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SitemapOld Halesonians 71pts vs Selly Oak 0pts
Old Halesonians were crowned league champions of their Midlands division on Saturday, but only after a bizarre series of events. Hales' party was somewhat subdued when Selly Oak forfeited the game prior to kick off due to being unable to provide specialist front row cover.
This means that Hales' will only be rewarded with an unrepresentative 14-0 win from the league and collect the two points for the win. After the political agenda had been fulfilled, a shortened 60-minute 'friendly' fixture was played to prevent Selly Oak incurring a six-point RFU penalty, surely meaning relegation from the league.
The game itself was a complete mismatch, with Hales combining their exciting brand of running rugby with powerful forward-play. The 10-try rout included a 24-point haul for fly half Ben Smith who had a good day with the boot; kicking 7 from 10 conversions. First on the scoreboard was Matt Johnson, who found himself without opposition on the wing in the 3rd minute.
Soon after, scrum half Chris Wagstaff got the first of two scores after pouncing on a stray ball from a scrum five metres out from the Selly Oak try line. At this point the floodgates were blasted open and the remainder of the game was characterised by the internal battle between Hales for the scoring honours. Mark Wakefield, playing at full back added his own try with an excellent weaving run from the halfway line.
Wagstaff added his second when Jon Tideswell broke the line gave Wagstaff the ball in space. Just before the break, Smith scored his first try of the afternoon following some tremendous handling from the Hales backline.
The second half saw more of the same as Hales ran in 31 unanswered points. Dan Grant was effervescent around the pitch and finished two superb team scores in quick succession. A downpour of hail saw the game turn a little flat in the last quarter and limit the quick movement of the ball for Hales. However, Smith didn't require any team mates for his second try, a fine individual effort beginning in his own half and outwitting the full back to score under the posts.
Wakefield added his second score late on after the Hales forwards had powering through the Selly Oak midfield and created space out wide. The last minute saw one last twist of peculiarity when Hales called a move and all of the waiting backline ran to the touchline. The defence followed them creating a huge gap in the midfield. Winger Alex Church spotted this and raced through to score under the posts.
Old Hales play their last game of the season at Wassell Grove next week, with a mini/junior demonstration game before the match and a club celebration in the evening.