Dogged Tamworth Inch Past Matlock

Tamworth hosted Matlock on Saturday looking to build on the form that saw them edge out West Bridgford on opening day. The two sides hadn’t met since a cup tie in 2017 when the visitors ran out handsome victors.
A blistering hot day not really ideal for rugby saw Tamworth get off to a slow start with Matlock getting the better of the opening exchanges and they edged into the lead after 7 minutes Tamworth infringing at the breakdown resulting in a penalty. 0-3
This sparked Tamworth into life and they started to make some headway into the Matlock defence and the hosts were soon level Jay Rosenbach slotting a penalty. 3-3
They would find themselves behind again though after 20 minutes Matlock scoring a converted try their centre slicing through the home defence before putting the winger in to score in the corner. 3-10
Their lead would be short lived though as Tamworth came straight back at them taking a quick tap penalty for a lineout infringement Liam Saayman and Liam McGreevy both being stopped inches short of the line But Leighton Norton was on hand to dive over as Matlock ran out of defenders. Rosenbach added the extras and the match was once again finely balanced. 10-10
Tamworth started with a very youthful back three with Jack Dalton in his first start and Will Kilby-Jenkins making his debut on the opposite wing both just 18 years old with Fullback Rosenbach rounding out the back three adding a bit of experience at the ripe old age of 19.
It would be Dalton that would put Tamworth into the lead with some sublime footwork hacking the ball through and showing maturity way beyond his years not to panic and waiting for the ball to sit up perfectly for him to finish under the posts. Rosenbach’s boot was again true and Tamworth led. 17-10
Matlock narrowed the deficit before half time a rolling maul proving impossible to stop the hooker peeling off the side to score. The extra’s were missed giving Tamworth the narrowest of leads at the break. 17-15
Matlock regained the lead early in the second period when a nice move down the blindside from a scrum saw Tamworth outnumbered defensively the winger scoring in the corner. Again the extra’s were missed but the pendulum had again swung in the visitors direction and it would be a test to see how Tamworth reacted. 17-20
They answered that question in some style when they caught Matlock with a swift counter attack the ball was moved delightfully through the hands ending up with debutant Kilby-Jenkins who did the rest sliding in at the corner to round off a splendid day for the back three. Rosenbach slotted the extras from the tightest of angles and Tamworth were four points to the good with the clock in their favour. 24-20
As time was running down Matlock had no choice but to throw everything at Tamworth to try and salvage the game but the hosts were soaking up the pressure well. And were given a penalty for a high tackle Rosenbach using every second available to him before dissecting the posts to give him a 100% day with the boot and give Tamworth two wins from two in their Level 6 journey.
Final Score
Tamworth 27
Matlock 20