AEI's excellent season continued with a comprehensive demolition of a raw Jaguar side. In what was often a chaotic and occasionally fractious match, the AEI pack had total command and set up the backs for numerous tries. It was only occasional greed in this try frenzy that prevented AEI breaking the 100 point barrier.
Three notable names all scored their first tries of the season : Terry Bott, Tim Sargent and Richard Tuckey, making a guest appearance, scored two. The tries were spread about the team, other scorers being Andy Sullivan (2), Mark McDonough, Paul Eaton (2), Tony Chronnell, Paul Thompson, Rich Pinks plus Nick Elliott who scored two to go with his eight conversions.
A superb day for running rugby saw a welcome return to winning ways for AEI. Buoyed by the pre-match photo, AEI started without the lethargy of recent weeks and the forwards withstood some early pressure by the Cosby pack. It was behind the pack where AEI had the advantage and they took an early lead with winger Matt Foley evading the tackles to score. Cosby came back with a fine forwards' try before some slick handling in the AEI backs released centre Nick Elliott who unselfishly passed out to Matt Foley who scored again. After the loss of the perennially injured Gary Storer, Elliott scored a rare AEI penalty to give them a 17-5 halftime lead.
The second half saw AEI turn on the pressure. Graham Wood squeezed over from a short penalty and Nick Elliott made a fine break down the line to score a try of his own. In the final few minutes the AEI pack set up some beautiful second phase possession at a ruck near the Cosby line, Tony Chronnell sucked in the Cosby defence and the ball was spun out for Nick Elliott to score his second. Man of the match went to Elliott who, with a 100% kicking record on his return to the team, scored 23 points in the match.
AEI had a nasty surprise as it turned out they were playing the 2nd team rather than the 3rd team. However, this did not excuse the lacklustre first half performance as their tackling and mobility round the field were below par. Frequent overlaps in the backs led to a number of Towcester tries in the first half, which was also notable for the loss of two AEI players injured : makeshift centre Chris Hague attempting to tackle with his chin, and fullback Nathan Yeung with a recurrent ankle injury.
In the second half, with the sun and wind at their backs, AEI put up a much more spirited performance and managed to contain the Towcester backs with greater regularity. Eventually, after a series of AEI penalties, second row Stevie Neal went over for a consolation try - his first since his return to the club.
A combination of internationalitis and work committments meant that a rather unfamiliar AEI team took to the field on Saturday lunchtime and thoughts seemed to be focused elsewhere as Tailenders got off to a flying start. The power of the Tailenders pack, combined with the speed and handling skills of their backs meant that AEI were often outnumbered and Tailenders scored five tries without reply in the first half.
AEI put up stiffer resistance in the second half and despite conceeding three further tries, they scored one after a sustained period of pressure with Mark McDonough eventually crashing through after a quick penalty. With more luck AEI might have scored more but in the end, much credit must go to those AEI players that played especially Chris Hague at the unfamiliar and subsequently painful position of hooker, Steve Oxberry making his traditional single appearance of the season, Gary Storer for yet again returning from injury, and Ciaran O'Donnell (visiting Rugby for the weekend from Ireland) playing his first ever game on the wing.
Probably AEI's lowest point of the season so far as they threw away a match they should have won. The first half was a tight battle which AEI just edged thanks to a Mark McDonough try. The turning point came early in the second half, when Neil Waddoups swapped sides to prop for Milton Keynes. This is normally a good omen for AEI but on this occasion is was not to be - almost immediatley a promising move in midfield was intercepted by the Milton Keynes winger who sprinted 60m to score between the posts. AEI then contrived to miss a two or three excellent scoring chances and while attacking in the last minute allowed Milton Keynes another interception and try to finish off the match.
Having not played a game since before Christmas, AEI started the new year in style with a result that took everyone by surprise considering the 10-10 draw between these two teams in early December. The lack of recent matches and Christmas excesses meant that the early stages of the game were somewhat scrappy, and it wasn't until 15 minutes had elapsed that the AEI backs got their hands on the ball.
It was only midway throught the first half that AEI went ahead with centre Paul Thompson diving over after a scrum near the Claverdon line. The AEI pack now started to get the upper hand and their dominance was emphasised with No 8 Mark McDonough completing a pushover try from a 5m scrum. Winger Nathan Yeung extended AEI's lead after some typically unselfish play by Chris Hague and Paul Thompson scored his second before Claverdon scored a try of their own just before halftime.
The second half was all AEI. A rampaging 50m run by flanker Matt Foley set up winger Richard Pinks for a try, and Pinks claimed a second between the posts after running half the length of the pitch. Full-back Nick Elliott popped up to score and add to an eventual 8 conversions in the match, and Paul Thompson completed his hat-trick before setting up both Paul Eaton and Tony Chronnell for easy tries of their own.
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