Broadstreet RFC

The International weekend had a significant impact on Broadstreet’s selection for the Leicester Lions RFC match with a number of the regular 2^nd XV unavailable. Surprisingly, despite normally having 4 or 5 talented players available on a regular weekend one of the gaps was at scrum half, so this had to be filled by 1^st team winger Matty Fielder. In the centre an ‘old guard’ of Stu Crawford and Steve ‘Staystrong’ Allen were called up from the 3rds which may have caused a number of raised eyebrows from the spectators when they noticed what looked like a young and quick Leicester Lions back-line. With a couple of absences in the back row, hooker Roffy stepped in at number 8 and added his 5”7’ height to the lineout options.

Kicking off the game, Broadstreet managed to pounce on Drew Hudman’s drop kick after Leicester Lions decided not to collect the ball. This allowed ‘Street to mount an attack whilst already deep in the Lion’s half and from the ensuing ruck Chris Zutic crashed over to score in the opening play of the game. Drew Hudman began a day of excellent kicking by slotting the extra points from near the touchline. Broadstreet RFC 7-Leicester Lions RFC 0

From the restart Broadstreet began their second wave of attack and swept back up the field into the Leicester half. Despite quick ball wide, colt Rich Smith still found himself well marked on the wing and 35 metres from the try line, however he used excellent footwork to beat the first defenders and paced through to the 22. When confronted with the covering defence Smith put in a chip into the corner and raced them to it, Broadstreet’s second try in 4 minutes! Drew Hudman just missed the conversion Broadstreet RFC 12 - Leicester Lions RFC 0

Loose kicking in the midfield and a poor chase allowed Leicester to return a ball from their own 22, past a number of poor tackle attempts from the ‘Street forwards and onto the fullback for a one-on-one. The Lions centre, having done the damage so far, backed himself and hoisted the ball past the full back to collect it for a score under the posts. Good strong running from the Lion’s player combined with some amateur defending from the ‘Street kick-chase seemingly allowed Lions back into the match 10 minutes after a ‘Street explosive start. Broadstreet RFC 12 - Leicester Lions RFC 5

Keen to make up for their poor tackling in the midfield the ‘Street forwards began rumbling up the pitch with a series of strong carries. This pressure led to a Broadstreet scrum on the Leicester 5m line with Zutic at 8, from the stable scrum the open-side picked up and powered over the line for his second try. Hudman collected the extras. Broadstreet RFC 19 - Leicester Lions RFC 5

With 23 minutes gone Bingham’s return from injury was cut short and he was stretchered off the field with an ankle injury (nothing too drastic he hobbled out the club later unaided), this allowed the club’s new addition, Kiwi tight-head Blair Cooper, to make his debut for the club. With 10 minutes left of the 1^st half, fly-half Mark Rea executed a move which slipped the ball back inside to Rich Smith who sliced through to score under the posts. Broadstreet RFC 24- Leicester Lions RFC 5

HT Broadstreet 24- Leicester Lions 7

The 2^nd half started out much more evenly and the opening 20 minutes of the half produced the best contested. Lions started gaining more momentum when their fly-half began hitting the ball at pace and feeding his back-line more. However, Crawford and ‘Staystrong’ showed their experience and, facing faster opponents, cut off the wide passes and stopped the attacks before they could develop in the more dangerous outside channels. For the Broadstreet spectators the exemplary defence from the pair was never in doubt! During this period Chris Zutic really showed his class and excellent work rate, his frequent turnovers were supplemented by a series of long powerful runs which often exceeded 20 or 30 metres at a time.

This period of close play was finally ended by Tom Greevy when he broke from his own 22, crashed through a number of players and showed a good turn of pace that took him into Leicester?? territory. However his offload in the Leicester half was straight into opposition hands and all his hard work was undone as the Leicester player shot down the same channel left vacant by Greevy almost scoring, were it not for a last ditch effort that dragged him down just before the line. With players spread all over the pitch because of the two quick breaks, Mark Rea identified the opportunity and audaciously ran the ball from beneath his own posts, beat a couple of players and lofted a superb pass out to Hudman and Smith who were in space. Hudman quickly fed Smith who was presented with 70 metres and a few players sprinting across from the other side of the pitch, using the angle to cut off his way to the try line. Smith used his pace to beat the first man on the outside before cutting in off his wing and side stepping past the remaining two covering tacklers to score under the post. Hudman added the extras. Broadstreet RFC 31- Leicester Lions 5

Drew Hudman’s strong performance was rewarded when he punctuated the try scoring with a 6^th try 2 minutes from the end of the game. Mark Rea once again showed excellent distribution when he shipped the ball from left to right which allowed Hudman to take advantage of the overlap and touch down over the line. Broadstreet RFC 38 - Leicester Lions 5

FT Broadstreet RFC 38 - Leicester Lions 5

A strong performance by the 2^nd XV against a Leicester Lions team which has in recent years become our sternest test of the season, I am sure that the return fixture will be much closer than this one.

With the 1^st XV suffering a recent slump in form 1^st

team contenders like Mark Rea and Rich Smith have done their chances a world of good with their performance, whilst Drew Hudman’s excellent measured game at fullback has opened up potential avenues that the coaches may never have considered before.