OLs 13 Old Coventrians 19: Losing point not much of a bonus for struggling OLs

The hosts dominated the early stages, keeping the visitors on the back foot and it was no surprise when a penalty was won in front of the posts. Fly-half Bradley James converted to give OLs a three-point lead.

The game continued in the same vein with OLs applying pressure and from a series of drives by the forwards, prop Craig Ellis touched down to increase OLs’ lead to eight points.

Old Leamingtonians then stepped off the pace, allowing Old Coventrians’ forwards to get to grips with the home pack and provide quality ball for their backs.

Their pressure paid off, yielding two converted tries before the interval to give them a 14-8 interval lead.

OLs did create chances but their inability to convert pressure and position into scoring points was again a source of frustration.

Old Leamingtonians found themselves a further try down within minutes of the restart.

The Old Coventrians forwards gained good ground and built a platform that the home side failed to defend against and the gap increased to 11 points.

The visitors continued to dominate but the OLs defence was looking a lot more solid, allowing them to launch series of promising counter-attacks.

Colt Rory Sinnott enjoyed a good game and from one storming run broke three defensive tackles to touch down wide out to reduce the deficit to six points.

However, OLs were unable to bridge the gap and were left to reflect on their tenth bonus point of a season which has only yielded one victory.

 Old Leamingtonians’ Under-16s returned to action after a lengthy break and secured a narrow but deserved 15-10 victory over Broadstreet.

The Coventry side had the benefit of a game the previous week to shake off any post-Christmas lethargy and the first half showed they were more match-fit than OLs.

However, the home side’s sound defence and excellent lineout and scrum kept Broadstreet out until the 32nd minute when they scored an unconverted try from close range.

The first-half exertions seemed to leave some of the Street side off the pace and OLs dominated the second period.

The home side battered away and eventually found a hole large enough for Jordi Pocknell to blast through to equalise.

With the safety of a secure scrum and dominant lineout guaranteeing possession, OLs were able to play a more expansive game and this resulted in two tries for Dylan Badhan.

Street moved up a gear and were rewarded with a second try following an OLs fumble with three minutes to go.