Spalding RFC slipped into the bottom two of Midlands Three East (North) after a hefty 66-19 defeat at Rolls Royce on Saturday.
It’s now five defeats on the bounce for Town, who only have Nottingham Moderns beneath them in the table, after they failed to build on an encouraging first half.
At half-time there was not a lot to choose between the two teams with only a nine-point difference – but in the second half Spalding were put under the hammer by Rolls Royce as they ran in seven tries.
The hosts had a game plan of using their effective forwards with driving mauls from lineouts, while they cleared out strongly at the breakdown areas.
That, together with a strong running fly-half punching holes through Town’s failing tackles as the game wore on, ensured the visitors were left in disarray by the end of the match.
In contrast, Spalding’s best play came through their backs – who scored three excellent tries despite often being starved of the ball.
The match started with Rolls Royce opening with two rolling mauls threatening Spalding’s try line and only stout defence prevented an opening score for the home team.
Town’s response was impressive with the ball being moved quickly along the backs to Gav Sharman on the left wing.
He showed great pace to outstrip his opposite number and score, with Willis Ingleby converting.
Rolls Royce came back when their forwards picked up the ball and drove from rucks with good support.
They soon had a lineout on Spalding’s five metre line and a simple catch and drive brought the scores level.
The Elephants then won a scrum on the half-way line – but instead of passing out through the backs to use their pace, a wasteful kick ahead let the hosts run through missed tackles to take the lead.
Spalding’s kick-off was poor with missed tackles again, allowing the home team to rattle up 14 points within a minute.
At this point, Rolls Royce were exerting more and more pressure.
But Fin Peters intercepted a pass on the half-way line and outpaced the home team’s defence to close the gap.
Spalding now had several opportunities to score. A lineout was won by Ash Ankar ten metres out and a maul was established.
But, as they drove for the line, the ball was lost. Town then made a break led by the evergreen John Barrett, but the final pass went astray with the try line beckoning.
From the restart, a simple error with a short kick-off immediately handed possession over to Rolls Royce. From the scrum they passed out wide down the right hand side to score.
Again the next score was through their forwards, with a catch and drive from a lineout – and minutes later from a scrum another score was conceded.
Spalding’s Ingleby then lit up the afternoon with a break from his own 22 metre line, outpacing three chasing players down the right wing to score in the corner and, still out of breath, convert with an excellent kick.
A bonus point for scoring four tries was now on for Town, but instead they conceded a further 28 points in the last ten minutes.
During the match, Dan Adams, inside centre, had another outstanding game with his thrusting runs, retention of the ball, tackling and more importantly his leadership of the backs.
But, with little possession, Town’s back three had no ball to run with throughout the second half.
Spalding, who have now lost six of their eight games this season, host Sileby Town on Saturday (3pm).
Spalding RFC: Jacob Greaves, Dave McClaren, John Barrett, Ash Ankar, George Berry, Harry Cole, Richard Cooke (captain), Jason Steels, Will Shields, Willis Ingleby, Gav Sharman, Dan Adams, Taylor Crowson, Fin Peters, George Douglas. Subs used: Brian Browne, Ben Shields and George Reid.
