Hill continue winning start to season with workmanlike performance

Coney Hill visited Old Cryptians knowing they were in for a tough day as the hosts had started the season well.

Both teams were fielding new combinations due to injury and unavailability, which no doubt contributed to the sloppy start as a number of unforced errors prevented either team from getting into their flow.

As the 1st half rolled on, it was apparent the Coney hill set piece had the edge, which allowed them to control field position and after some sustained pressure Full Back Ryan Barnett went through to score the opening try which went unconverted.

Not long after further pressure resulted in a kick-able penalty which Carl Fritchley put over to give Hill an 8-0 lead.

To their credit Cryptians stayed true to their game plan and worked the ball wide at every opportunity which stretched the Hill defence on a number occasions, but they defended stoutly and forced Cryptians into more errors and the half ended 8-0.

The early stages of the 2nd half were a stalemate with both teams cancelling each other out, however after an excellent Joe Twomey box kick and chase they forced a penalty 40 metres out which Frithchley slotted over to extend the lead to 11-0.

From here Hill turned the screw and after a faulty Cryptians line out they surged down the slope with powerful running before Tom Anderson burrowed his way over from close range. 16-0.

Hill were immediately back in Cryptians half and after some more pressure they were awarded a penalty which they kicked to the corner and set up a very well executed driving maul which ended up with evergreen prop John Dix diving over for the try.

That made the score 21-0 and with less than 20 minutes to play, the Hill players seemed to switch off and all credit to Cryptians they kept fighting. Having earned a good penalty they kicked to the corner and whilst the initial line out was scrappy they managed to keep hold of the ball and a clever pick and go got them over for a converted try.

Hill then conceded a further 2 penalties in quick succession which led to number 8 Luke Mann being Sin binned and from the penalty, Cryptians scrum half Rob Trigg snuck over for a 2nd try. The conversion was missed, leaving Hill ahead by 9 points with 2 minutes left.

Cryptians were now forcing the pass to try and secure another score which would have given them a losing bonus point however they were caught in their own 22 and penalised for holding on. From the penalty, Hill had one final play to secure a bonus point 4th try and captain Ryan Stephens was tackled just short of the line but he was able to stay on his feet which created a maul from which Hill were able to force their way over, Anderson coming up with the ball to claim his 2nd try.

Final Score Old Cryptians 12 Coney Hill 26