Paddy O’Neill Memorial game - Easter Monday
Rugby Welsh 17 v 0 Rugby and District xv
Newly promoted Rugby Welsh welcomed a District XV to Alwyn road on Easter Monday for the annual Paddy O’Neill Memorial Match.. The game was played in excellent condtions for running rugby, and was once again watched by a good crowd. The Welsh forwards began the match well despite having to make 6 changes in the pack from the league game on Saturday. Welsh created early opportunities with the impressive Matt Richards and Phil Head winning good ball. Welsh took the lead when the outstanding Phil Tipping made ground James Buckland to take a good line to score under the posts for Daz Wade to convert.
The District side looked dangerous throughout the half and a break from James McGill nearly resulted in a try. However Welsh defended strongly throughout and once again the aggressive Welsh forwards took the game to their opponents with Chris Woolmoore and Adam Foster excelling in the back row. A good break from a quick penalty from scrum half Jamie Cranham took Welsh close to the opposition line, and after several phases of play the ball was moved wide where the try was scored in the corner. Wade added the touchline conversion. Once again Welsh had to defend well to keep the away side out with Mark Todd impressing in loose play for the District.
The 2nd half saw Welsh continue to impress at the breakdown with their aggressive rucking and this led to the opposition conceding several penalties which enabled Wade to kick a simple 3 points to extend the lead. The game continued to be played at a fast pace and the District side came close to scoring on several occasions with full back grant Inch making several good runs. Welsh played the last quarter with only 14 men when Stanford, Buckland and full back Reynolds had to leave the field with injuries but continued to impress with Tipping coming close to scoring in the final few minutes.
Welsh would like to thank the District for once again supporting this important fixture in what proved to be an entertaining match .