At 20-19 with 15 minutes to go having just scored twice, it was Waterloo who had all the momentum but we stuck in there and were rewarded with not just the win but that all important bonus point, lifting us to 7th in the table and, more importantly, widening the gap to the bottom teams.  

We started the game brightly with Stu Waites releasing Scott Butcher for an early run up the right wing and scored first with a penalty for offside which Waites made no mistake with.

Waterloo bounced back, taking the lead with a try from winger James O'Brien, who finished easily in the right corner after sustained pressure from the visitors but Waites once again put our noses in front with a penalty after a quick Andrew Foreman tap had earned a crucial extra 10 metres to bring the kick within the full-back's range. He should have then added another penalty in the 22nd minute from in front of the posts but slipped as he struck the ball and it cannoned into the post.

Up until midway through the first half the game had been played at a reasonable tempo but for the rest of the period both teams had to live off slow ball and seemed happy attacking in and around the breakdown area with little success. The only real scoring opportunity was a tough penalty shot from Waterloo fly-half Liam Reeve which drifted across the face of the posts.

We seemed intent on getting pace back into the game in the second half with Andrew Foreman's tap penalties at the forefront of most of our best attacking play. It was one of these tap-and-go's which set up the position for Liam Bailey to exploit an overlap on the right, cutting through a gap to score a fine try. Waites conversion gave us breathing space at 13-5 and it wasn't long before he was stepping up again to convert Stephen Stockdale's 58th minute try. The score was the culmination of a move started by Butcher who ran a kick back at the Waterloo defence leading to series of breaks which looked to break down when an inside pass intended for Craig Gilmour went to ground, but the number eight managed the kick the ball through, collect it and charge on toward the line. As the ball was recycled Stockdale was on hand, as he so often is, to finish things off.

The game now appeared safe but Waterloo had other ideas and two quick tries changed the complexion of the game. Hooker Alix Croft got the first on 65 minutes, finishing off an overlap on the left after a period of pressure in the 22. A last ditch tackle from Andy Cheslin four minutes later just stopped winger Guy Lavery short but as the ball squirted out of the ruck flanker Ryan McKie was on hand to pounce and score. Two Reeve conversions made it a one point game with Waterloo now looking a different side and the more likely to go on and win the game.

We were still under pressure when the game changed on the most innocuous of incidents. Waites  hit a clearing kick up the touchline to relieve some of the mounting pressure which Waterloo centre Andrew Trotter had plenty of time to collect but couldn't do so cleanly, knocking on and giving us a scrum in the 22. It was just the momentum shift we needed and a couple of scrums and pick and drives later Gareth Eddy was diving over in the right corner for the game clinching score. Waites added the touchline conversion to push Waterloo out of bonus point range and with referee Erasmus finding 6 minutes of injury time we added the icing to the cake with Gareth Foreman going over to earn us the four try bonus with the last play of the match.

 


West: Waites, Butcher, Edwards (G Robinson 57), Watson (C Cheslin 69), A Cheslin, G Foreman, A Foreman, Carr, Bailey, Coates (Wood 69), Davies, Stockdale, Eddy, D Boatman, Gilmour.

Tries: Bailey, Stockdale, Eddy, G Foreman
Cons: Waites 3
Pens: Waites 2


Waterloo: Claverly, O'Brien, Trotter, Lunt, Lavery, Reeve, Colbourne, Gibney, Croft, Harvey, Frost, Ruwers, McKie, Nolan, Bell.
Reps: Nevin, Keane, Reed.

Tries: O'Brien, Croft, McKie
Cons: Reeve 2


Referee: Charl Erasmus [Northern Group]