Reading Abbey 13 - Milton Keynes 50

Make no mistake, despite the final score this was not an easy game for City and the pack will argue it was their most physical test to date. Giving Reading Abbey’s result the week before, City were expecting the Berkshire side to come out swinging. They did just that, and clearly had a game plan which they executed well, controlling much of the possession and forcing the league leaders to defend for large parts of the game.

The intent from Abbey was clear from the off, receiving the ball and using their big second rows, and in particular Captain Sam Hallett to carry the ball well around the fringes. City usually so dominant in this area were missing the hard hitting Matt Styles, so had to be patient and disciplined whilst soaking up the pressure. The first opportunity, however did go to Abbey who were unable to collect a cross field kick which would have seen their full back Tom Waterhouse score the first points of the afternoon.

These would come just moments later from turnover ball, a typical Phil Powell burst through the middle drew players in and he was able to offload to Dave Matthews and who gave the ball to the supporting flanker Daniel Rolfe scoring his 6th try of the season with City’s first attack of the day. Powell was unable to convert.

Abbey came straight back and with MK unable to collect the kick off cleanly had possession of the ball and continued to carry the ball, this time they were awarded a penalty for their efforts but were unable to convert. Just moments later City had their second try, when after a couple of phases, Rob Lasbrey picked the ball off the base of a ruck, as he went to play it, the covering defender seemed to go with the pass before it was played, and he lost his footing as he tried to recover, allowing Lasbrey to seize the opportunity and run it in himself. Powell was unable to convert.

This remained the pattern for most of the half; it was Abbey that had the majority of possession and territory, with MK organising their defence and hitting their tackles well to prevent any try scoring opportunities. Abbey would eventually get their first points from a penalty after 26 minutes. They were unable to build on this thought as again carrying the ball into the MK 22, they met a sturdy defence and quick turnover ball created an overlap outside for centre Rob Matthews to run in from distance, this went unconverted.

The last score of the half came from fullback Ash Targett, after Josh Myles making his first start for MK, having just turned 18, won beautiful lineout ball which went from Lasbrey to Powell, who cut through the Abbey defence and passed to Targett to touch down. This time Powell hit the conversion, to make the half time score 22-3.

City knew Abbey would not be happy about the way the first half had played out, and the half time talk was about staying organised and controlling possession. It was Abbbey though that had the opportunity to draw first blood in the second half though but missed with a penalty attempt. What followed was a 5 minute period in which City would run in 3 tries and ensure the journey home would be a joyous one.

First Olliver Fountain touched down after a training ground move off the back of the scrum saw him receive the ball wide and show his power by running through two tackles to score under the posts. Powell converting.

Moments later with Keynes trying to play for territory, the Abbey fullback was unable to deal with a kick which bounced around the 22 before replacement Scott Aspinall pounced on it to score from close range. Abbey still tried to push for scores but couldn’t live with City’s counter attacking game. This time some good handling and a wonderful long pass from Powell allowed Rolfe to score his 2nd of the day and 7th of the season, showing how much he is relishing being back in the frame at back row. Both converted by Powell.

City’s final score of the day came with 10 minutes to play after Ash Targett now playing at 10, managed to show great feet to dance through the Abbey midfield, and as the cover came across, unselfishly passed to the supporting David Brown, who rolled back the years to beat the fullback, and score under the posts. This took City to 50 points, Abbey however were very much down but not out, and it was them that would have the last say.

Their first try came with minutes to go following on from a lapse of concentration allowed them to go through the middle. They would also score the last try of the day, with the last play, when Sam Hallett scored from a catch and drive. The big Second rower had carried the fight for his team all day and deserved to get his name on the score sheet.

All in all City will be very happy with this result, and the performance, particularly the way they defended in the first half. Reading played some good rugby, and forced City to bring their A-game defensively, which with the exception of some tired legs in the last 5 minutes the boys did. It was City’s counter-attacking ability which was the difference though; they played some wonderful counterattacking rugby, which stretched the opposition at every opportunity, and keeps them top of Southern Counties North for at least another fortnight, as the league takes a break this week for cup fixtures.