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Date :17/02/2007 : Venue : SXR
Kick off = 14:00pm

Pertemps Bees 25 Nuneaton 9

Pertemps Bees 25 Nuneaton 9
Pertemps Bees stumbled into the quarter-finals of the EDF Energy National Trophy with an error-strewn victory in this low-key Midlands derby at Sharmans Cross Road.
A final tally of three tries to nil may sound convincing enough, but the Bees were rarely at their fluent best and required two penalties from fly-half Jon Higgins and a late try from hard-working hooker Matt Miles to finally kill off the spirited resistance of their National Two visitors.
Nuneaton might have lacked the finishing power to seriously threaten the Bees line, but they gave the higher-ranked Bees a tough time in the scrums and stayed in contention until the three-quarter mark thanks to three penalties from former Coventry fly-half Gareth Cull.
Had Cull managed to find the target with an equalising penalty after 49 minutes the Bees might have been pushed even harder. Instead the miss concentrated Bees' thoughts on a possible embarrassing exit and they regained their focus and composure and secured a trip to Newbury in the quarter-finals on March 3.
“I told the players that they would not play that badly and win that often,” said Bees’ head coach Steve Williams.
“We started well but then made a lot of mistakes and when you do that you can suddenly decide to play well again.
“Nuneaton made it difficult for us but we showed a bit of character in finishing so strongly.”
Nuneaton more than held their own at the set pieces, despite having a tiny back row, but looked vulnerable whenever the Bees stretched them out wide.
Well-worked tries from Mark Gabey, after Nuneaton were shifted back 30 yards from a line out drive, then Matt Nuthall, after a lovely arcing run by Reece Spee, and a conversion from Higgins cancelled out Cull’s opening penalty.
But the Bees had a tendency to over-complicate their moves and to play too much rugby in their own half which allowed Cull to chip away at their lead by landing further penalties either side of the break.
But Cull pulled a further penalty attempt just left of the target and the Bees played a simpler, more effective game in the final quarter.
Higgins slotted two penalties in a decisive four minute spell, the second after Nuneaton had centre Tristan Prosser-Shaw sin-binned for killing the ball.
The Bees made their extra man advantage count when Mark Cornwell won possession at the back of a line-out, Will Matthews drove and popped a clever pass to Miles who used his strength and pace to clatter his way over for a try which Higgins improved.
It was simple and effective and it was enough to finally put some daylight between themselves and tenacious opponents.

PALM TO FACE NUNEATON (February 16 2007)
Pertemps Bees have recalled winger Kyle Palm for their EDF Energy National Trophy fifth round tie against Nuneaton at Sharmans Cross Road on Saturday February 17 (2pm).
Palm makes his first start in more than a month in place of Canadian international Brodie Henderson who was unable to train this week because he was away in Italy.
Palm will form a new wing partnership with Adam Billig who has recovered from the broken thumb he sustained in the league defeat at Nottingham on January 7. Matt Nuthall moves from the left wing to full-back to replace the cup-tied Jon Goodridge.
Jon Higgins replaces Rod Petty at fly-half in the other change to the back division. Higgins missed the defeat at Rotherham three weeks ago and was a replacement in the win against Plymouth Albion in Pertemps Bees' last outing a fortnight ago because of illness.
The pack has also been rejigged because loan signings Neil Fowkes and Rob Elloway are both cup-tied. Former Rotherham and Belfast Harlequins prop Brendan Lynch will start at tighthead with former England international prop Mark Linnett again coming out of retirement to provide cover from the bench.
Alex Davidson will partner Mark Gabey in the second row with skipper Mark Cornwell on the bench.
Mark George, who impressed when he came on as a replacement against Plymouth, will start at number eight with Leo Halavatau switching to the blindside flank. England sevens international flanker Will Matthews has recovered from a hamstring injury and will captain the side from the openside.

Pertemps Bees: 15 Matt Nuthall; 14 Kyle Palm, 13 Tristan Davies, 12 Simon Martin, 11 Adam Billig; 10 Jon Higgins, 9 Reece Spee; 1 Matt Long, 2 Matt Miles, 3 Brendan Lynch, 4 Mark Gabey, 5 Alex davidson, 6 Leo Halavatau, 7 Will Matthews (captain), 8 Mark George. Replacements: Mark Cornwell, Mark Linnett, Emyr Lewis, Akapusi Qera, Tom Rawlins, Rod Petty, Brodie Henderson.

