Panthers Off To A Winning Start

On a beautiful summers day, Chesterfield Panthers welcomed an Ashfield side for the first game of the new RFU Cup competition designed to get contact rugby up and running after a lengthy covid enforced layoff.
Unsure what to expect from Ashfield Panthers knew they had to go out all guns blazing to compete with an outfit a couple of leagues above and this was the case.

It was clear to see from the outset that when Chesterfield played with the pace and accuracy that is fast becoming the Panthers way, that the much bigger Ashfield team couldn't keep up and it was never clearer than when two fantastic quick rucks led to number 8 Leon Owen breaking the line from a smart flat pass from new scrum-half Matt Dunnington-Wallace, Owen was caught 5m short but fantastic support play from openside Jack Burton saw him drive over from 5m. The first 20 minutes was all Panthers with the pack impressing with their work rate and discipline, none more than prop Jake Ryan who constantly made yards and made great decisions. Good lineout ball from Paddy Holleworth again saw Leon Owen breaking the line, this time having the legs to get over the line but unfortunately, the referee deemed the move held up. As the half went on it seemed to be attack against defence with the Panthers really pushing Ashfield's impressive defence and finally, they doubled their tally with a great backs move resulting in Glenn Grayson going clear and putting the live wire Tom O'Brien over the whitewash. Ashfield responded with a very good try of their own through the constantly impressive number 14.

At half time Panthers rung the changes, giving everyone a chance to shine. The changes seemed to take away Chesterfield's momentum allowing Ashfield back in the game but a breakaway try from Glenn Grayson with a kick and collect from his own 22 and going the length of the pitch saw Panthers extend the lead. After this though saw the visitors start to string together some good phases and put pressure on the home team, this resulted in two quick tries to make the game too close for comfort. This seemed to kick-start another Panthers revival and the last try was a score to savour with a fantastic backs move and good straight running from outside centre Kev Shiels saw returning wing Jake Blair go in at the corner. Not 5 minutes later Jake would go over the line in the opposite corner having bumped off 2 Ashfield defenders only to have his try adjudged to be a knock-on quickly followed by another disallowed effort by Tom O'Brien this time thought to be held up by the referee. Against the run of play, Ashfield gained possession and territory for the final 5 minutes and crashed over, with the conversion levelling the score at 24-24.

Right from the restart panthers looked to press for the win even though there were seconds left on the clock, Ashfield looked to counter ruck as they pushed for a turnover and lost their feet resulting in a Panthers penalty 45m out. Up stepped the hero of the hour Tom O'Brien calling for the tee to the surprise of many of the supporters wondering if he had the legs for the kick but their bemusement soon turned to excitement as the young fly half struck it magnificently, going in off the post with 10m to spare to win the game.

After the game, the Panthers coaching team were delighted in the way their team played but although the performance was welcomed there are still plenty of work ons and areas to improve and hope to iron a few of those out before Amber Valley away next weekend.