Newbury Blues 7 Esher 56
BLUES’ patched-up side was pulled apart as runaway National League One leaders Esher ran away with Saturday’s game at Monks Lane to take their points tally past the 100 mark against Newbury this season.
The previous 50-point battering in Surrey was against a Newbury side devastated by injuries in the opening 15 minutes. This time, Blues’ side was shorn before the start with coach Ben Sturnham naming his last 20 fit players.
Ironically, it was an injury to Esher prop Joe Marler that caused referee Richard Kelly to call an early halt with more than 10 minutes still to play.
Marler was involved in an accidental clash with Newbury flanker Jack Bentall and was knocked unconscious. The club’s medical staff were quickly on the scene but could not move the player until the ambulance arrived.
The damage to Marler and Blues had already been done however, and with Blues having lost Tom Fidler and Scott Witcomb to injury, the early finish may have been opportune.
Esher had already underlined the gap between the division’s best team and the rest by running home eight tries. They put the first on the board after only two minutes, catching and driving before scrum half Garrick Cowley touched down.
Another catch and drive was opened out before David Slemen and Seb Jewell paved the way for Sam Ulph to score wide out, although the distance and angle made no difference to Ulph’s kicking as he pocketed the second of his perfect eight conversions on the day.
Numbers three and four came either side of a highlight for Newbury, Mitch Burton and Martin Freeman making ground before Jack Avery spread play wide for Finlay Coxon Smith to score.
But Marler had barged through from way out to score and Jewell brought up Esher’s bonus point inside 23 minutes before Cowley and Slemen combined perfectly to skip through the Newbury ranks with Slemen claiming the fifth Esher try before the interval.
A more disjointed second period proved that Esher’s high-flying status is not solely down to inventive rugby as they showed that they could mix it up off the ball as well. Marler dished out a fair bit and Esher’s Neil Hallett was sin-binned along with Newbury’s Dan Hodge.
Freeman produced a couple of moments to lift Newbury supporters but the scoring was all Esher’s with Slemen cleverly picking out Jewell to send him over for his second try and Marler also bagging his second after trying down Sam Katz in his own 22.
Superb close-range handling led to number eight Shawn Renwick going through for the final score with a quarter-of-an hour to go, but only five more minutes were played before the premature end.
Esher officials had been reluctant to start the game on a partially frozen pitch, but nobody was reluctant to see it finish
Newbury: Perry; Ridgers, Freeman, Katz, Coxon-Smith; Burton, Avery; Moss, McGrath, Fidler; Hodge, Ascroft-Leigh; Perkins, Bentall, Witcomb. Subs: Oliver, Widdop, Cannock, G. Turner, Bevan.
Esher: Hallett; Ulph, Taylor, Jewell, Copsey; Slemen, Cowley; Marler, Corrigan, Warren; Barker, Anderson. Starling, Stitcher, Renwick. Subs: Campbell, R. Turner, Tunnicliff, Baumberg, Gibbs.
NEWBURY’S Matt Humphries scored on of England Students’ two tries before they went down 21-18 to Portugal’s national side in Lisbon. Blues’ registered fly half Paul Roberts kicked a conversion and two penalties.