A tense match, not helped by hail and freezing winds, saw AEI loose a match which was theirs for the taking. Yet again, the AEI team which took to the pitch bore little resemblence to that picked the week before but AEI were glad to welcome back Mark Allen and to give a first full game to Carl Ryan. Handling errors abounded during the first half, with Shepshed being the biggest offenders, and AEI’s dominance in rucks and mauls should have given them a bigger advantage than the 5-0 lead they obtained through Mark McDonough. The second half saw AEI attempt to exceed Shepshed’s tally of knock-ons and, after an early try, Shepshed eventually clinched the win with a try 10 minutes from time.
