Local Friendly

Ionians travelled to local rivals for the first game of the New Year. Pitch conditions were heavy, but the game was played in decent weather conditions.

Hullensians kicked off and put Ionians under some initial pressure, good tackling and kicking from defence kept the home side at bay. 5 minutes into the game and a break from full back Adam Myers gave Ionians the opportunity to venture into their opponents half. From recycled play the ball came to Charlie Kirk, who ran down the blind side, who though well tackled, was able to slip a pass to Charlie Cade, returning from injury, to score in the corner. 5 to 0 in favour of Ionians, though the conversion was missed from a difficult angle.

Robust play in the middle of the park from both teams, was enjoyed by the large crowd, drives from Ionians forwards, saw good work from Will Robinson, Marshall and the flankers. From a set play, a kick over the top by stand off Charlie Kirk, pushed Ionians forward, and a few phases later, Will Robinson was able to cross over the line. Conversion scored by Charlie Kirk, 12 to 0 after 12 minutes.

From the base created by the forwards, Ionians started to play the ball more through the new backs formation. Kirk kicked across field and the ball was beautifully picked up by Toms, and as the defence came across, inside centre James Malcolmson received the ball from Toms to score. 17 to 0. Malcolmson broke again, and found Myers on his shoulder, he ran with the ball and passed inside, to where the captain was well tackled, the ball went to the left, and though the final pass went behind the wing, Ghost was able to retrieve the ball and live up to his name as he glided through the defence to score near the posts. Conversion made 22 to 0.

The final try of the half was scored through the forwards, Harvey was making progress in the scrums, winning ball against the head, and Will Robinson was on hand after a series of passing and picking, to score his second try of the game. 29 to 0 at half time

The second half, saw numerous changes, enabling all team members to get on the pitch. Initial attacks from Hullensians were stopped by committed tackling, and while Ionians progressed up field, occasional dropped balls, as well as good tackling from the home side saw their attacks stifled. Sam Blyth on the wing caught a good ball and ran hard at the defence, the forwards continued to win ball, though the game became a little scrappy.

The final play of the game saw the final try of the match, having created space on the left and recycled, the ball was switched to the right and passed through hands to enable full back Joe Walker to join the line and crash over near the posts, conversion made. 36 to 0 Final Score

Try Scorers
Charlie Cade, Will Robinson 2, James Malcolmson, Joe Walker, Paul Evison

Conversions
Charlie Kirk, Adam Myers 2

Man of Match
Will Robinson