Gosford 8 - 31 MK

Cold wind and rain were the order of the day as MK trudged down to Gosford this weekend. The two sides last faced one another two years ago in a fiery affair where the Gosford All Blacks came out on top; leaving Milton Keynes with a score to settle.

Gosford kicked off the fixture and MK immediately ran the ball back at them, making minor breaks in the Gosford line, unfortunately a slew of MK ruck offences nullified their expeditious attempts. Gosford capitalised on these infringements and opened the scoring with a penalty on the MK 10 meter line. Tempo and intent never subsided but conditions severely hindered handling ability. Nevertheless MK still managed to string a beautiful motif together; Ben Pearson pilfering Gosford line-out ball and sending it to the backline for some crisp handling. Interplay and pace followed through for Stuart Phipps to continue his scoring streak down the wing and into the corner. Although the conversion was missed MK didn’t waste much time in producing a second score with Stuart Phipps again finalising the move, Declan Morris this time adding the extras.

The score stood at 12-3 on half time but neither side wanted to remain stationary for too long and the proceedings quickly got under way once again. Pressure from MK presented Erik Grimley with a trademark thumping carry toward the line for the third try of the game, furthermore the conversion was struck perfectly.

Gosford’s resolve was however not weakened, valiantly battling through the MK line they made their way up the pitch for a tight dive over in the corner. The score was now 19-8 and MK decided to roll on two of its subs, Alex Green and Tom Ray in exchange of Archard Yabsley and Harry Walker respectively.

After an hour of play the cold really began to set in, appearing to impair the critical decision making of all those involved, with the mounting list of knock on’s necessitating a scrummage heavy period, however MK’s tight five more than rose to the challenge and firmly held their own.

By now MK began to take hold of the game creating more scoring opportunities with a marginal decision going against Arthur Hurren. Though two tries from Adrian Teckoe and John Marchbank could not be disputed as MK secured the bonus point and pushed Gosford out of the game. Final score stands at 31-8. The score line may be reflective of a strong MK performance, howbeit neither team gave anything less than their utmost commitment, passion and respect. Fervent determination was rife in the trying circumstances and the hosts showed great sportsmanship in the bar afterwards. We anticipate a similarly eventful fixture when Gosford visit MK in April of the new year, but in the mean time we at Milton Keynes wish everyone at Gosford All Blacks a merry Christmas and a happy new year.