Nottingham Casuals 38 v Rolls Royce nil

Nottingham Casuals 38 v Rolls Royce nil
6th October 2018
Midlands 3 East (North)

Casuals maintained their winning run, with a try bonus point win, making it 5 on the trot in all competitions, 4 in the league, heading the league table by several points.
Considering the persistent rain, this was a great exhibition, as Casuals continue to iron the mistakes, and play a calmer game.

Rolls Royce did not make it easy for Casuals in the early stages, and with a wealth of penalties to RR in the opening period, Casuals’ defences were severely tested.
Rolls Royce could not take advantage of a fairly easy penalty shot at goal, the ball rebounded off the upright, Stu Williams catching the rebound, the ball was moved away from danger, and that was as close they got to scoring.
Both sides had a reasonable amount of possession and the game saw plenty of moves, but Casuals slowly started to dominate.
A penalty kick to touch, a great take at the lineout by Simon Roberts, the maul was driven upfield with clinical efficiency, and with the pack acting as guards, brother “Grizz” held on at the rear keeping the ball away from RR defence, the move rumbled over the line giving Graeme Roberts an easy touch down.
Mark Higgins converted
Casuals now started to strangle RR, as they kept the upper hand, and as the visitors tried to clear their lines, the clearance kick was gathered by Liam Tighe, cleverly linking with Manny Cammarata. He then looped round the opposition, running about 30 metres down the wing, before feeding Dan Clarke who completed the move, going in for Casuals’ second try, with Higgins adding the conversion. 14 - 0

The second half restarted with Stu Williams putting in a huge run from the kick off, to gain massive yards for Casuals.
RR were penalised, the kick to touch from Higgins put Casuals into the 22, Casuals again drove the maul, only for RR to offend, and the ref awarded a penalty try
21 – 0
Casuals were now firmly in the driving seat, and they only had to endure a brief revival from Rolls Royce, as they tried what they could to get over the Casuals try line, only to be rebuffed by Casuals’ solid defence.
It took another 14 minutes before Casuals got on the score sheet again.
This time a pick and go, resulted in captain Stu Williams getting his just reward, crossing for the 4th, and bonus point try. 26 -0
Casuals kept the squeeze on, and they dominated the closing stages.
A move down the backs from a Casuals scrum was thwarted as a Rolls Royce hand knocked the ball forward in the move, the player very lucky to stay on the pitch.
By now RR’s spirit was well and truly broken, judging by the comments. Simply unable to cope with Casuals’ pressure, they gave away penalties and conceded ground, firmly driven back by Casuals.
The pattern for the next score was very much the same; penalty kick to touch, great take, this time though the ball was passed out and Steve Naylor barrelled through for the try, and Higgins again added the kick. 33 – 0
With the game running it’s course, Casuals were awarded another penalty, Higgins decided to kick to touch (get as many points as you can, maybe) and from the inevitable lineout possession, Casuals again, rumbled on, Graeme Roberts was on hand to grab his second try, completing the scoring.
Casuals must be more than happy with their endeavours so far, and their reborn team spirit is really showing.
With the cup game against Northampton Casuals coming up next at Canalside, the prospect of a titanic battle of the leaders in their respective leagues, is something that should get Casuals supporters down to the ground.
Hopefully selection will get a headache this week, as player availability should be at a high.
With several players returning from holidays and injury, the selectors should be looking forward to the task.
The seconds are at home against the same opposition.

1. Steve Baraniak
2. Pete Underwood
3. Richard Gill
4. Simon Roberts
5. Kieran Maisonnet
6. Graeme Roberts (2 tries)
7. Chris Brownlie
8. Stu Williams (C)
9. Mark Higgins
10. James Wood (VC)
11. Stephen Naylor
12. Alex Brownlie
13. Manny Cammarata
14. Dan Clarke
15. Liam Tighe
16. Jack Bladen
17. Jon Ackroyd
18. Chris Atkinson