No Love Lost As Lee Brothers’ Valentines Cards Come Late

After toughing it out in Nuneaton last weekend, Sils were back in the ring against Pinley on Saturday. After an ugly encounter in east Coventry earlier in the season, the stage (and the camera stand) was set for the visit of a side in high spirits, having overcome previously unbeaten Rugby Lions last weekend. Sils, meanwhile, were without Fred Howard through injury but welcomed back Rory Grogan alongside Ben Trenchard on the bench.

Sils started at their usual feverish pace and were off the ground within minutes, the brilliant Jack Hobbs bagging his first try wide on the left. An arduous conversion attempt was narrowly missed by Tom Lee. Sils’ dominance in the early rounds continued as they drove towards the clubhouse. From a scrum close to the line, the backs unleashed a deadly combo and Harry Pick rounded the dizzied Pinley defence to score. Tom Lee added a couple more from the tee and it was 12-0 after 12 minutes. A good start.

Pinley were back on the ropes midway through the half when Matt Lee evaded 3 or 4 defenders to run all the way down the right touch line and in for Sils’ third, and just minutes later, the try bonus point was secured as Hobbs was again set free down the left. Pinley gave chase but quickly learnt you don’t catch the Hobbswarts Express on its scheduled service to Trytime. Onlookers were a tad bemused as to why one of Pinley’s backs continued to follow Hobbs all the way under the posts, but all became clear when Hobbs was warmly congratulated with a good kneeing to the ribs upon touchdown. Charming.

Onwards! As the scoreboard ticked along, so did the scrapometer. Pinley’s scrum-half was sin-binned for a stamp just after the half hour. Another hammer blow came on 37 minutes as Hobbs completed his hat-trick, which was ruined by the game’s standout moment. Sils tapped and went from a penalty with numbers out wide. Ben Crowe reached to collect and then gave to the Express, who sprinted over. The conversion attempt was lined up and despatched to make the score 31-0. The waters bottles came on and off. A couple of spectators made their way into the bar for a half-time drink. A plane took off from nearby Birmingham airport. And after all of that, Crowe was picked up and mercilessly spear tackled. The scrapometer exploded as Tom Lee flattened the offender and both sides swarmed around. The outcome was not good for Sils. Pinley’s player was sin-binned but both Lee brothers were shown red cards for retaliation. It was 13 on 13 for now, but soon Sils would be at a serious deficit and could be grateful they were way ahead on the scorecard.

Needless to say, the half-time huddle wasn’t quite as well-spirited as it should have been. Graft was on the agenda for the second period. The double sending off meant Sils’ attacking chances were at a premium, and as expected, Pinley were in the ascendancy. They ratcheted up a couple of driving maul scores, but Sils still had breathing space. There was plenty of to-ing and fro-ing on the touchline as Manise, Nicholls, Elliott, Mulcahy, Trenchard and Super came and went. Grogan’s return ended unhappily as he was forced to leave the field with a knock to the head after only 20 minutes, and Beech also limped off with what looks like a hamstring tear, adding to availability concerns for the coming batch of fixtures. Dan Super knocked on as he attempted to halt a Pinley attack bound for the try line, and Pinley’s eloquent protests were answered as the yellow card was brandished again, sending Sils down to 12 men.

The numbers were really starting to tell as Pinley broke down the right to finish in the clubhouse corner. Soon after, they pounded their way over from another driving maul and had a try bonus point of their own. Despite finishing the stronger, Sils never really had to think about pressing the panic button.

Elsewhere, Rugby Lions lost their second on the spin, 34-8 at Spartans, so Sils’ 5-point win has propelled them into 1st. Following the second February rest week, 3 colossal fixtures begin with a trip to none other than Rugby Lions, who will be keen to reverse Sils’ leapfrog into top spot.