Strong Second Half Sees Tamworth Go Third

Tamworth travelled to bottom but one club Wolverhampton this week, in
a reverse fixture of the 34-5 Tamworth win earlier in the season.

The first half was a close run affair, marred by penalties and only
excellent defence by the away side against Wolverhampton's powerful
carriers kept the game scoreless after a first 30 minutes where they
barely touched the ball. The closest Tamworth came was a kick-through
by number 8 Kit Smith, forcing Wolves back into their own half but
another penalty allowed an easy exit.

The first points were not to come until right before half time,
Tamworth finally having multiple phases inside the opposition 22, and
as the ball came back to the right, number 10 Leighton Norton found a
gap and broke through the defensive line on the 22 and scampered in
for the score, making the score 0-5.

The second half began with a bang, with Wolverhampton trying to get to
the ball quickly out to the wing on the halfway line, a loose pass
went straight to Tamworth outside centre Liam Saayman who showed good
pace running it in and dotting it down for the score right under the
posts, the conversion was made by winger Jack Dalton, 0-12.

10 minutes later after a turnover in their own 22, Tamworth spun the
ball wide, with Saayman again making the break, before finding scrum
half Xavier Hill running an excellent supporting line, drawing the
defender before popping to inside centre Matt Williams, who ran it in
again under the posts, again to be converted by Dalton, Tamworth now
lead 0-19.

The second half as a whole was much better for the away side, with
sustained pressure on the Wolverhampton line, helped by a
Wolverhampton yellow for a tip tackle, leading to a held up effort by
Tamworth loose head Jason Norton, but Tamworth regained possession from
the ensuing goal line drop out, and after a few more phases in the 22,
they spun the ball wide found Saayman again who showed great strength
in his run and finish near the 15 meter line, giving Tamworth the try
scoring bonus point and a 0-24 lead.

The lineout was working well for Tamworth all game, for the most part,
Wolverhampton defended the maul well, not letting Town gain any
momentum, however late on Tamworth finally got a maul set up and
gained momentum, driving over from about 10 meters out, Kit Smith
coming up with the ball and the try.

All credit to the home team, they kept going right till the end, and
in the last 10 minutes, applied a lot of pressure to the Tamworth
line, eventually leading to a yellow card for Tamworth after a build-up of penalties. Wolverhampton used the man
advantage and their pack to force the ball over in the corner with a
couple of minutes to go, giving the last word if nothing else from the
game

Final Score
Tamworth 29
Wolverhampton 5