Saturday 26th September 2009
Birmingham Exiles 15 v Rugby Welsh 17
Rugby Welsh travelled to Birmingham Exiles on Saturday for their first match in Midlands 4 West. Welsh struggled to get into the match in the opening quarter with the large opposition forwards dominating at the scrum and breakdown. However a feature of the Welsh game is their strong defence with Captain Adam Bond and flanker Pete Head on his league debut putting in some good tackles.
Welsh took the lead when Bond gathered a poor clearance and broke tackles before sending Richard Burnett clear who finished superbly in the corner. However the Exiles then got back into the game after a poor welsh clearance resulted in a try and then soon after the large home pack drove over from close range. Welsh responded well with Danny Humphreys and Phil Tipping making good breaks- and after a period of pressure Daz Wade broke clear and looked to have scored under the posts but was stopped with a high and dangerous challenge. The referee awarded the penalty try and sent the opposition player to the sin bin. With Wade having to leave the field Buckland added the conversion to give the Welsh a narrow 12-10 lead at half time.
The 2nd half saw the Birmingham side continue to dominate possession and this eventually led to a try in the corner after a strong scrummage on the Welsh line. Welsh started to win more possession in the last quarter with Karl Lawson and Danny Large combining well at the line-out to give the Welsh backs some much needed quality ball. With one minute remaining good work from the pack enabled the hard working James Buckland to pass to Phil Tipping who used his pace and power to break three tackles and score in the corner. Welsh celebrated a very hard fought victory against a strong Birmingham side which gives them confidence for the forthcoming league matches. Welsh are at home this week in a friendly against Leamington 2nds ko 3pm.