Great Come Back

Great Come Back

Crusaders15 - Royston 13

Crusaders moved into the third round of the Junior VASE with a determined fight back against a big Royston side. Royston were soon in their stride with a pack that far outweighed Crusaders eight. The Royston's Will Cottrel kick a sweet penalty and when following some impressive rolling mauls John Brain drove over for a try, things looked ominous for Crusaders.
Crusaders facing a strong wind stuck to their task and with some brave tackling in defence lead by Henry Joy, Ross Nicholson and Ben Barker, Royston were restricted to one further penalty from Cottrel 0-13. Crusaders having tightened up their pack began to get the measure of the visitors and treated their supporters to a push over try from Henry Joy before the break 5-13.
With the wind at their backs chasing a mere 8 point defecit Crusaders could smell blood and their pressure was rewarded with a kickable penalty, unfortunately Crusaders' kicker Theo Elliot was injured in the incident and a scrum was selected. A further penalty was awarded in front of Royston's posts and Robert Craig stepped up to convert and reduce the deficit to 5 points. An impressive team try followed with forwards and backs combining scored by Charlie Hawkins, drew the scores level and left Elliot only just returning to the pitch with a touch line conversion to win the game. The impressive fly half obliged much to the delight of the home fans. Biggest delight of the day for Crusaders who have a huge injury list was the perfomance of James Dack, the Hawkins brothers and Deano.