Biggleswade Men's 1st XV 0 - 13 Daventry Men's 1st XV
League leaders Daventry arrived at Langford Road full of confidence on Saturday, on the back of 11 unbeaten games and a convincing win over Biggleswade at the start of the season.
But Biggy, themselves buoyed by a victory last week, were determined to disrupt Daventry’s current run of victories.
An unlucky start saw Biggleswade’s captain Gavin Taylor subbed just two minutes in after pulling a hamstring in the warm-up.
The well-drilled Daventry side put Biggy under instant pressure, but their defence stood up to numerous close-range attacks from the huge Daventry forwards, turning over the ball before Ben Cowling kicked clear, allowing his side to regroup.
It was clear a lot of work had gone into Biggy's defensive shape. There was no way through for Daventry’s attack, as Biggy’s backs and forwards tackled relentlessly to stop crash balls through the centre.
Daventry then tried passing wide to stretch Biggleswade’s defensive line, but great communication and connections closed them down again. A penalty awarded to the visitors just inside the 22 was the only score dividing the teams.
When Biggy won a penalty minutes later, they chose to play with ambition and kick for the corner, but Daventry were able to shut down the ensuing attack.
Daventry took advantage of a momentary loss of concentration at the scrum in the home team's 22, going on the blind side for a score in the far corner. A long range conversion put them 0-10 up at half time, but Biggy were very much still in the game.
The restart allowed Biggleswade to get their hands back on the ball with the forwards putting Daventry on the back foot.
Good movement from one side of the pitch to the other allowed Biggy to show what they are capable of, putting Daventry’s defence under the cosh. Unfortunately, the home team were unable to turn this into points as Daventry remained strong. A yellow card shown to the visitors as they defended waves of Biggleswade attacks demonstrated how much pressure they were under.
With only five minutes left, Daventry made their way towards the Biggy try line. A penalty in front of the posts won them their only points of the half.
Biggy left the final attack just too late as they worked their way back up the pitch. Several more penalties were awarded against the under-fire Daventry defence.
The final whistle went too early for resurgent Biggy who felt the game had turned in their favour.
A loss, but a massive step forward from where the team was 12 weeks ago.
Biggy look forward to taking the momentum from this game away to Huntingdon on Saturday 10 December.
In Saturday's other game, Biggleswade Men's 2nds lost 0-19 away to St Albans 2nds.
