Heroic effort burns out.

The hottest day in October since records began saw stand in Cpt Phil Parker and his 11 men face a seemingly insurmountable challenge when Oswestry 2s turned out with a full bench and the temperature hit 30◦. It was therefore no surprise when Oswestry scored from the kick off by passing wide and offloading in contact for the first points of the day 0-5. This did not dishearten Bedians if anything it spurred them on as an expertly placed restart by Rothwell bounced into the arms of a charging Parker at7/13 set the ball well with Hargreaves, G Thomas at11/15 and new signing Dan Mollit on hand for support.

Oswestry piled on the pressure but were repelled at the ensuing rucks and driven back by sustained mauls and solid team effort. Slow ball was delivered by the forwards for Rothwell at 9/10 who dug the ball out and sniped an extra 5 yards. Frustration over took Oswestry as this clever play saw Bedians recycle well and break the visitors 22 and with momentum on our side all they could do to keep the forwards from scoring was dive over and kill the ball, penalty Bedians 3-5.

A superb catch by Hargreaves who under pressure from a charging pack turned and set a maul but with players missing this gave Bedians no option but to set the ball and kick deep. This was just what Oswestry were waiting for 3-12. Still buoyant Bedians played well with ball in hand and looked the better team for long periods with new boys Richie Swails, Tim Brett and Pat Willis combining well but missing cover and half tackles from rusty players mixed with acres of space the Oswestry backs ran in 3 more before half time 26-3.

The second half went much the same as the first with Bedians looking likely to score when they had the ball and Oswestry doing so when they had it. Bedians did however gain another player at the break when Campbell arrived and his fresh legs made an instant impact as his strong running saw new boy Mollit score on debut after a period of sustained pressure in the shadow of the Oswestry post’s 38-8. The conversion was stroked between the posts with ease by the trusty old boot of Parker 38-10.

Bedians were now very tired indeed and legs were getting heavy when Rothwell went down with a thigh strain that forced him off, and with Parker now at 10 Bedians forwards saw plenty of ball with new signing San Griffiths carrying and supporting exceptionally well, but as before Bedians were forced to kick deep as they ran out of options. Oswestry drew the defenders in and despite Bedians best efforts span the ball wide where Bedians sadly had no cover 45-10.

With 10 mins to go Bedians were eager to hear the final whistle but Rothwell returning to the fray had given them a much needed lift, when an interception and 15 yard break from inside the home 22 by Tarling saw Bedians mount an almost unstoppable phase of play with a brilliant team effort ending with a well taken try in the corner from debutant Will Evans 45-15.

This just angered the Oswestry forwards who caught, set, and drove Bedians pack backwards for the first time in the game. This maul was expertly stopped 10 yards short of the home 22 by a well-practised back row move from Parker and Tarling but as before Oswestry secured the ball and passed wide to cross the line in the corner 52-15.

When asked to comment after the game Cpt Phil Parker said “I can only praise and respect the efforts of the new and returning players who before today had mostly never met, they all stood strong in true Bedians style and laid a marker down for future selection’’.