Bonus point win just reward for solid performance against a useful Sandbach side

Quietly but steadily, the Bees have become a very cohesive and effective unit and this was very much in evidence as they notched up an impressive 22-39 victory at Sandbach this weekend.

The win – the fourth in succession – took the Bees up to fourth place in the league and, significantly, saw the men from Portway secure their first bonus point of the season.

The Cheshire side had the slope to their advantage in the first half and got themselves on the scoreboard within 3 minutes courtesy of a try from prop forward Jake Percival, with the touchline conversion deftly put over the posts by fly half Benny Elliot.

Despite this early set back, patient play soon earned the Bees a penalty, which Jack Jolly duly slotted – the first instalment of an assured kicking display from tee and boot from the Bees’ scrum half.

An injury to centre Mikey Whettell meant that some reshuffling in the backline was required, with Charlie Mumford coming off the bench to play at scrum half and Jolly moving to 10. Mumford was soon to make an impact, with a fine break creating an opportunity for Ben Phillips in the centre. The youngster used his pace and strength (two words never associated with his father’s style of play, back in the day) to score his first of two tries on the 20-minute mark.

The Bees further extended their lead just 7 minutes later, with Jolly spotting a gap in the Sandbach defence after some good work from lock Andrew Weaver and full back Chris Fensome. The stand in stand-off also duly added his second conversion to open up a 7-17 lead.

An Elliott penalty cut the lead to 7 points as Sandbach continued to keep the Bees pinned inside their half. However, good defensive organisation and a certain degree of profligacy in ball retention meant that the home side were unable to narrow the deficit further before the break.

The beginning of the second half showed no let-up in intensity from either of the evenly matched sides and parity in the scoreline was achieved six minutes in thanks to a well taken try by winger Billy Seddon, after an incisive break from centre Jack Leech; Elliot added the regulation extras.

This, combined with a yellow card for Bees’ No.8 Danny Wright for a high tackle, could have been the launch pad for a Sandbach counter-offensive. However, thanks to the resilience and composure of this maturing Bees side, no points were conceded in this period and indeed a Jolly penalty put the visitors’ noses just in front.

With Wright restored and replacement Mat Spink also on the field to give the tireless Ashley Scriven a breather, the Bees had the look of a side wanting to put this game beyond the reach of their hosts.

Good build up in the phases and the impact of Spink soon created space for Mumford to show his pace and guile to add a third try under the sticks. This was soon followed by the all-important bonus point score from Phillips, again successfully converted by Jolly.

Sandbach – an impressive outfit on many levels (not least in their catering division) - to their credit never gave up the chase as they threw the proverbial kitchen sink at an unyielding Bees defence. Their endeavours were eventually rewarded when Leech won the race to the line from a well-weighed kick through from his fly half.

Fittingly it was the Bees who would have the final word, with Spink crashing over at near range to complete a highly satisfactory afternoon’s work with the final score line at 22-39.

The bonus point win puts the Bees into fourth place in the league, 13 points adrift of Sheffield in top spot. The Bees will have the opportunity to chip away at that lead this coming Saturday (10th December) when they welcome the league leaders to Portway (KO 2.15pm).

Birmingham & Solihull Bees: - (1) Pete Koziot (2) Zane Raimondi (T) (3) Kurtis Payne (4) Andrew Weaver (5) Chris Goddard (© 6) Ashley Scriven (7) Michael Stephens (8) Danny Wright (YC) (9) Jack Jolly (T, 4C, 2P) (10) Ben Phillips (2T) (11) Dan Barratt (T) (12) Jimmy Oliver (13) Mikey Whettell (14) Jevon Hinds (15) Chris Fensome. Replacements: - (16) Charlie Mumford (T) (17) Matt Spink (T) (18) Dan Toth.