Newbold RFC 17 13 Old Coventrians
Midlands 3 West (South)
Old Coventrians sitting second in the league and currently unbeaten in the league were welcome visitors to Parkfield Rd.
The visitors kicked the game away and Newbold applied immediate pressure in the opposition half and were rewarded with an early penalty for their endeavours, duly dispatched for an early 3-0 lead by Capt Joss Andrews. A mid field tussle ensued with both teams continually penalised for off side offences, the referee stating that the next off side offence would be a yellow card and Newbold's Stuart Lynch was the next offending player and was duly dispatched to the sin bin for the statutory 10 mins.
With very slow ball from the forwards it was difficult for the backs to put any kind of flowing moves together, however finally winning a good rucked ball Kit Woolridge made a decisive break feeding Kev Mills who made good ground forward, at the breakdown Ferriss quickly retrieved the ball, passing to Andrews and out to Fullback Ben Harrison(making his first appearance in the side this year) who outstripped the defence and putting winger Alex Williams clear for the try, only to be impeded by the opposition in front of the posts.
With the half time whistle about to go Newbold took the unusual decision to run the ball, rather than opt for an easy three points and a knock on bought the half to an end. 3-0
Newbold started the second half in much the same fashion as the first, gathering the ball advancing through the pack and the backs making ground going forward, winger Williams in the thick of things again, taking the ball into the visitors 22 where again, he was stopped by foul means and Andrews neatly putt the ball 5 yds from their goal line, unfortunately the line out was too long and Old Covents were able to cleat to the half way line.
Newbold continued to keep the ball tight with the forwards and after a number of phases advancing, the ball was popped out to prop Steve Evans whose sharp Rugby brain dummied the approaching defence and with a deft flick of the wrists put Andrews clear and his 40 yd dash for the line left the defence for dead, scoring and converting his try increasing the lead to 10-0.
The opposition attacked into Newbold's half and a long range penalty attempt sailed between the posts. 10-3. the game then began a stalemate on the half way line for the next 20 minutes with neither team budging an inch, a well won ruck taken on by the ever improving Danny Facer before being fed along the whole back line, Harrison receiving and making a superb 45 yds before unloading to the supporting winger Williams, who easily out paced the remaining four defenders to score wide out Andrews adding the conversion for a 17-3 lead. From the kick off a ruck was formed on the half way line, a small melee erupted where the biggest player on the park grabbed the smallest resulting in yellow cards for both players, young Ferriss asking the referee, 'Do you think I'm stupid enough to pick on a bloke that size' his response was to overturn the yellow and replace it with a red card.
The Newbold penalty reversed and Old Covents convert the resulting kick reducing the deficit to 17-6. A period of strange offside decisions prevented the game gaining any continuity and most of the decisions appeared to be against Newbold giving the opposition chances to gain the upper hand, as they moved into the home sides territory they spread the ball out wide and a late challenge by sub Sam Viggers which failed to prevent the opposition scoring and converting, resulted in yet another yellow card reducing the home side to 13 men and Covents improving the score line to 17-13.
With 6 minutes remaining the visitor's sense of urgency was cancelled out by the remaining 13 Newbold players determination and resolute defending, resulting in Newbold gaining their first points of this campaign and a well deserved victory.
Next Saturday Newbold travel the short distance to play local rivals Old Laurentians, not only the league points at stake but more importantly the bragging rights should ensure a highly contested fixture.
All supporters need to ensure their attendance in what will be one of the hardest fixtures of the season for both sides.

Newbold Vets 58 Southam II 14
Bold Vets impressive early season form continued unabated at Parkfield Road. Southam's second team, who were late replacements for original league opponents Claverdon, were the unlucky recipients of a 10 try romp from the home club's seasoned veterans.
Bold Vets scores came at regular intervals during a blustery afternoon and their excellent handling and support play belied the conditions. Lloyd, Phil and Captain Snowman all enjoyed try doubles with singles added by Murph, Chop, Kev Smith and Damo. The latter unfortunately had to leave the pitch later in the game after sustaining a broken wrist. His team mates wish Damo a speedy recovery and look forward to his welcome return.
This was another excellent team effort from Newbold Vets with forwards and backs linking fantastically once again. New additions to the squad Phil, James and Trevor all made telling contributions and seamlessly gelled into this confident, fast improving side.
An away league fixture next week at long term rivals Barker Butts will no doubt provide Bold with their toughest test of this season to date.