Sat 14 Sep 2019
UPPER Eden Rugby Club first XV achieved their second away win of the season on a ground where they have struggled in recent years.
SILLOTH 0,UPPER EDEN 29
The game was less than a minute old when a nasty shoulder injury to Eden centre Johnny Bainbridge caused a long hold-up until an ambulance arrived.
After 20 minutes, play got back under way and eventually the visitors put together a neat move which saw the ball pass through many pairs of hands for full back Sam Edgar to beat his man before releasing winger Dan Birkbeck who raced to the corner for the opening try.
Play reverted to midfield for a spell with no way through for either side. A penalty brought Eden an attacking lineout followed by a five-metre scrum from which No 8 Will Birkbeck drew defenders and slipped the scoring pass to Dan Birkbeck who was unstoppable from short range.
After that it was Silloth’s turn to attack and play became camped in and around the visitors’ 22. The hosts kept possession well, mostly using their forwards to try to punch holes, but Eden’s defensive tackling was outstanding.
Eventually, the visitors managed to clear and took play to their opponents’ half where the strong crosswind spoiled Dan Todd’s attempt at a long-range penalty goal. Shortly after, Dan Birkbeck’s effort to score a third try came to an end when he put his foot in touch.
The 15-minute period during which the visitors repelled everything Silloth could throw at them probably defined the final result, although most of their supporters would argue that a 10-0 interval lead should perhaps have been more.
Play went to and fro for a while after the break and the hosts relied too much on kicking, having otherwise failed to break down Eden’s defence.
The visitors eventually built some momentum and good handling in the backs saw Todd open up space for Dan Birkbeck who outflanked the defence out on the right for his hat-trick try, well converted by Todd into the wind.
A home player then picked up a yellow card for a high tackle and Birkbeck went close to a fourth try when he hacked on a loose ball which just went dead before he touched it down.
Silloth attempted to fight back, but forward-based drives and speculative kicking were easily dealt with by the Eden defence and they put together an excellent counter attack which would have brought a try had hooker Tom Mooney’s final pass not been wrongly called forward.
The bonus point try was achieved by some superb handling and support play. Will Birkbeck started the move on the blindside before passing to Mooney who also made ground. After drawing in defenders, the Eden hooker’s inside pass found front row Jim Birkbeck up in support and he crossed for his side’s fourth try.
The hosts fought back with determination and had progressed as far as their opponents’ try line when a loose pass was picked up by speed merchant Edgar who beat the first tackle and left the rest for dead as he ran the full length of the pitch for a final converted try. This was a good win for a slightly understrength Upper Eden who showed tactical awareness for their five tries against a hard tackling Silloth side. Their defence, too, was excellent when under pressure and they did well to prevent their opponents scoring.
Their man of the match was No 8 Will Birkbeck for his usual dynamic work both in attack and defence. There was a commendation for young Danny Treece who insisted on going back on after his broken nose had been attended to.
Upper Eden Boars lost 23-27 in a closely fought contest at home to Aspull II.
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