Howell & Co Division 4 South 2017/18

Moore 1st XI 17

Oswestry 2nd XI 33

With much of the north west’s sport scene decimated by the snowy weather, Oswestry Rugby’s second XV picked up a surprising win.

They travelled to top of the league Moore RFC, in Warrington, on Saturday for what the home team must have thought would be a win.

However Tudor Jones and his team had other plans and Oswestry came home with a bonus point 17-33 win.

On a heavy pitch against a big, physical team the first priority for Oswestry was to deny the home pack the ball and then ensure that the game was played in the Moore half – pushing their big players across the field by putting the ball behind them.

The visitor’s half backs of Jake Smith at scrum half and Rory Kershaw at 10 controlled the opening exchanges very well and good quick ball allowed some space for Luca Owen Youens to run at the home winger, crashing over for a try in the corner.

Ten minutes later Luca Owen Youens did exactly the same leaving a trail of defenders in his wake.

Oswestry kept up the pace with Johnny Hughes having an excellent game at 8 and the newly arrived Fijian centre Dave Drose outstanding at 12 in both attack and defence, and it was he who crashed over for the third try just on half-time.

Smith managed a charge down just before half-time scoring Oswestry’s third try. Luca Owen Youens kicked three conversions during the half.

Playing against the elements in the second half it was obvious that the big home pack would trundle the ball in the forwards.

Moore put in a spell of punishing rugby which sapped the visitors as they scored three tries and a conversion.

However, Oswestry weathered the storm and at the death Smith broke from the base of a five-metre scrum and dived over for a bonus points win, while man-of-the-match was awarded to Drose.