Coventry Bears: Bears March on to Semi Finals

Bears March on to Semi Finals

COVENTRY BEARS 30 – 18 NOTTINGHAM OUTLAWS

The Carvell Coventry Bears lifted the Co-Operative Rugby League Conference Premiership Midlands division title with a 30-18 win over the Nottingham Outlaws in a hard-fought game played in dreadful conditions at Tile Hill.

The Bears owed their victory to their solid defence after a fine start had seen them ten points to the good in as many minutes. Indeed, it wasn’t until the eleventh minute of the game that the Outlaws had their first set of six and by then the Bears were in the driving seat with a 10-0 lead.

With incessant rain making the ground and the ball slippery, conditions were difficult but the majority of the mistakes were forced by the committed defence of both sides.

After giving away a penalty for a high tackle on the industrious James Howitt, the Outlaws then conceded a goal line drop out from Scott Clendenning-Fenton’s kick through. On the second tackle, Alex Brown’s weaving run from dummy half opened the scoring. Graham Healey’s conversion put the Bears six points up with just three minutes played.

From the restart, two further penalties put the Bears back on the attack and Mark Hyslop sliced through to score out wide. Healey was unable to convert.

When the Outlaws finally got their hands on the ball, they moved forward well but their best attack ended when Rob Brown was unable to handle the slippery ball when in a good position.

After 19 minutes, pressure on the Outlaws’ Jimmy Lewis as he kicked forced an error and Alex Brown once again showed sharpness from dummy half to race in from 25 metres. Healey converted for a 16-0 advantage.

Four minutes later, the Outlaws got themselves on the scoreboard after Lewis’ kick to the line took a wicked deflection and Paul Wright showed fine soccer skills to dribble the ball over the line and touch down. Rob Brown converted and the visitors were back in the game.

Five minutes later, another Clendenning-Fenton kick earned a scrum for the Bears and Hyslop’s inside pass sent Tom Shaw over for a try in the corner. Healey was unable to convert.

The pace of the opening half hour began to flag as half-time approached and the wet and greasy conditions took over but the Outlaws continued to press and Oliver Crick gathered his own kick through to score their second try, converted by Rob Brown with five minutes to go to the interval.

The Bears led 20-12 at the break, started the second half strongly and soon had more points on the board. From a scrum deep in Bears territory, J&S Landscapes man of the match Iestyn Pratt strode through the defence, leaving Outlaws in his wake as he raced away to the posts. Healey converted.

The game developed into a battle as the Outlaws sought to get back into the contest and the Bears struggled to put them away. After an hour, the Bears got the breakthrough. A neat inside ball put Hyslop into a gap and he stepped round the fullback for a fine try. Clendenning-Fenton missed the conversion but the Bears were almost home.

The Outlaws weren’t quite finished and Adam Millward capped a fine performance by forcing his way over for a try converted by Jimmy Lewis with ten minutes to go.

The Bears still needed points to make absolutely sure of the win and with five minutes left, Hyslop smacked an attempt at a drop goal against the crossbar. However, they were able to contain the Outlaws and though frustrations almost boiled over in the final minutes, a fine game ended with the Carvell Coventry Bears holding the silverware.

Referee: Andy Howe (York RLRS)

BEARS: Mark Hyslop, Tom Shaw, Stuart Lee, Nick Thatcher, John Nicholls, Graham Healey, Scott Clendenning-Fenton, Ty Watson (Capt.), Alex Brown, James Howitt, Lee Ashford, Tim Stevens, Iestyn Pratt. Substitutes: Alan Robinson, Rhidian Booth, Matt Allsopp, Aaron Jarvis.

OUTLAWS: Dan Mangham, Roy Yorke, Steve McKinney, Phil Artley, Chris Trenham, Oliver Crick, James Lewis, Gary Woodcock, Paul Clarke (Capt.), Paul Wright, George Strachan, Adam Millward, Rob Brown. Subs: Jon Hemingway, Patrick Lannin, Damien Garbett, Bryn Waldram.

Scorers:
Bears: Tries; Alex Brown (3, 19), Mark Hyslop (7, 60), Tom Shaw (27), Iestyn Pratt (42).
Goals; Graham Healey 3 from 5, Scott Clendenning-Fenton 0 from 1.

Outlaws: Tries; Paul Wright (23), Oliver Crick (35), Adam Millward (69).
Goals; Rob Brown 2 from 2, Jimmy Lewis 1 from 1.

Gamebreaker: The opening ten minutes put the Bears firmly on the front foot but Mark Hyslop’s stepping run to score on the hour mark finally pushed them out of reach of the Outlaws.

Scoring Sequence: 6-0, 10-0, 16-0, 16-6, 20-6, 20-12, (HT), 26-12, 30-12, 30-18.

Penalties: Bears 10 Outlaws 12.

J&S Landscapes Man of the Match: Iestyn Pratt
Outlaws Man of the Match: Adam Millward

MATCH REACTION:

Ty Watson, head coach of the Carvell Coventry Bears was naturally delighted with his side’s 30-18 win over Nottingham Outlaws at Tile Hill. The result maintained the Bears’ unbeaten record and secured the Co-Operative Rugby League Conference Premiership Midlands division title.

The Bears’ start laid the foundations for the win and Watson was pleased with the way his men opened the contest. “We spoke about it at the start of the game,” he said. “We said we had to start the first twenty minutes perfectly. That meant completing every set; no dropped balls; no silly penalties and we did that. The boys had a 100% completion rate and the scoreboard showed it as we were 10-0 up after ten minutes.”

Two tries from hooker Alex Brown and one each from full back Mark Hyslop and wing Tom Shaw and two Graham Healey conversions were answered by tries from Paul Wright and Oliver Crick, both from kicks, as the Bears turned round 20-12 ahead.

They had a good start to the second period, Iestyn Pratt racing through the middle for a fine individual try but the key score came from Hyslop who stepped through to score after an hour of the game. “It was a great relief to see young Sloppy go over,” said Watson. “But credit to the Outlaws. They came in and did well.”

Leading 30-12, the Bears were forced to work hard to secure their win as Watson concedes. “I think our defence today was superb and I have nothing but credit for the boys,” he said. “They really dug deep and really put the effort in and I’m very proud of the defence today.”

With one piece of silverware in the cupboard, Watson is already turning his attention to the matches ahead. “There’s still work to do,” he said. “We need to work on the weaknesses we showed today. I’ve got a DVD of the Carlisle game coming down to me so I’ll study that and work their weaknesses out to give ourselves the chance of hopefully getting to the final.”

“We don’t see the season over by any means,” added Watson. “We haven’t really achieved what we set out to yet. We want to win the whole lot.”

In the despondent losing dressing room, an Outlaws spokesman was succinct in his comments: “They were Too big, too strong and too quick for us today. We competed well and stuck at it right to the end but it wasn’t to be. It was an intense game but we started poorly and just couldn’t get back into it. Well done to the Bears. I hope they can go all the way.”

The Bears will play Carlisle Centurions in the semi final at Rochdale Mayfield on Sunday 2nd September with a 4pm KO