Sat 19 Oct 2024, 15:00
OC’s travelled over to Worcester for the very first time this week and put on a real show for the crowd in a 67 point classic. OC’s were bolstered by the return of two of their home grown talent - Alex Kelly (after a brief spell at Coventrians) and Jack Fennell (fresh from his tour of Australia).
Worcester kicked off and pinned the OC’s in their 22. As OC’s tried to clear their line, the Worcester 15 picked up a loose kick and scythed through the middle of the chasing OC’s pack and from the ensuing breakdown, OC’s gave a penalty away which the Worcester 15 slotted over to give the home side an early lead. The game ebbed and flowed around the halfway line until winger JJ charged down the right wing, bouncing off a couple of defenders to set up a ruck. OC’s secured quick ball, moved it wide through quick hands giving opposite winger Emosi Nabakeke enough space for him to side-step one defender and then outstrip the others to score under the posts. Chatty Senavirathne comfortably slotted over the conversion to give OC’s a 7-3 lead. This gave the OC’s a real confidence boost and they continued to show enterprising rugby and came close to extending their lead when a neat chip over the top by JJ just slid over the dead ball line before he could get to it.
Worcester worked hard to get back into the game and came very close to scoring but could not breach the solid OC’s defence, giving away a penalty to allow OC’s to clear their lines. After 25 minutes, OC’s worked their way up towards the home team’s 22 m line. From a line out, OC’s drove the ball on through their forwards before popping the ball out to fly half Chatty who bulldozed his way through the middle of the defence to score under the posts. He nonchalantly popped over the conversion to give OC’s some daylight in the scoreline.
Worcester fought back well and really tested the OC’s defence which held out resolutely until, after conceding a scrum 10 m out from their own line, the Worcester centre stepped through a gap to dive over the line for the home side’s first try. Both sides continued to play some lovely football and entertain the crowd. With half-time looming the game was lit up once again by some excellent footwork by Emosi. Securing the lineout on their own 10m line, OC’s powered down the middle of the defence, nipped the ball out wide for Emosi to confound two Worcester defenders with his footwork before popping the ball inside for supporting number 9 Sam Miles to scamper over the line. With Chatty again converting the try.
The first half action was not over! With a couple of minutes left in the half, OC’s centre George Curtis received a yellow card for a late hit on the Worcester fly half – George is gathering quite a collection so far this season. Despite being down a man, Dan Anderson leapt high to steal the Worcester line out. The forwards marched down the field before shipping the ball out wide to the star of the first half, Emosi, who was again just too good and too quick for the Worcester defence. Chatty narrowly missed the conversion. Still more to come in this breath-taking first half! Directly from the Worcester kick off, OC’s secured the ball and, seeing a gap on the narrow side, popped the ball out to Alex Kelly who took the ball at pace and outstripped the defence to dot down in the corner – giving OC’s a first half bonus point. Welcome back Alex! The referee blew the whistle for half-time and finally everyone could take a breath.
Half-time score: Worcester 10 v 31 Old Coventrians
Worcester started the second half with a bit of fire in their bellies knowing that they had to score quickly to get back into the match. However, this worked against them within seconds of the kick-off, as their prop was yellow carded for an overly zealous high tackle. As OC’s pressed, a missed touch find by Worcester was gathered by Sam Miles who fed James Callaway who ploughed through a gap and surprised even himself with a sprint in from 45 metres out - finishing off with a Chris Ashton-esque dive over the line. Chatty was unable to convert the try, as his kick narrowly went the wrong side of the upright. To their credit, Worcester never gave up and really tested the OC’s defence which held out well under a lot of pressure. Worcester did get a glimmer of hope halfway through the second half when a scrum 5 metres out from the OC’s line was well controlled by their No. 8 who bulldozed over the line from the base of the scrum. Worcester’s fullback stepped up and slotted the conversion to make it 17-36.
Worcester continued to have the lion’s share of the possession and press the OC’s defence. However, a superb jackal turnover by Captain, Same Miles, allowed Chatty to give OC’s some relief with an excellent touch find up the field. OC’s took advantage of a rare second half foray into the opposition 22m by shipping the ball quickly from the lineout out to Chatty whose long, flat pass was picked up by ‘who else’ but Emosi Nabakeke who cantered in for his hattrick. Chatty converted the try to take his personal tally up to 13 points in the match.
Worcester secured a consolation try just before the end of the game when they collected a mishit drop out, retained the ball well amongst their forwards and eventually worked their way over the OC’s line.
Once again, the OC’s backs were quite unstoppable - scoring all 7 tries but the star of the show was undoubtedly Emosi Nabakeke whose excellent footwork and pace were just too much for the opposition. That said, the OC’s forwards in particular put in a huge defensive shift for 80 minutes which helped to contain a very strong-looking Worcester team. The backrow trio of Sheepy, Callaway and Kenty, alongside the ever-impressive Dan Anderson, all had huge tackle counts and very much earned a few beers after the game. If OC’s can play with that discipline and style of rugby – we could be in for a very enjoyable season.
Full-time score: Worcester 24 v 43 Old Coventrians
