Drifters 16 Milton Keynes 22 MILTON KEYNES RUGBY 24-11-12

This was never going to be an easy game for City. It was a match against a side who had been promoted at the end of last season and had performed well in their new league, having beaten some strong opponents to date. Both sides were tested by the cold, wet and windy weather. It was never going to be a classic game, and so it proved.
The game was an evenly fought contest with City just coming out on top. The away side opened the scoring with a neat move through the backs following some good rucking from the forwards. This culminated in winger Dan Rolfe diving over in the corner for the first try of the day.
Drifters were soon to respond with a comfortable penalty following the City forwards deemed to have hands in the ruck making the score 3 – 5.
With the conditions getting worse there were inevitable errors from both sides. Drifters were fortunate to score their first try following the ball being hacked through. Despite the efforts of the MK defence it was a Drifters hand that first touched the ball as is crept over the try line putting the home side in front for the first time.
Phil Powell dominated the scoring for the remainder of the first half with a number of accurate kicks between the posts. By half time City were leading by 8 – 17. The challenge was to defend their lead with the strong wind in their faces.
Within 5 minutes of the start of the second half Drifters were awarded a penalty which was converted meaning that they were now only 6 points behind. With the wind behind them they were expecting a few more scores before the end of the game.
City were spurred into action and dominated much of the second half. A further try soon arrived due to the domination of the pack. Drifters were struggling to contain the Milton Keynes scrums and a number of penalties were conceded near their line. Eventually a forward try was scored with Mark Robinson taking the ball over from the base of the scrum. The score was now 11 – 22.
Drifters weren’t prepared to give up and they were able to score a further try by the end of the match. This was another kick through which resulted in a Drifters player being first to touch the ball over the try line.
This was a tough match for City who remain in third place in the league. They can expect the next match to be even tougher. On 8th December City play top of the table Grove at The Valley. This is always one of the more difficult matches of the season. Although a win won’t put City at the top of the table it will mean they will be just a couple of points behind.