Change of venue plays into Kenilworth hands

Flooding at Upton forced this Midlands Two West (South) match to be switched to Glasshouse Lane, but the players were unable to completely escape the elements with heavy rain and a saturated pitch making for challenging conditions.

Not surprisingly, the early exchanges were tentative but that did not stop both sides making great efforts to produce some entertaining rugby against the odds.

Indeed it was the visitors who produced the first real threatening move of the afternoon but the final pass went astray and Kenilworth cleared the danger.

A Gareth Renowden break in the other direction promised the first points but again the final pass did not go to hand and the chance went begging.

In the 15th minute there was a clear example of how simplicity can pay dividends in such demanding conditions. Ian Philips picked up the ball at the back of the scrum and found Harry O’Brien, who in turn fed Simon Tyler with a well-timed pass. Tyler took the ball at pace on the left wing and made 20 metres before slipping the ball to Jimmy Middleton who finished well in the corner.

O’Brien nailed the conversion to make it 7-0 to the home side.

The next ten minutes were almost completely spent within ten metres of the Upton line and eventually the pressure told with Stephen Todd touching down after a tap-and-go penalty.

Jonny Openshaw was having a big day at the lineout and, from one such set-piece, he won good ball to set up a driving maul from which the ball found Philips for a deserved score. Another conversion from O’Brien extended the lead to 19 points.

Upton were now stung into action and produced a series of well-executed phases to advance within ten metres of the Ks line.

But for all their endeavour, three points were all they had to show for their first-half efforts following a Kenilworth infringement at the ruck.

Resplendent in the fluorescent yellow of the Cavaliers for the second half, Ks were soon back on the attack and chasing a bonus-point try.

O’Brien put them in a great attacking position with a nudge to within ten metres of the Upton line. Another good take at the lineout saw the forwards advance towards the line with Ross Lowthian taking the ball over to continue his impressive form.

Kenilworth had established a good rhythm to their game now and a touch-finder from Tyler saw another lineout taken by Openshaw to set up the weapon of choice; the rolling maul. Again the tactic proved irresistible with the scoring honour going to Jake Dodd who has had an impressive season at the coalface.

The weather now deteriorated and Ks lost Philips and Dominic Sheehan to ankle injuries to force some reorganisation in the forwards.

But despite the late changes, Kenilworth finished the afternoon with a flourish.

After a series of penalties, captain Jonny Cresswell took matters into his own hands and produced a bustling run towards the line to score the final try of the afternoon. O’Brien again landed the awkward kick.