1st XV v Denstone Drew 19-19

The 1st XV made an immediate impact on the Denstone team, with our forwards blazing to an early first try courtesy of the power of James B. It was clearly a day for the forwards and despite excellent handling by the backs, Denstone were too strong in their three- quarters to allow much penetration. The first half continued with Anselm's, ever the dominant force, with the majority of possession and territory. Unfortunately a lucky break by the powerful opposition full-back broke through our defence to put in an equalising try.

The second half resulted in two more defensive errors allowing Denstone's fullback to put another two tries past the defence. Anselm's adjusted the game plan to suit by moving Monty C in at outside centre, where he dealt some crushing tackles to the opposition. James B moved to number 8, where he was able to get a bit more of the ball.

In the closing minutes of the game Anselm's were behind by 7 points and still struggling to convert their superior possession into a try. Rufus L was denied a score by the referee and the team were camped out at the opposition 5m line. Eventually the power of the pack yielded results with James B able to grind his way over the line to score his hat-trick. Serious pressure was now on kicker Oliver N to convert the equalising points. He achieved this with real prowess leaving the score a satisfying 19-19 draw, his second conversion of the day.

Honourable mentions must be made of Jack T's animal mauling and tackles, David C's excellent skippering and Max H for his excellent exploitation of the laws of the game. Man of the match could never have been other than James B who was clearly an unstoppable force within the game.