Midlands North 2 Round 10 – November 18
This weekend Pavs welcomed table topping and unbeaten Lichfield RFC to The Stump in Round 10 of the RFU Midlands North 2 competition.
With Pavs picking up 20 valuable league points and four wins in the last four games, this was a first versus third encounter that was sure to be spicy affair.
Local lore states that the Staffordshire side once visited Pavs in the early 1970s, but there have been no fixtures between the two sides since.
With a good sized crowd in attendance, an engaging afternoon was in the offing. Pavs welcomed back Dan Hyams, Alistair Plant and Ben Allen to the squad following last week’s away win at Matlock.Â
From the kick off it was clear that this was a game between two excellent sides. Pavs controlled the ball well and for their part Lichfield proved to be well organised and stoic in defence.
The first half an hour of the game disappeared in a trice as both sides battled away for the opening score. Finally, on thirty one minutes, fly half George Billam continued his excellent form when he ghosted in under the posts and converted his own try to give Pavs the lead at 7-7.
Minutes later wing Alex Rimmington was forced from the action by a head injury to be replaced by Harry Kerr.
Lichfield then had a period of supremacy of their own, first levelling the score on thirty five minutes before drawing in front at 10-7 with a well struck penalty.
Pavs wrestled back the initiative with minutes left in the half when Pavs no8 Phil Eggleshaw added to his try tally for the season in powering over from short distance, and with Billam adding the extras to put the home side back in front at 14-10 at the break.
With the front row triumvirate of Dan Hyams, Owen Taylor and Zak Baldry, Pavs were beginning  to dominate the scrummage and Pavs were keen to emphasise this increasingly strong facet of their play in the second half.
During the break, the unlucky Ben Allen came off with a shoulder injury to be replaced by Alistair Plant.
On forty five minutes speedster Will Taylor evaded all would be tacklers to dive in at the corner to extend Pavs lead 19-10. On forty nine the influential Eggleshaw finished off another period of pressure when he drove over for his second try on the blindside to increase Pavs  lead to 26-10 with the Billam extras.
Lichfield continued to fight for the badge and on the hour narrowed Pavs lead to 26-17.
Pavs were, however, saving the best for last. On sixty seven minutes, Pavs executed a fine sweeping backs movement from the lineout for Harry Kerr to step his way in to score and bring the scoring to 31-17.
Matt Molyneux took a break to rest his aching ribs this giving an opportunity for the much anticipated return of Jonty Green after a long injury lay off.
As the heavens opened on eighty minutes Lichfield squeezed in at the corner to bring to final score to 31-22 in favour of Pavs.
All in all, a quality game of rugby between to well organised and skilful sides. It is fair to say that Pavs dominated the set piece with the large boys upfront and the leaping Josh Flanagan in the lineout.
The backs have remained unchanged during this period and now look a very organised, pacey and competitive unit. Pavs have now won the last five games and accrued 25 points in the process, this gaining them a third spot in the league. Another truly team performance from all 18.
Pavs now have a week off to rest the tired limbs and tend to the injuries before they venture over to Tamworth RFC on Saturday 2nd December.
Squad- Dan Hyams, Owen Taylor, Zak Baldry, Theo Collier, Ben Allen, Tom Gladwin, Josh Flanagan, Phil Eggleshaw (2 tries), Ben Taylor, George Billam (1 try, 3 conv), Will Taylor (1 try), Morgan Jones, Doug Billam (C), Alex Rimmington, Matt Molyneux.
Rep- Harry Kerr ( 1 try, 29mins), Alistair Plant (40 mins), Jonty Green ( 77 mins)
Paviors Rugby Club play at Burntstump Hill, Arnold, NG5 8PQ and the club runs over twenty teams.
New players are always welcome – girls, boys, men & women, there is a team for all.
Further information about the club including contact details can be found on http://www.paviorsrfc.co.uk/ .
