Challenge match ends level after late score (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Challenge match ends level after late score

TEN years on and Evesham Rugby Club proved it still knew how to celebrate winning a league championship.

The challenge offered by the side that won North Midlands Division One a decade ago produced a massively entertaining game.

Current first XV captain Luke Matthews generously started without all of his first choice selections. However the 1995/96 side was less than gracious giving their hosts no similar hospitality when full back James Bailey stopped an almost certain try for younger brother and current first team No 8 Will with a superbly timed tap tackle.

Audacity

To add insult to injury the Veterans then had the audacity to take the lead when winger Christian Walker finished off a fine piece of inter-play between backs and forwards to score in the corner.

This obviously ruffled some feathers and eventually the current side took advantage of plenty of possession and dominance in the line-out to score a try under the posts through centre Jamie Cameron.

Huttlestone added the conversion to nudge his side two points clear.

The veterans again struck back when Bailey this time broke through and fed a slightly younger looking Robinson who outpaced the covering defence to score under the posts. Parsons added the conversion to make the score 12-7 in favour of the former champions.

Again the current side tried to outgun their opponents but the defensive abilities of Jeff How-kins, Chris Hurley, Dom Cap-aldi, Steve Barker and Julian Walker helped keep them at bay.

Prop Simon Badger rolled back the years and, together with Chris Maritza, Mike Figgitt and Phil Sutton, gave the current Evesham front row a fairly torrid time.

Before the interval young winger Sam King was released to score an unconverted try in the corner to level the scores.

A few changes during the break saw the current side up their game in the second period. They increased the pressure but superb last-ditch defence from Ryan Evans, David Summer-field, Paul Turpitt and Andy Jackson kept the scores level.

Pressure finally told and the current side scored twice in quick succession through flanker Joe Worth and centre Huttlestone with Matt Grove adding a conversion to leave the veteran side 12 points adrift with ten minutes to play.

A rallying call was sounded and the veterans raised their game and started to push the current side into their own half.

Handling

The possession paid off and, after a number of chances, good handling among the backs put winger Walker in for a try in the corner.

Phil Parsons missed the conversion leaving the veterans seven points adrift but, with just two minutes left on excellent referee Fraser Colley's watch, the vets were awarded a penalty yards from the try line.

And, as was the case ten years ago, scrum-half Chris Evis slipped through a gap in the centre leaving Parsons to add the conversion and ensure honours were even.