Last Second Heartbreak For Tamworth

Long Eaton were the visitors to Wiggington Park at the weekend for an eagerly awaited second versus third clash. With both sides in a rich vein of form but both suffering defeats in their previous fixtures a tight game was promised.
After an impeccably observed minutes silence to remember the fallen the game got under way and it was Tamworth who took an early lead with a penalty from youngster Jack Dalton who had taken over kicking duties with injury forcing the absence of both regular goal kickers. 3-0
The lead however would prove to be short lived as Long Eaton formed a maul from a five metre lineout and forced their way over despite the best efforts of the Tamworth pack. A good kick from a tight angle saw the extras added and the visitors led 3-7.
With just fifteen minutes gone the game was already developing into a fine spectacle and Tamworth regained the lead when a pre planned move from their lineout saw Skipper Josh Roe stopped just short of the line but the ball was recycled well and Macauley Green moving from the back row to inside centre for this game was on hand to crash over. Dalton slotted the conversion and the home side had their noses in front again. 10-7
Long Eaton then enjoyed a purple patch where they showed exactly why they had only lost once all season scoring two tries in six minutes the first coming from some slick handling putting one winger in on the left wing the second was straight from the training paddock when a cross field kick was fielded by the other winger catching the Tamworth defence a little narrow allowing him an easy dot down in the right corner. 10-19
Tamworth really needed to score again before half time if they were to stay in touch which they did with their own driving maul proving just as effective as the visitors this time Josh Roe would get his name on the score sheet as he got the final touch at the back of the maul. Dalton couldn’t have been any closer with the conversion as he saw the ball bounce back off the upright but the game remained finely balanced at the break 15-19.
It was Tamworth’s turn to enjoy a little dominance around the hour mark as they forced another lineout close in but just as the visitors appeared to have done enough to halt their progress Roe broke off the back of the maul and a delightful interchange of passes between him and scrum half Xavier Hill saw him score his second of the game to give the hosts the narrowest of leads 20-19
Long Eaton came right back at Tamworth forcing a scrum five metres out from the Tamworth line but as they looked to play the ball through the hands Tamworth’s Liam Saayman saw his chance to pounce intercepting the pass and then it was a footrace between him and the chasing defenders which he won sprinting almost the full length of the pitch to score. Dalton’s boot was true and Tamworth led 27-19.
Not surprisingly in such a see saw game Long Eaton scored next as Tamworth’s defence halted the maul just short the ball was recycled and their inside centre crashed over. The extra’s were added and it was once again a one point game 27-26.
Could Tamworth hold on as Long Eaton threw everything they had at them in the closing stages? The answer was not quite as the visitors nicked it in the final seconds as they scored in the corner with literally the last play of the game to break Tamworth hearts but to bring to an end probably the best game of rugby to grace Wiggy Park in a good few years. Two fine teams creating a fantastic advert for the sport of Rugby Union.
Tamworth did earn two bonus points from their endeavours but this result saw them drop a place in the league to fourth with a trip to Melbourne to look forward to next weekend.
Final Score
Tamworth 27
Long Eaton 31