Barkers Butts 18-12 Silhillians

Sils suffered their first league defeat in over two months at the hands of league leaders Barkers Butts.
Sils started slowly and found themselves two tries down after a scrappy opening quarter. Firstly a well taken try by the Barkers winger put early points on board and then a second was a awarded by the unsighted referee as hopeful kick that had gone long was adjudged to have been grounded in time. Sils bottled this frustration and the spirit that has served them well this season returned and they clawed themselves back into the game. Good field position and good lineout work from the forwards provided some go forward ball from which fly Half Si Doherty took full advantage. He created some space for himself to glide through the oppo defence and his pace got him over the line, the conversion from Harrison Law closed the gap to just 3-points. The Barkers backs though, again created space in the midfield and managed to stretch the gap back to 8-poins  with an unconverted try of their own. Sils were down to 14-men after a sin bin for tight head Mark OLeary but the home side could not take advantage of the extra man and the scoreline stayed at 15-7 until the break.
After half-time Barkers showed why they are sitting top of the league, winning good turnover ball and setting up their backs to convert the possession into points. Strong defence from Sils ensured this was kept to just 3-points before Sils responded themselves. A succession of penalties provided the field position and the lineout and driving maul allowed Alex Roper to cross the whitewash. Sils were now within a score which made for a very exciting finish to the game. Line breaks from Chris Mussel, Peter Nichols and Rafael Guimaraes almost provided the travelling support with another late celebration but the final whistle came just to early this week.
Sils reach the halfway point in the league this week as they welcome Banbury to Copt Heath, 2.15pm ko.
Sils Saxons notched another 14-tries as they demolished local side Edwardians to show the depth in quality within the club. This weekend Sils welcome back their returning students to bolsters the sides and hope to get a third team fixture. All players welcome.