Melton RFC overcome tireless Sileby XV

To their credit, Sileby never stopped working and made a real game of it despite the home side having more than 25 players at their disposal after other fixtures were cancelled due to waterlogged pitches.

The whole match was played at a ferocious pace in extremely blustery conditions with a special mention to Luke Pawley and Andy Towle who both helped the visitors out as the game wore on and injuries began to kick in.

Sileby began brightly and opened the scoring, but Melton soon replied through Stu Bowles after great work from Phil Kerr and Neil Crowe.

The ever-reliable Ben Warwick added the tricky conversion for a 7-5 lead.

James Woolley’s electric pace saw him race over from inside his own half for a 12-5 lead, but changes to formation began to hinder the hosts’ continuity.

Jordan Pawley was in fine form, carrying the ball and tackling really well, especially when it mattered.

But even he couldn’t stop Sileby sneaking over just before half-time to trail by just two points at the break.

The second half was equally disruptive to any patterns of play as personnel swapped and changed, particularly at half-back where Josh Hayward was always under pressure.

Fortunately, however, strong runs from Christian Jeremiah, Adam Chambers, the impressive Sam Dennison and Woolley helped to steady the ship and add to the scoreline.

Jeremiah drove over after several phases and added the conversion himself before centre Matt Freeston crashed over after taking a great line off a ruck.

Sileby hit back with a score almost straight from the restart as Melton switched off, but two tries in quick succession put the game out of the visitors’ reach.

Their never-say-die attitude and sheer opportunism saw their scrum-half scurry over for a great, thoroughly deserved try down the blind side.

* Melton RFC Veterans XV are away to Coalville on Saturday, February 20 in the county cup semi-final. Any players available should call Tony Middleton.