Sat 6 Apr 2013
Second Half Resurgence Collects BP against MK
Wallingford showed good spirit to fight back from 27-0 down at half time and score four tries against top of the league Milton Keynes on Saturday. On the finest day for rugby so far this year Wallingford travelled to MK with a number of changes to the team that lost to Buckingham. With prop Antony Marris still recovering from a virus, Albie Welch started at prop and the returning Tom Hill, starting at 6, took over as captain. Ed Glyn joined him on the other flank and Mike Ward was welcomed back
into the second row. Behind the pack, Olli Henderson reverted to fly half and Henry Pooler pushed out onto the wing. Ben Selwood started at full back and Charlie Esse filled the final spot on the wing, covering for the late arriving Mario.
Wallingford, playing up a sizable hill, received the kick off and immediately set up a good platform through the forwards who seemed to immediately get the upper hand on the home pack. Nearly 10 minutes passed of this pressure before a penalty went against Wallingford and a training ground move was put together by MK for their first try of the game. Kick to touch, line out, swift hands through the back line and a try under the posts, which was converted. It was a bitter blow to Wallingford but they failed to react to the disappointment and another try quickly followed, this time after a turnover exploited space out wide. From the restart MK’s No.8 slipped a couple of tackles and some very weak tackling resulted in try no.3. Despite almost complete dominance in the scrums, and MK going down to 14 men for persistent offences, Wallingford found themselves with a mountain to climb through a combination of bad luck and weak defence. As the half progressed a frustrated Wallingford side failed to convert any of the pressure they exerted as they continually struggled to penetrate the MK defence. And the half was to get worse when MK[s lightening winger, Dan Pearson, completed his hat-trick with a brace of tries that showcased his pace as he finished moves most other players in the league wouldn’t have managed to. 27-0.
The half time team talk was positive and productive, despite the score line, and the second half was a much more fruitful 40 minutes. Playing down the hill, with nothing to lose, Wallingford continued to exert their pressure up front and finally managed to suck in enough MK defenders to start opening some gaps. The first of these was exposed by Henderson who deftly chipped over the defence to find Blaszko out wide for their first try of the day. Not long after Wallingford received a penalty in front of the posts but opted for a lineout, which was won cleanly, before Henry Zaluzny
crashed over the line at the back of a driving maul. Justified reward for the hooker who was flawless with his arrows all game. At this point, MK were simply living off scraps, not committing men and waiting for Wallingford to make a mistake, knowing they had the fire power to counter destructively.
Which they did. After a period of pressure in the MK half, a loose ball was hacked forward and collected by an MK back who showed good pace to touch down. Not deterred, Wallingford continued to search for more tries and one soon came in spectacular fashion. A neat line out allowed Henderson to find Brettel who crashed through his opposite man before he and Pooler exchanged no less than four passes over the space of 50 meters to score under the posts. Â With less than ten minutes to go, Wallingford used their momentum well and deservedly got their 4 try bonus point.
This time Blaszko turned provider as he spotted space on the blind side of a ruck and neatly flicked an offload to the onrushing Mario who finished well under pressure. 34-24. Wallingford went hell for leather in the final few minutes, sniffing more than a bonus points but as they did, and as they took more risks, MK once again latched onto a loose ball and the game was finished through the home side scoring under the posts. 41-24.
It really was a game of two halves. MK prayed on Wallingford mistakes and were happy to let the visitors control possession and, at times, territory. Had Wallingford’s defence in the first half fronted up and halted a couple of the break-away moves, it could have been a different story. Plenty of positives to take into next weeks must win game at Alchester. Brettel had another fine match at 12 and Welch, Zaluzny and Pryor showed the damage Wallingford’s front row can do, even without captain Marris. Blaszko showcased another 70 minutes of all round rugby skills and Henderson proved that even after a few weeks at flanker he hadn’t forgotten how to play at 10.
Wallingford: 1- Welch 2- Zaluzny 3- Pryor; 4- Bailey 5- Ward; 6- Hill 7- Glyn 8- Blaszko (Norris); 9-
Dearlove 10- Henderson; 11- Esse (Mario) 12- Brettel 13- Hamilton 14- Pooler; 15- Selwood
