Silhillians 18-23 Bedworth

Silhillians 18 – Bedworth 23

Failure to convert pressure into points left the Sils kicking themselves on Saturday, as what seemed at times to be a calamity of errors allowed Bedworth to seize their opportunities and with them the match.

The tone for the afternoon was essentially set from the kick-off as the Sils got off to the worst possible start; Bedworth driving straight into the home-side’s 22 from the off and penning the Sils pack in the corner with some aggressive forward play. A resulting penalty was taken quickly, and the Bedworth No. 8 almost couldn’t believe his luck as he drove over for the first score of the day. 7-0 after five minutes.

Fly-half Dave Grey managed to reduce the lead to four shortly after as the Sils finally started to wake up and string some decent passages of play together. This was quickly countered, however, with another clinically-taken penalty from the Bedworth goal-kicker to take the scoreboard to 10-3.

The final play of the half saw the Sils manage to level the scores with an excellent period of pressure, as the ball was fed quickly out wide to winger Pablo Hollier before a driving maul put the pack over close to the posts. Though the try was initially prevented by a mass of Bedworth bodies underneath, the home pack dominated the ensuing scrum and drove over for the score. 10-10 at the turnaround.

The second-half saw the tempo of the game ebb and flow as Bedworth continued to work the breakdown effectively and peg the Sils back in their own half. The home-side were to also prove their own enemies on more than one occasion, seeing no fewer than three scoring passes adjudged to be forward when just a little more depth would have removed any sense of doubt. Knock-ons close to the line were to only compound the frustration felt by supporters and players alike. Meanwhile, with the penalty count continuing to mount (eleven in total in the second-half alone), the opposition quickly pushed their lead out to six points with two punishing kicks at goal.

With nineteen minutes left on the clock, the Sils continued to knock on the door, but were simply unable to close the game out despite appearing to have the upper-hand in attack. Nevertheless, scrambling defence and dropped balls did their job in keeping the home team safely away from the line, as Bedworth themselves snatched another with four left on the clock. An interception by the visitor’s winger from a long pass out to Nic Powell was probably a fitting summary of the game. Some comfort can be taken from the final play, the Sils marching straight back down the pitch to score as Jim Roper’s deft grubber was pounced upon by Cam Law. But not much. 23-18 to Bedworth. The post-match faces said it all.