Sils Force Out Win Number 2 To Reclaim Bog Seat

A Silhillians side flush with confidence was forced to work hard to squeeze out victory against a spirited and much improved Nuneaton side in the second ‘Battle of the Bog Seat’. Ben Trenchard’s absence meant a full debut for January signing Ed ‘the shed’ Atkins while there were welcome returns on the bench for Matt Lee and Tom Manise, who were both wounded in battle against Spartans.

Sils dominated the early proceedings and camped in the opposition 22 with a series of driving mauls bringing the Copt Heath elite close to the try line. A lineout move straight off the training ground allowed Sils to pile through the middle of Nuneaton’s defence, and Nick Elliott continued the momentum to crash over from his preferred distance of 1 yard. Tom Lee added the extras from bang in front.

The boys pressed on and some strong forward carries left space for the backs to exploit, with captain Beech getting round his opposite man on several occasions. Sils marched into the red zone for Ben Crowe to eventually jog over in the corner. Minutes later, the mercurial Harry Pick rounded the Nuneaton centres and left a helpless fullback on the floor to give Sils their 3rd try. Tom Lee nailed both conversions to stretch the early lead to 21-0.

The bonus point victory now seemed a formality, but Nuneaton rallied after some sloppy errors from Sils. Shortly after a limping Fred Howard was replaced by Tom Manise, Nuneaton strung several phases together to crash over from short range. Jack Hobbs added to his highlight reel by charging down the conversion, but Sils had ended the half second best.

Coach Taylor broke the swearometer at half time delivering a well deserve telling off, but Sils once again found themselves under siege from a direct Nuneaton side who grabbed their second try, this time hastily converted. The on field play was backed up by a vocal crowd providing a torrent of ‘constructive criticism’ to the referee. However, some gutsy cover defence, and suspect offloading, made that Nuneaton’s only score in an uneventful second half. Tom Lee missed a shot to extend the lead after Sefa Aukuso had played skittles with the Nuneaton defence, and Ben Crowe watched from the sidelines with interest as another long range effort went wide.

With both sides tiring Sils saw out the rest of the game comfortably, and were grateful to leave Nuneaton with the Bog Seat reclaimed and their winning streak intact. Next up is round 2 against the pugnacious Pinley, one final test before a huge run-in to the end of the season.