Melton RFC U16s warm up for county final with derby win

The visitors made a good start to the first half got off to a good start, testing Oakham’s defence right from the off with Morgan showing the forwards intent with a bullish run straight at them.

Sustained pressure eventually paid off when Beesley’s quick tap and go penalty split Oakham’s defence, allowing Thompson to dive over in the corner.

The Melton forwards’ excellent work at the breakdown and their driving maul was too much for Oakham.

Boylan finished off the half with another try from a well-worked maul as Melton took a 10-0 lead into the break.

A loose pass from Melton’s backs resulted in an easy interception and allowed Oakham to score between the posts for a converted try early in the second half.

The home side took heart from this score and their backs began to probe Melton’s defence, but excellent tackles flew in from Heaney, Foldys and Green, allowing them to weather the storm.

Sustained pressure from Melton in Oakham’s 22 then resulted in Gunby pouncing on a wayward pass to score the decisive converted try and secure the 17-7 victory.

The only black mark was a shoulder injury picked up by W. Garnett, but it is hoped he can recover in good time for the County Plate Final against Market Bosworth on Sunday.

Melton will be looking to emulate this performance on home turf at Burton Road (noon kick-off noon).

Melton: H. Goward, D. Morgan, I. Thompson, W. Foldys, J. Sommerville, C. Boylan, P. Blythe, W. Garnett, B. Johnson, T. Green, J. Dixon, J. Beesley, K. Gunby, H. Heaney, T. Golland, J. Garnett, O. Jakes, J. Owens.