Old Reds 13
Dings 10

By John White
OLD REDS just about came out on top in this keenly contested and at times brutal derby clash with Dings at Scotland Lane. What this game lacked in finesse, enterprising back play and try line action, it more than made up for in terms of intensity, effort and desire, with neither side prepared to take a backward step all afternoon.

Both sides' tried to play with ambition and width, but defences dominated, with some of the collisions resonating around the ground as the players clattered into each other with real force and intent. Reds got on top early on at the scrum – their youthful front row trio of Alex Harvey, Scott Parsons and Ellis Joseph eclipsing their more experienced counterparts of Charlie Taylor, Paul Fincken and James Cooke in the Crusaders front row. But line-outs were a lottery, with neither side able to rely on possession from their own throw in.
The home side took a six-point lead after fly-half Ash Groves was on target with two well-struck penalty attempts. But Dings hit back with a three-pointer from the boot of scrum-half Steve Plummer to cut the deficit before the visitors swept into the lead. Reds put together their most encouraging passage of play and looked on the verge of finishing things off with a try in the corner. But faced with four Old Reds attackers, Dings fly-half Ben Bolster gambled and jumped out of the defensive line to grab an interception and race in from 70-metres. Plummer added the extras to give Crusaders a 10-6 advantage. The only clean break of the half came when Dings' powerhouse wing Chris Wright-Hider blasted past his maker, but then pulled up with a hamstring injury.

But despite having the slope in their favour in the second-half, Dings only made it into their opponents 22 on one occasion, and that raid ended with the home side earning a penalty from a scrum. Reds gradually marched up field and spent the final 30-minutes in Crusaders territory.

The final 15-minutes were frantic as Reds sought a solution to their four-point deficit. A series of five-metre scrums saw Reds awarded a string of penalties, with the referee eventually losing patients to produce his fourth yellow card of the afternoon – Fincken (killing the ball) found his name in the book along with Scott Coster (punching), Ezra Caven (dangerous play) and Bolster (retaliation).
Dings desperately defended, but were unable to prevent former Cleve No8 Harry Goodfield from crashing over from close range. Groves added the conversion to ensure Reds' stretched their winning run to five-in-a-row.