Aireborough have had ups and downs; however an influx of new players has been vital to the cause. Aireborough went into this game as underdogs, but the squad was arguably the best put out so far this season.

There was big home support for Ensians and the fine weather meant conditions were ripe for flowing rugby.

The home team got off to the brighter start and much of the early exchanges were within Aire’s half. Ensians looked sharp with the ball in hand and the ball was whipped wide with speed, accuracy and precision. A flowing move on the left side saw Ensians breach Aire’s defence and the winger raced in over the whitewash only to fumble as he attempted a one handed dot down.

This error was a brief reprieve for Aire and after a series of penalties, Ensians elected to kick the goal to take a 3-0 lead.

Skipper Mikey Dolan rallied his troops and an accurate kick off was chased down with menace, resulting in an error by Ensians.

Aire’s set piece was going well, with a blend of experience and rookie players holding their own. Some dominant carries and tackles gave Aire a toe hold in Ensians third of the pitch.

Aire worked good field position, only for Ensians to concede a penalty that Harvey Sellers knocked ove to make it 3 a piece.

The penalty gave Aire belief and their big carriers like Will Warrington, Will Girt and Mikey Dolan set up the platform for the likes of hard running backs Josh Nathaniel and Fred Ibbotson to punch holes in Ensians midfield.

One such carry on the right pulled in defenders and scrum half Adam Bishop fed Mikey, who drew defenders to release the rampaging Will Warrington who scored in the corner. Unfortunately the conversion was missed, but tails were up having taken an 8-3 lead.

Aire continued to press, but some inaccuracies cost good field position. Ensians worked their way back into Aire’s red zone and repeated wanes of attack, were blunted by strong defence. There were some brutal collisions, but neither team shirked their responsibilities. Loose forward Nathan Strauss was called upon off the bench and was eager to make an impact & was quick to stamp his mark on the game.

In the last couple of minutes Aire began to creak and Ensians worked their down the right side. There was some heroic defence, with backs and forwards putting their shoulders in to tackles. The pressure mounted and despite valiant defence Ensians went over in the last minute to make it 8-8 at half time. Aire had injury concerns with Josh Nathaniel pulling a ham string and Joe Priestley taking a heavy knock to the nose and mouth.

Aire re-shuffled their team and in the second period in stepped rookies of Adam Lowe, Connor Fitzpatrick, Lavar Holmes and flying winger Ollie Spinks.

The second half ebbed and flowed for the first 20, but a mixture of new combinations and Ensians strong bench, edged the game in the hosts favour. Aire were valiant and new recruit Nathan Cawood epitomised the collective efforts of squad. Ensians line speed and organisation forced Aire's back play to become one dimensional. Aire struggled to get any width and too often were caught behind the gain line.

Ensians then accelerated away and a loose clearance kick was snaffled by their winger who raced in for the bonus point try.

At the final whistle Ensians realised that they had been in a proper battle, but their experience and organisation was just too much for this fledgling Aire team. The Aire lads were disappointed, but in reality they were well and truly in the game for 60 minutes and will be better for the experience.

The vibe in the Aire camp is improving week on week and the impact the new lads have had cannot be understated.

Aire's MOM was nominated by Ensians and quite rightly it went to skipper Mikey Dolan, who led by example from start to finish.

Next week Aire at home to Richmondshire and it's a 1pm meet for 2:15 KO. Aire are unbeaten at Nunroyd Park, so a rallying call to supporters and ex players to come down and cheer the lads to victory.

Match details

Match date

Sat 11 Nov 2023

Kickoff

14:15

Team overview