Old Hales 15 Old Eds Aston 11.

A JUBILANT Old Halesonians took the spoils in this tight battle against Old Edwardians Aston and in the process reversed the painful defeat they suffered at their hands last November.

With Aston arriving undefeated since mid-October, this was a mouth-watering fixture between the in-form sides in the division.

The home side started the brightest, with excellent kicking from hand by Tom Harris and skilful inter-linking forward play by the loose forwards. Despite the muddy conditions, Hales were determined to offload the ball from the tackle. This tactic appeared to surprise the visitors who soon found themselves desperately defending. In doing so, they conceded a penalty in front of their own posts in the third minute. Mark Wakefield duly slotted the kick to take Hales into the lead. Six minutes later, a hanging box kick from Chris Wagstaff set up a line out on the Aston 22. From the lineout, Hales spread the ball wide, reaching Wakefield to score an excellent unconverted try.

Conceding a try appeared to jolt the visitors to life.

From the kick-off, Aston pinned Hales in their own 22, and it was their turn to give away a valuable penalty.

Rather than go for goal, Aston scrum-half Alan Mitchell, tapped quickly with Hales still retreating.

The ensuing breakdown deep inside home territory saw Hales exposed when Aston overloaded the blind side quickly for hooker Nic Dalton to score an unconverted try in the corner. The to-and-fro contest then swung Halesonians way, when they began to stamp their authority at the set-piece. After a hat-trick of tries last week, Dan Grant was typically mischievous at the front of the line-out, disrupting the Aston throw.

The turnovers were telling and Hales were able to gain good territory. Camped on the visitor’s line, Hales were awarded six consecutive scrums, but failed to strike a killer blow and Aston escaped the threat. The home supporters weren’t made to wait long though, and a second try came soon after when Tom Harris received the ball down the blind side to score a superb individual score. Wakefield converted to give Hales a 15-5 half time lead.

The second-half play took its toll on the pitch, which began to deteriorate and make running rugby difficult. Instead, the game became a game of territory and composure. To their credit, Aston continued to battle around the pitch, but Hales’ kicking game and set-piece were the key differences. The visitors were able to convert two penalties in the 61st and 70th minutes, but they never looked like getting a second try to close the gap.

Next week Old Hales are on the road against Ludlow.