The old phrase 'there is strength in numbers' has not been more apt this season for the second XV. Both senior Captains Joe Madden and Dean Smith had massive selection headaches with an original pool of 43 players reducing to just 32 in two days with some cry offs being as late as kick off time. Disappointment aside the strongest possible sides were picked and the teams headed over to Nottingham and Walsall respectively.

The Second team are not about excuses though and they travelled over with a bare fifteen none the less ready to face a strong Walsall side on their own park. The previous fixture saw Town run out 29-5 winners although the score line did not reflect how difficult a game it was.

Martin Page returned to the action after the birth of his first child and slotted back in at loose head prop along side Scott Pearce and Aidan Mclaren at hooker and tight head. Rich Bayliss packed down in the second row with youngster Callum Maxwell and they were supported by a back row of Owen Jackson, Tom Derrington and Matt Jones.

Captain Joe Madden also made his return in a more unfamiliar position of scrum half with Eamon Carroll at fly half. Luke Spears and Chris Heather lined up in the centre with a back three of Mark Gothard, Rhys Turrell and Alec Lees.

There were no substitutes to speak of although Jason Norton did arrive shortly after kick off after a job interview.

The opening minutes were dominated by Tamworth who held their shape well with a number of strong carries. Maxwell, Bayliss and Jones all looked strong and the support play was good giving Town some continuity in the early exchanges. Strong rucking forced Walsall to infringe at the breakdown and Town were awarded an early penalty 40m out directly in front of the sticks. Madden stepped up tentatively after such a long injury lay off but his strike was sound and Town took an early 3-0 lead.

It must be said that the remainder of the first half was dominated completely by the home side. Poor defence from Town gave their numerous ball carriers space to run and too often Town were left flapping at shoulders. This happened one too many times as their powerful inside centre smashed his way through to sprint in for the opening try.

Madden called his men together under the posts and asked for strength and guts in defence, something that the side has prided themselves on so far this season. This seemed to have the desired effect as Turrell, Maxwell and Mclaren all led with some big hits. It was still one way traffic though and Walsall were throwing everything at the Town men, attacking from all angles.

The defence just about held though and after clearing their lines Town had a rare visit to the opposition half. A break from Derrington from the resulting phases broke into the home side half and another infringement gave Town a penalty and Madden again slotted the points from a familiar position giving his side a one point lead.

It was becoming clear that to win this game would take a Herculean effort from the side, now including Jason Norton after an injury to Jackson. The resulting kick off saw much of the same as Walsall reclaimed possession and came flying at the Town defence. This saw the beginning of Walsall's best phases as they ran in two tries in fairly quick succession. Town were defending valiantly but Walsall simply had more in attack than we could muster in defence and were by far the better team in the first half.

Tamworth remained strong though and tried to play at every opportunity and once again the excellent support play resulted in another penalty this time on the half way line. Madden's team mates looked at him somewhat bemused as he once again called for the posts but he did not let them down slotting a huge penalty to stay within touching distance at 15-9.

That drew the first half to a close and 40 minutes of pure guts and determination had taken it's toll on the Town men who, although battered and bruised, sensed they could salvage a result from this game. Unfortunately a mistake from the restart gifted Walsall with a soft try which they converted giving them a 22-9 lead and Town a mountain to climb.

This team is made of tough stuff though where many would have crumbled and accepted defeat Town came back even stronger and a number of excellent driving mauls driven on by Bayliss and Jones slowly but surely edged Tamworth back towards the Walsall line. Clever box kicks chased well by wingers Gothard and Turrell, who had thus far enjoyed 50 minutes of nothing but defending, were forcing the home side back three to make errors and some poor kicks gave valuable field position to the Wiggy Park men.

Another perfectly executed catch and drive courtesy of Scott Pearce's accurate throw gave Derrington chance to break off the side and straight through the defence. Pure determination drove him on as he sprinted in from 50m to score a superb try under the posts. The conversion was good and Town had clawed it back to 22-16 with a quarter still to go.

The pack were adapting well and playing to their strengths, the line out and kick chase in particular serving them well and once again they had made the hard yards upfield and into the Walsall half. Another break from Derrington saw him charging towards the try line only to be stopped short by gutsy defending from the home side. Again though there was an infringement at the ruck and with 20 still to play Madden knocked over another penalty to bring Town within just three points.

This would unfortunately prove to be the last score of the game though as the last 15 minutes were played out at a frantic pace. Walsall were attacking strongly and breaking out wide whereas Town were getting the advantage in the tight only to be thwarted by their own mistakes. The effort put in by the Twos side was commendable, many players out on their feet given the lack of replacements and this took it's toll as Town looked to be getting back into the game only for Walsall to bring on numerous fresh legs all over the park.

In the end there just wasn't enough left in the tank and it wasn't to be. The Twos were fairly beaten by a very strong side but as always there are huge positives to take away. As has been the case with opposition this year, many teams would have turned down the fixture with a bare fifteen and stayed in the nice warm club house but this Team made the journey over and made Walsall work for every single point. Huge credit should go to the side who will look to reinforce numbers next week and bounce back again with a win.

Final score Walsall 22-19 Tamworth

Man of the match was Callum Maxwell who led the defence, often putting his body on the line with se huge hits.

Tries;
Derrington x 1
Cons;
Madden x 1
Pens;
Madden x 4

Town continue their league campaign next week away to Cannock but numbers will need to be better both at training and next Saturday to get back to winning ways.