Midlands 3 East (North)
MELTON RFC FIRST XV 36 SLEAFORD FIRST XV 0

Melton played the wide and expansive style which served them well during pre-season and produced some memorable tries.

Mark Cox opened the scoring after good interplay in midfield.

The pick of the early scores was finished on the wing, but made in the front row as loose head Wayne Brookes produced the all-important turnover at the ruck and popped the ball to tighthead Lewis Brooks. His quick hands found hooker Gavin Prior, who shipped the ball to Cox in space.

With just the opposing winger to beat, Cox used the overlap and Tom Chandler raced over from 40 metres. Scrum-half Chris Rose completed the first half scoring with Ian Fry adding all three conversions.

With a 21-0 half-time lead Melton were looking good for a big score, but it did not materialise, and they will be disappointed not to have added more tries. At times Melton's defence did become exposed through poor fitness levels and the heat.

A late injury to Rose did little to help as Melton went down to 14 men for an extended period. Two clear tries were not awarded, while Sam Clemons, recalled to the Inside centre berth, was just short of pace from an impressive break and was caught inches short of the line.

But there were far more positives than negatives. Man-of-the-match Adam Chambers continued to impress on his competitive first XV debut, while the untried second row combination of skipper Rich Meakin and Matt Brooks went well.

Stuart Morley returned from injury in the back row, and was later joined by James Lomas in his first appearance of the season from the bench.

Chandler capped an electric performance with two further tries for a magnificent hat-trick, taking him to seven tries in the last three fixtures. Hugh Middleton completed the scoring with a well-worked try.

Melton: P. Stimson, P. Blagburn (M. Hayes), H. Middleton, S. Clemons, T. Chandler, I. Fry, C. Rose, M. Cox, S. Morely (J. Lomas), A. Chambers, R. Meakin (c), M. Brooks, L. Brooks, G. Prior, W. Brookes (B. White).