Will Headley with the ball, George Headley in supportWill Headley with the ball, George Headley in support
Will Headley with the ball, George Headley in support

RUGBY PICTURES: St Andrews stay top with win over Coventry Welsh

Pictures by Mike Baker

Midlands 3 West (South)

Rugby St Andrews 26 Coventry Welsh 12

Saints fielded a much changed side but secured the required bonus point victory to maintain top spot in the league.

Saints, playing with the wind at their backs in the first half kept Welsh pinned in their own half but the opening quarter remained scoreless as Saints struggled to find a way through the visitors’ defence.

The breakthrough came after 25 minutes, A chip over the defence by Dave Rudd saw Lloyd Warner charge between two defenders to win the race to the ball as it crossed the line, Joe Hudson adding the conversion.

The second try followed minutes later, in a copy of his score the previous week Kalum Goodfellow spotted a gap in the defensive and picked the ball up from the back of a ruck to crash over with Joe Hudson adding the conversion.

Saints knew they needed a quick start to the second half and immediately put pressure on Cov Welsh from the kick off.

The visitors conceding penalties as they tried to stem the onslaught eventually resulted in a yellow card.

Saints took full advantage, kicking a penalty to the corner and forwards driving the ball over the line for a try by Martin Wolfenden.

A lack of concentration from the restart put Saints under pressure and missed tackles allowed the visitors to breeze through the defence for a converted try.

Saints hit back and the bonus point score arrived after 52 minutes, captain Kris Enefer picked the ball up from the back of scrum and his angled run saw him cross, with Joe Hudson converting.

The final quarter became very scrappy, Saints received two yellow cards in quick succession and Cov Welsh took full advantage of this to cross for a try in the corner.

Back to 15 men, Saints saw out the remaining six minutes to claim their first home victory of the season.

Saints take a break from league action this weekend and return the week after with a long trip to face Ledbury.

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