Redemption for reformed Aire

Yarnbury 0 v Aire 71

Aire travelled the short distance to neighbours Yarnbury seeking redemption for collective ill discipline the previous week. There had been some candid feedback and the leadership group recognised it was time to set positive examples and lead from the front.

Yarnbury were short of numbers, so Aire lent them 4 quality quality players per half in the anticipation of a challenging match.

Yarnbury had the slight slope and wind in the first half and the opening exchange were mainly around the centre of the pitch. Yarnbury have some dangerous players, but accuracy of passing let them down in good positions on a couple of occasions. Both Freddy Pullan & Ethan Heede were threats whilst playing for Yarnbury & both made Aire work overtime in defence.

Joe Priestley was hungry in the tackle & made 4 shuddering hits in the space of 2 minutes. Aire worked their way into Yarnbury territory & the ball broke to Sammy Woodley, who scorched up the right wing, beating several defenders before off loading to flier Felix Kraam l, who clinically finished off to score under the sticks.

Aire worked their way back up field & used effective pods well to make good ground. The front 3 of Vaughan Reeves, Ollie Flaxman & Tom Rudd were hungry to get their big mitts on ball and hit some nice lines in attack.

At one ruck the Aire support players were too far away, the ball was turned over & Yarnbury attacked down Aire’s left. Aire scrambled well & a loose ball was snaffled up by Felix, who applied the after burners to score in the corner from 20m.

The re-starts rained down on lock Tommy Rollinson , who galloped back & made yards every time. Scrum half Spencer Wood provided a good platform & Harvey Sellers began pulling the strings at stand off. Harvey mixed up the attack with some smart passing & accurate kicking. It was good kick chases which led to the next 2 scores for Joe & Sammy.

Aire lost influential skipper Jonny Ivory to a recurring thigh injury & also impressive hooker Tom Rudd to a heavy knock. This gave an opportunity to new signing Finn Eastcott, who certainly didn’t look out of place in the tight exchanges.

Aire soaked up a period of pressure and Harvey Sellers saw that Yarnbury’s defence was flat, so he put in a pin point cross field kick which was expertly caught on the hoof by winger Gus Smith. Unfortunately Gus was eventually halted & the support players were too slow & the ball was turned over in the ruck.

The next score started with a tap penalty on the right which after a solid drive by Matt Tindale, the ball was fizzed with precision along the back line and reached Sammy on the far left, who went over for his second.

The re-start once again found Tommy, who scythed through Yarnbury’s defence and deep into their 22. An accurate pass found Josh Wood, who finished off to score another to take Aire into a 40 point lead at the break.

The team was rotated, with 4 new lads playing for Yarnbury. It would be fair to say that Lewis, Ethan, Freddie & Tom Ayrton, Ollie Nicholson & Mason were chomping at the bit to pull on the Aire jersey & prove a point.

Aire applied pressure from the start and had Yarnbury under the pump. It was fitting that Lewis bagged the first score of the 2nd half, with a typical barnstorming run down the left.

Felix got another after a stripping the ball from a Yarnbury player & outpacing the covering defence.

Yarnbury were under pressure & tried to exit using the high kick, but Jack Dawson was once again mighty impressive at full back. On every occasion he fielded the high ball and glided over the turf & to take Aire deep into Yarnbury’s patch. The ball was worked to Ethan who showed great gas to touch down.

Aire were dominating and flanker Ollie Nicholson bagged a poachers try from 5 metres out. The last try was a result of smart interplay between Sammy & Josh, with the latter chipping the last defender to score a rather nonchalant try to end it 71-0.

The scoreline might suggest a land slide, but credit to Yarnbury who stuck at it and kept battling to the final whistle. They did have chances, but Aire were intent on keeping a clean sheet & worked hard to scramble in defence.

The reversal from recent weeks penalty count was very pleasing, with Aire concceding less than 5 penalties in the entire 70 mins. There was much improved discipline from defensive set piece & also at the breakdown. Chat & encouragement amongst the team was vibrant and it was refreshing that was there was no chelping to the referee.

This was a collective win and as such it’s hard hard to pick out individuals in such a strong team performance. Having said that Sammy Woodley was really focussed & had a fabulous game as did Joe Priestley. Mason Cliffe added power off the bench & the work rate of Tom Ayrton & Tom Hirst was top notch indeed. The stand out player of the day was Tommy Rollinson, who was outstanding in all aspects of the game.

Aire are away at Moortown next Sunday & the lads know the challenges that this fixture will bring.