Bournville 57 Newport (Salop) 17
Nathan Decalmer’s superb hat-trick capped a perfect and successful day for Bournville on and off the pitch at Avery Fields.
The club’s inaugural Ladies Day was enjoyed by those who sat down to lunch and the men then produced their best performance of the season which swept aside relegation-threatened Newport.
There were nine tries in the biggest win of the campaign with the last 38 points coming in the final 30 minutes as Bournville exacted full revenge for a disappointing defeat in Shropshire in November.
Decalmer scored a third of the tries, racing the full length of the pitch for a spectacular opener and following up with two more long-range efforts in the second-half purple patch.
It is easy to forget that less than a year ago Decalmer was playing for Telford Hornets at level eight in the league structure but he has made a smooth transition to National Leagues rugby.
Decalmer has formed an effective strikeforce with Alex Evans, another diminutive and quick wing, and the pair enjoyed the opportunity to show their paces in perfect conditions.
This was the performance that Bournville had threatened to produce for a number of weeks with one of the most pleasing aspects being that there was no let-up in intensity.
Such a large winning margin appeared unlikely when Bournville led by just two points at the break and they had to manage a potentially difficult ten minute period either side of half-time when first Ben O’Sullivan then Ben Meakin were sent to the sin bin.
But Bournville did not concede a point during that time with Sam Grimshaw winning a crucial turnover at the end of the first-half when Newport were pressing for their third try.
Instead Nick Murphy went over for his second try – and the bonus point – just before Meakin returned and that score proved to be the one that broke Newport’s resistance.
After that the tries came thick and fast with Rhys Williams also getting his second try, Evans bouncing out of three tackles then accelerating away for a brilliant individual score before Decalmer powered away twice more in a five minute period.
Bournville were not finished and there was time for Meakin to gallop through a dispirited defence with the final play of the match.
The win put Bournville 21 points clear of Newport and 19 ahead of Dudley Kingswinford, who moved off the bottom with a bonus point home win over Clifton, with six rounds of matches to play.
“The first-half wasn’t ideal and we didn’t execute what we wanted to do. Our defence was a bit off here and there,” said Head Coach Matt Price.
“But the turnover just before half-time from Grimmy which just got us in at 19-17 was crucial. We said at the break that for the first ten minutes of the second-half we would play simple piston rugby, backwards and forwards either side, keep hold of the ball and put them under pressure so that they would give a penalty away. That is what they did. We won field position, drove them really well, our scrum again was superb and that gave us the platform to kick on and score tries, which we did.
“The pleasing part is that we didn’t just get ten points ahead and sit back on the lead. We actually did stick the knife in and twist it a bit which is exactly what you want when you are playing against a team who are down there at the bottom, under pressure and perhaps not enjoying their rugby.
“Putting pressure on them is exactly what you need to do and we did it really well today.
“The conditions were perfect and we are very fortunate to have the facilities we have here. We play a brand of rugby that suits them. What we need now is to be able to flip it round in environments that we are not used to and that are not ideal for us.
“We need to manage the game like we did today. We scored a couple of pick-and-gos. It’s simple rugby but we got seven points for each of them which is the same as for Nathan’s 80 metre try.”
Through the Viewfinder
Andrew McCumiskey
