Sils Swerve Defeat On Journey South

After recent league outings against top-of-the-table rivals Rugby Lions and Spartans, there was no let off for Sils in the Warwickshire countryside on Saturday. The small town side of Southam, lurking an ominous sixth in the league, gave stand-in coach Jim Roper plenty to ponder in his first game in charge.

It was the home side that started the better, making the most of poor Sils discipline. Their kicker missed an early effort before knocking over another attempt on 10 minutes. However Sils soon found their feet in the match, making the most of quick ball at the base for Matt Lee to dive over for his twelfth try of the season. Just minutes later, James Hibbard broke his try-scoring duck by catching Southam’s defence off guard to fall over from less than a yard. Crowe made full use of the left-hand post with his conversion attempt to make it 12-3.

However, Sils’ poor discipline in their own half continued and on 20 minutes, they gifted Southam another 3 points. Things got worse as scrappy ball at the base of the scrum, which resurfaced as a problem area for most of the afternoon, led to a Southam breakaway and score, converted to make it 13-12.

What followed was Sils’ best period of the game. Crowe kicked a penalty into the corner and a well executed lineout set up a driving maul that Southam entered from the side in their attempts to stop. Penalty try. Minutes later the ball was recycled from a signature Hobbs breakaway for Fred Howard to force his way over and tighten Sils’ grip on the match. On the stroke of half time, Harry Pick spun a missile wide for Hobbs himself to score, and nudge back ahead of Matt Lee in the try-scoring charts.

The break came at the wrong time for Sils, who had scored 17 points in the last 10 minutes of the half. That momentum eluded them for most of the second period, as various sin bins and injuries took their toll. Manise took a boot to the side of the head and was replaced by late call-up Gaz ‘The Rock’ Rock, who cemented an impressive debut with some solid defence and strong work at the breakdown.

A focal point in the match came on 55 minutes, as Tom Lee was taken in the air by the Southam fullback. There were few complaints at the resulting red card. Sils did not get away completely unscathed, as Hibbard decided he hasn’t featured enough in match reports this season and combined his try with a yellow card for retaliation.

Manise thankfully returned to the fray to replenish Sils’ now alarmingly short lineout options, but Sils laboured for the next 20 minutes as Southam rallied. Their 9 picked and went from a few yards out to score, and a driving maul of their own in the clubhouse corner yielded a second penalty try of the match to bring them within 4 points. Squeaky bum time.

Harry Law replaced Harry Pick and Hibbard (yes, that’s another mention) rejoined but even with the extra man, Sils struggled to keep Southam at bay. Ben Trenchard was forced off with a dislocated finger as Sils desperately tried to shut the door on the home side’s late advances. Eventually, their efforts were rewarded as a breakaway led to Dan Super - who had come on for Crowe 20 minutes earlier - going over to relieve the pressure. Law conversion. 36-25.

Sils saw out the remaining 3 minutes to claim a hard-fought away 5-pointer against a decent outfit. With three games remaining until the Christmas break, Sils return to Copt Heath, hosting Tamworth in the Intermediate Cup Midlands Quarter-Final.