CAVALIERS
9 VAN BREDA – a classy display by the full-back who scored one try and set-up another as he looked to attack space all evening and became a thorn in Wanderers’ side. My man of the match.
8 Hearle – after a quiet opening period, the wing burst into life as he picked some great lines and his excellent break and offload created Brown’s score.
7 Olivier – linked up brilliantly with Butler for his try and tested the Wanderers defence with probing runs before being replaced 15 minutes into the second half.
8 Butler – showed his strength to hold off a couple of tackles before teeing up Olivier for a score and directed his team around the field with slick passing.
7 Tonks – popped up in the right place to finish in the corner for Cavaliers’ first try and overcame a hefty blow in the air in the opening stages to play a telling role.
8 Simpson – usually starring for Stourbridge at scrum-half the South Africa-born ace did a fine job at 10 as he got the backs flowing and made a key cover tackle.
7 Arr – his added experienced proved key as he managed the game well when Cavs were down to 13 men and his delivery was sharp and accurate.
7 Cosgrove – made some strong carries and won an early scrum penalty as he asserted his authority although the set-piece did not always go Worcester’s way.
7 I Miller – made the odd handling error but was lively in the loose and accurate at the lineout which performed well.
6 Mudariki – had an indifferent time in the set-piece and saw yellow for collapsing one scrum on the half-hour mark but is hard to stop when he gets the ball in his hands.
8 Kitchener – aside from his yellow card for killing the ball the lock was excellent in all facets of his game particularly defensively as he put in some bone-crunching tackles.
7 Scott – alongside Kitchener the young second row fronted up well in defence and was an assured presence at the lineout.
7 Monks – making his senior rugby debut the flanker got stuck in and looked useful with ball in hand when bursting upfield but his missed tackle on Coles resulted in Cavs conceding a try.
7 Williams – brought great energy to Cavs’ back row as he threw himself into every collision and contributed in attack too before suffering a blow to his head.
7 Dodd – was stripped of the ball when he looked to power forward but was solid at the lineout and supported the backs well with tidy link-up play.
Replacements: Newborn (S Miller 71), Owen 6 (Cosgrove 50), Morris 7 (Tonks 29-39, Mudariki 59), Ward (Monks 68), S Miller 6 (Williams 39), Jackson (Simpson 79), Veebel 7 (Olivier 55), Brown 7 (Tonks 50).
Attendance: TBC.
Referee: A Thomas.
Northampton Wanderers: Emery; Worley, Kellaway, Tuitavake, Pisi; Grayson, Davies; Davis, Ma’asi, Ford-Robinson, Bean, Craig, Coles, Eadie, Onojaife.
Replacements: Dawidiuk, Trinder, Garside, Taylor, Jubb, Tupai, Povey, Dayes.
RUN OF PLAY.
5-0: Tonks try, 2mins.
7-0: Van Breda conv, 3mins.
7-5: Worley try, 7mins.
7-7: Grayson conv, 8mins.
12-7: van Breda try, 11mins.
14-7: van Breda conv, 12mins.
14-12: Craig try, 16mins.
14-14: Grayson conv, 17mins.
YELLOW: Kitchener (Cavs), 26mins.
YELLOW: Mudariki (Cavs), 29mins.
14-19: Pisi try, 30mins.
17-19: van Breda penalty, 40mins.
Half-time: Worcester Cavaliers 17-19 Northampton Wanderers.
22-19: Olivier try, 43mins.
24-19: van Breda conv, 44mins.
29-19: Brown try, 55mins.
29-24: Dawidiuk try, 72mins.
29-26: Grayson conv, 73mins.
YELLOW: Grayson (Wanderers), 75mins.
34-26: Veebel try, 78mins.
Full-time: Worcester Cavaliers 34-26 Northampton Wanderers.
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