Rugby Union:
Newbold lose out in top of the table battle

Leighton Buzzard 22 Newbold 15

Midlands Two East (South)

NEWBOLD suffered their first defeat of the season and lost top spot in the table on Saturday, being replaced at the summit by Leighton Buzzard.

With both sides carrying unbeaten records into the contest it was an eagerly awaited clash which Newbold started the better.

Ben Nuttall and Phil Reed combined well for the latter to score an unconverted try and the lead was added to when Tom Newbold gained line-out possession and started a forward move which ended with Danny Treherne crossing the whitewash. Joss Andrews added the extras to make it 12-0 in the 15th minute.

Not for the first time this season, Newbold relaxed once ahead and Leighton Buzzard took advantage to get themselves back into the contest through Perry’s unconverted try.

Boosted by the score, the hosts cranked up the pressure on Newbold and despite seeing a number of penalties drift wide, they got themselves back on level terms with a converted try, setting the second half up perfectly.

Newbold knew they had the added difficulty of playing up the slope in the second half and that, together with a number of basic errors, allowed Leighton Buzzard to take control.

The more ball the hosts had the more their confidence grew and with the help of what appeared to be an unstraight throw at a line-out, they scored an unconverted try to lead for the first time.

A further blow for Newbold saw them lose KJ Henry to a serious injury and things went from bad to worse when a converted try gave Leighton Buzzard a 22-10 lead.

Newbold retained enough focus to at least secure a losing bonus point thanks to Andrews’ penalty on the full time whistle.

For the visitors there was no argument at all that the better side won on the day but Newbold can still look back with some satisfaction at a superb run of results that saw them claim the deserved RucknMaul October Team of the Month award.

Saturday sees Newbold travel to local rivals Lutterworth who are enjoying a fine season themselves.

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