BILLIG BACK FOR TROPHY GAME (February 9 2007)
Pertemps Bees winger Adam Billig will play his first game in a month in the EDF Energy National Trophy game against Nuneaton at Sharmans Cross Road on Saturday February 10 (2pm).
The former Leicester and Bristol player has been sidelined since he broke a thumb in the defeat at Nottingham on January 7.
But Billig has made a quicker-than-expected recovery from his injury and comes straight back into the starting line-up in a rejigged back division.
Matt Nuthall switches from the wing to full-back to accommodate Billig and to replace Jon Goodridge who is cup-tied for the Trophy having played for Gloucester in the EDF Energy Cup earlier in the season.
Pertemps Bees have yet to decide whether Rod Petty or Mike Baxter will start at scrum-half but Jon Higgins is back in the starting XV at fly-half having recovered from the virus that forced him to miss the defeat at Rotherham two weeks ago and restricted him to a role as a replacement against Plymouth Albion last week.
Former Rotherham and Belfast Harlequins prop Brendan Lynch is back in the starting XV in place of Neil Fowkes who is also cup-tied having played for Nottingham in their Trophy fourth round win at Sedgley Park.
Alex Davidson will start in the second row with skipper Mark Cornwell moving to the bench. Mark George will also have a start in the back-row but England sevens international Will Matthews is still unavailable because of continuing problems with a hamstring injury.
The Trophy game is still subject to a pitch inspection either later today or tomorrow morning.

Pertemps Bees: 15 Matt Nuthall; 14 Adam Billig, 13 Tristan Davies, 12 Simon Martin, 11 Brodie Henderson; 10 Jon Higgins, 9 Rod Petty or Mike Baxter; 1 Matt Long, 2 Matt Miles, 3 Brendan Lynch, 4 Alex davidson, 5 Mark Gabey, 6 Mark George, 7 Akapusi Qera, 8 Leo Halavatau. Replacements: Mark Cornwell, Emyr Lewis, Dean Miller, Tom Rawlins, Rod Petty or Mike Baxter, Kyle Palm, AN Other.

BILLIG SET FOR TROPHY RETURN (February 8 2007)
Pertemps Bees winger Adam Billig is set to return to action in the EDF Energy National Trophy game against Nuneaton at Sharmans Cross Road on Saturday February 10 (2pm).
Billig has not played since he fractured a thumb in the defeat at Nottingham on January 7 but he came through a full contact training session on Tuesday evening.
Billig's likely return will come as a timely boost to Pertemps Bees who will again be without full-back Jon Goodridge who is cup-tied having played for Gloucester against Bristol in the EDF Energy Cup in October.
Loan signings prop Neil Fowkes (Nottingham) and hooker Rob Elloway (Gloucester) will also sit out the Trophy tie because they are also cup-tied.
Fowkes' absence means that Brendan Lynch is likely to return to the front row with Emyr Lewis, who sat out last week's National One win over Plymouth Albion, returning to the replacements' bench to cover all three front row positions.
England sevens flanker Will Matthews is also expected to return to the side having missed the Plymouth game because of a hamstring problem.
Flanker Mark George, who impressed when he came on as a second half replacement against Plymouth, is in line for a start with Fijian international Akapusi Qera due to be given a well-earned rest after a busy season in which Pertemps Bees' players have not had a Saturday off since mid-August.

Team 15 Matt Nuthall 14 Kyle Palm 13 Tristan Davies 12 Simon Martin 11 Adam Billig 10 Jon Higgins 9 Reece Spee 1 Matt Long 2 Matt Miles 3 Brendan Lynch 4 Mark Gabey 5 Alex davidson 6 Leo Halavatau 7 Will Matthews (captain) 8 Mark George	Replacements Mark Cornwell Mark Linnett Emyr Lewis Akapusi Qera Tom Rawlins Rod Petty Brodie Henderson