Buxton Thirds heroic defence not enough

Buxton 0, Bowden 6

If last weeks defensive effort was like a thin watery stew, then this was a full-blooded beef bourgogne of an effort. Buxton thirds gave nothing away defensively; strangling Bowden’s attacking intentions and forcing them to kick for territory. Allen and Charles led the way but this was a massive team effort, stung by last week’s poor performance and criticism. D Gyte was at his abrasive and kamikaze best and produced a number of try saving tackles and twice Bowden were held up over the line by the tight five working together. In the end Bowden opted for kicks at goal and they slotted two in the second half. Buxton had kickable chances in the first half but choose the attacking option and could not convert pressure into points.

Buxton had a solid platform to build upon. The pack was outstanding, and as the game wore on began to dominate the scrums. The Bowden pack was being shunted back on their own ball. The front row of Fussell, Uprichard and Wilkinson squeezed and tormented their opposite numbers, and Dilworth and Barber provided extra beef in the second row. In addition to his set piece duties, Wilkinson was outstanding in the loose. His tackling was hard and assured and he even produced a scissors move that would have graced the nimblest of backs. Dilworth played like an extra back row and with Allen and Henderson disrupted Bowden possession so that they only had slow ball to play with. In the conditions the lineout became a lottery and neither side gained the upper hand. Perhaps some variety could have been introduced, and maybe this is something that needs to be worked on in training.

Not to be left out the backs played their part. Preece and Poole are developing into a well-oiled and efficient half back combination, and Poole’s touch finding was excellent. Weston and Philips battered away all afternoon and Naylor was outstanding at full back, marshalling and organising the back three. Richie gave a good account of himself and Dawson had another good afternoon on the wing. He combined well with Philips and made fifteen metres down the wing but he ran out pitch and was bundled into touch. Had there been support on hand Buxton could have scored, as the Bowden defence was committed. Buxton began the second half well and had a chance of opening their account after a period of sustained pressure. They chose to go for a penalty in front of the posts. The ball drifted wide, but Gyte steaming in from the wing almost beat the Bowden defenders to the touch down.

A better effort, but it is not enough to be satisfied with the performance. The thirds need to find the mental edge to win tight games like these.

A special thanks to Steve Gyte. His support and encouragement from the touchline was invaluable. He almost made it onto the pitch as Dilworth went off at half time to search for Vaseline for a graze to his head. The referee chose to delay the kick off to allow Dilly to come back on. He didn't fancy refing Gytie for some strange reason.


Buxton Thirds were: Fussell, Uprichard, Wilkinson, Barber ©, Dilworth, Allen, Charles, Henderson, Preece, Poole, D Gyte, Weston, Philips, Dawson, Naylor (Richie) Coach S Gyte