Howard was held up over the line, before Sils spun it wide only for Matt Lee to drop as he reached out. West Leeds cleared from the resulting scrum, and with it a huge opportunity was gone.

Sils would never have given up in a month of Sundays, but their increasingly tired efforts were continually met with the northern wall. The introduction of Nick Elliott boosted the carrying options, with every half yard seeming like a mini victory in itself. As Sils again pushed deep upfield, another chance went begging out wide as Ben Crowe passed slightly forward out of the tackle to the onrushing Matt Lee. Moments later Harry Pick wriggled over but was held up. Then another golden opportunity slipped away as the ball was spilt loose and West Leeds countered before winning a penalty on the Sils 10 metre line. What was it going to take?

Then, finally, Sils registered a score. Crowe kicked a penalty deep into the scoreboard corner. From the lineout, Sils piled into the phases knowing that their chances were running out, and substitute scrum-half Phill Martin fed Pete Nicholls to cross the whitewash. Crowe slotted from 25m to make the score 13-24 with about 8 minutes left.

It was to be Sils' last foray into Leeds territory (for the next few weeks at least), as they boldly opted to run it back from the kick-off but a knock-on gifted West Leeds the ball in the wrong half of the pitch. Organised and with an 11-point advantage, they saw out the remainder by keeping it tight. Sils were left wondering what might have been, if even one of the hatful of second half missed chances had come good. Thankfully, they will have their shot at revenge when they take on Leeds in late May in an altogether different contest…

The Twickenham dream was snatched away for at least another year, but memories of an extraordinary cup run will remain. In particular, the mammoth efforts in the Midlands Semi at Spartans, and the Midlands Final against Rugby Lions. A special thanks to Jim Roper for preparing two fine days at the club, as well as all those who flocked to Copt Heath to support the team.