Following the withdrawal of BBOB from the Cup this was a hastily re-arranged fixture that saw Sutton Coldfield RFC kindly agree to travel to Waverley Road at short notice. Kettering knew they were in for a stern examination - Sutton being unbeaten for the last four seasons!

Straight from the kick off Sutton attacked at pace - keeping the ball in hand and showing some excellent support play. They threatened the Kettering 22 and only excellent defensive tackles from Jamie Redden and Chris Owen broke up their momentum giving Tasker Stables the chance to clear the danger with a raking clearance to touch. Both sides were now locked in a battle for possession with play going back and forth between each 10 metre line and no quarter given by either team.

Sutton were beginning to get the upper hand in the scrum but after 15 minutes Chris charged down a kick from the Sutton scrum half at the base of their scrum and the ricochet was collected nimbly by Alex King. Finding himself in open space Alex boulted for the Sutton line and looked to be heading for the first try when a superb last gasp tap tackle stopped him short. Kettering were unable to recycle the ball and from the resulting scrum Sutton were able to clear to touch.

The intensity of the game was starting to show and players from both sides required treatment. The half time whistle was getting close and Sutton launched another attack on the Kettering line - battering their way to within 5 metres - but Kettering's tackling was equally committed and there was no way through for the green wave. Both teams had been toe to toe - but at half-time it was stalemate.

H-T KETTERING 0 - SUTTON COLDFIELD 0

The second half saw replacements come on for both sides but if anything the standard of play improved as each team looked to find and exploit any weakness in the opposition defence. Sutton worked a good backs move to the Kettering 22 but excellent ripping in the tackle from Cameron Sharpe stole the ball and set up a Kettering counter attack. Strong tackling from Sutton stopped the move dead and resulted in a scrum for the away side. This time the Kettering forwards weren't to be denied and a great collective effort saw them win the ball against the head. Joe Izzard moved the ball along the line and Ed Drake-Lee timed his pass superbly to work Cameron into space on the left wing. The defence raced to cover but Cameron showed he had pace to spare as he beat the last man and streaked in from half way to score under the posts. Ed stepped up to convert and make the score 7-0 - at last the deadlock was broken,

Sutton responded superbly to the set back and unleashed several charging runs into the heart of the Kettering 22. The defence stood strong though with Tom Parkes epitomising the commitment shown by the whole team with an excellent tackle to chop down the rampaging Sutton no 8. The pressure from Sutton continued to mount though and from a quickly taken penalty they turned the Kettering defenders and the Sutton inside centre - a constant threat - smashed through 3 tackles to touch down in the corner. The try went unconverted and Sutton were back in the game - 7-5.

Sutton attacked from the kick-off but more excellent Kettering tackling saw a quick turnover by Jamie Redden passed on to Ed who kicked towards half way. Josh Owen followed up in a flash and when Sutton failed to gather the ball he nipped in and used his speed to race past the covering defenders - covering over half the pitch to score under the posts. Ed added the extra points and Kettering had stretched their lead again to 14-5.

But the game was far from finished! Sutton won a line out on the Kettering 22 and charged up to the Kettering line. The resulting scrum saw Sutton win the ball and crash through several tackles to score a try under the posts - which was duly converted. 14-12.

The scene was set for a titanic final few minutes as Sutton launched attack after attack on the Kettering line. It seemed only a matter of time before they would break through as they battered into the tiring defenders. But as the pressure increased so did Kettering's commitment in the tackle - as the players bravely put their bodies on the line and tackled themselves to a standstill. And finally to everyone's relief Kettering were given a penalty and as the clock ran down Ed kicked to touch - full time!

A game that neither team deserved to lose and a real credit to the skill and 100% commitment shown by both teams. Kettering should rightly be delighted with their playing performance and can be proud that every member of the squad showed exceptional attitude.

Many thanks to Sutton Coldfield for making the trip down the M6 and we look forward to the rematch later on in the season.