Nottingham Casuals 29 Nottingham Moderns 10

1st May 2016
Nottinghamshire Intermediate Cup final

Nottingham Casuals 29 Nottingham Moderns 10

Walkden grabs a hat trick as Casuals retain trophy for second year.

Casuals travelled to Southwell to take on near neighbours Moderns in the final of the Intermediate Cup, and looking at the score came away comfortable winners. Although Casuals were never in danger of losing, Moderns made Casuals work hard to take the spoils.
The ground conditions made kicking a lottery, and dropped passes bounced haphazardly on a rock hard, grassless uneven surface. Casuals played up a significant slope in the first half, facing a strong crosswind.
Casuals probably started too well, with their first try coming after a slick move after only 2 minutes, centre Brodie Howatson using his speed to take him past the defence for the try, with Mark Higgins converting.

10 minutes later, Higgins kicked ahead and winger Steve Naylor chased to secure possession. He then managed to flip the ball back along the ground as he lost his balance and full back Alex Walkden scooped up from the ground to run through the Moderns defence.

Casuals had a number of opportunities to increase their lead, but some very errant passing denied them a number of scores, especially with the erratic bounce of the loose ball,confusing the players.

Casuals got their 3rd try when Higgins ran cross field to pass to Walkden, whose sidestep took him past a flailing defender , and his pace took him clear to touch down. Higgins again converted, to give Casuals a 19 point lead.

It looked as if Casuals were going to cruise to victory, but they hadn't bargained for Moderns tenacity, as the took play deep into Casuals' half, gaining a lineout close to Casuals' try line. They employed a simple catch and drive to cross for a try.

The second half advantage of the slope for Casuals saw them attack deep into Moderns territory, but some really sloppy handling right on the line denied them a try with the line at their mercy.
Moderns weathered the early pressure, and they came all the way upfield, and their sustained pressure rewarded them with their second try.
For a time Casuals had to endure a period of uncertainty as their play became sloppy, and they were unable to retain possession to mount any meaningful attacks.

A bizarre stroke of luck, led to the next score for Casuals. A pass away from a scrum was dropped by Higgins, but he managed to retrieve the ball from behind him and he turned side footing a chip over the Moderns defence. The ball bounced away from the mesmerised defence, and Higgins gathered it at pace to outstrip the cover.
Moderns tried attacking, but Howatson flattened the ball carrier who dropped the ball and Casuals grabbed possession to go forward. Their attack was laboured as they moved towards the line.
Walkden went down the left wing, the move was halted, but Casuals managed to retain possession, eventually moving the ball wide to the right where Walkden went over deep in the corner grabbing his hat trick to seal the victory.

Next week, Casuals return to Southwell on Saturday, to contest the 3 Counties Shield final against Glossop, kick off 2.30