Sandal travelled well for their furthest away fixture of the year taking a nearly full squad of 19. In a traditionally difficult fixture to fulfil, this shows the both the depth and the willingness in the current 2nd team squad.
With 5 front rowers in the starting pack, the breakfast on the way up went down a treat! We were met with a large Alnwick side, both physically and in number and a physical encounter ensued.
Sandal made the better start, dominating the first scrum, solid at every line out and controlled territory. Eventual an element of good fortune led the first try with Fawcett picking up ‘bounce pass’ to slice through the line and round the full back.
As is the way with this fixture and certainly in the first half, Alnwick powered back into the game and hit back on every occasion.
Both sides exchanged tries, with West running a great support line from Powell and Banks picking up a loose pass Sandal led at 1/2 time 21-17. This was a much deserved lead at the break but still with plenty of work to do.
Unfortunately for Sandal, the physical challenge Alnwick brought the game really challenged us, and having no forward substitutes on the bench didn’t help the cause. At times in the 2nd half there were 2 wingers and a centre in the back row. Full credit to roper, shaw and atkinson for stepping up into these positions and they defended brilliantly out of position!
The attack in the 2nd half however was relentless as alnwick consistently carried over the gainline and won the physical battle.
A number of quick tries turned the score line as the game threatened to blow out completely. To sandal’s credit, a number of alnwick tries came from 10+ phases and eventually a mistake gave Sandal breather. A brilliant Fawcett break provided some much needed territory and this was rewarded with Powell crash in over the line. The final try of the game came in similar circumstance with Adams scoring from close range.
Sandals heads can certainly be held high as the performance was extremely spirited. The line out was excellent and a couple of individual performances really stood out, Lambert and Fawcett in particular.

Tries: Fawcett West Banks Powell Adams
Conversations: Vickers x 3
Mom: Vickers
Final Score Alnwick 50 Sandal 31
Many thanks JRD