Saturday 27th February
Furness 34 Aldwinians 14
Steve’s Match Report
FURNESS full-back Nick Beach helped himself to four tries in a comfortable home
win over Aldwinians in the Cumbria and Lancashire League.
The visitors' strength
was with some powerful forwards, but they were outplayed throughout by a solid Furness
pack, whose only downside was injuries to prop Leon Sweet and hooker Alan Gwynne.
Gwynne should be fit to face St Benedicts next week, but Sweet looks likely to be
out for some time with ankle ligament damage. Furness made a very positive start,
stand-off Darren Holt penetrating deep into the Aldwinians defence only to see his
pass intercepted and the visitors race into the Furness half to win themselves a
penalty and the lead at 3-0.
Furness hit back, with winger Scott Hadwin collecting
an Aldwinians kick to start the move from inside his own 22. Support came from Holt
and centres Craig McLean and Matt Nodden, who kept the ball alive up to the halfway
line, where Beach took over. Stepping inside then out, the classy full-back proved
too much for the Aldwinians' defence as he went in to score the opening try. Holt
added a good conversion for a 7-3 lead to the hosts.
Aldwinians rallied with another penalty for 7-6, but Furness were having none
of it and capitalised on good drives by Joe Mallinson and skipper Mike Botes. They
provided good ball for the hardworking Richard Smith to feed Holt, who beat the oncoming
defence with a perfectly weighted kick to the right-hand corner for a grateful Hadwin
to collect and score a great try, giving the Blues a deserved half-time lead of 12-6.
Aldwinians started the second period quickly and added another penalty, but it
was a short-lived revival as Holt took charge. He chipped over the red wall for Beach
to gather and out-pace the defence for his second try. Colin Niven came off the bench
as cover for Gwynne and immediately drove into the Aldwinians line, setting up possession
for Hadwin to continue, Beach to finish and Holt to add the conversion. Furness were
now in clear water at 24-9. A Holt penalty kept the scoreboard ticking before Beach
outpaced his tired opposite number for a touchdown in the Strawberry corner. Holt
added a fine conversion for 34-9.
To their credit, Aldwinians rallied in the final
moments and their full-back took his opportunity with a closing try. It was a good
result for Furness, who will want to keep the momentum going into Saturday's home
encounter with St Benedicts. Mallinson took the spoils as the man-of-the-match, the
young flanker showing why he has made himself a regular for the Cumbria Under-21s.
However, the award could have gone to any of the Blue’s who showed a great all-round
team spirit. Captain Botes led well; Corne Els, Tom Quinn, Arron Pike worked hard
in the pack, while Smith, Holt, McLean, Nodden and Beach were exemplary in the backs.
