Malvern win feisty encounter - The Malvern Observer

Malvern win feisty encounter

Malvern Editorial 14th Jan, 2015 Updated: 20th Oct, 2016   0

FRUSTRATIONS boiled over at Spring Lane on Saturday as Malvern and Pinley battled out a heated Midlands Two West (South) contest.

Ben Essenhigh scored the game’s only try while Ben King showed great accuracy from the tee to steer the hosts to a 13-6 victory over the Coventry side.

But the match will be remembered for its indiscipline as Pinley had five men yellow-carded and one sent off following a series of punch-ups.

The visitors did take the lead, though, with a penalty, which King cancelled out after Pinley’s stand off was sin-binned for a late tackle. He was then followed by two more players from the away side as they were reduced to 12 men.




However, Malvern failed to make the numerical advantage count as they instead insisted on taking the ball back to the forwards rather than spreading it wide.

King managed to slot home a penalty, but Pinley levelled things up at 6-6 just before the break.


The interval seemed to come at the right time for Malvern as they came storming out of the blocks.

They pressed the Pinley defence from the first whistle, turning the ball over and for once played the expansive game for Essenhigh to go over in the corner. King converted from the touchline.

The match then turned into a war of attrition while the visitors continued to try and frustrate Malvern with physical tactics.

To their credit, Malvern did not respond much, keeping their discipline as Pinley lost theirs, and some great defence towards the end of the match kept the visitors at bay.

Speaking after the match, director of rugby Dave Irish said he was pleased his side, who remain in fifth in the table, managed to keep their focus and come away victorious.

“Sometimes you have to meet teams like this and just try to play your own game and not get distracted,” he said.

“I think that, by and large, Malvern managed that today.”

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