Sedgley Park...26pts

Rosslyn Park...19pts

SEDGLEY led this game 26-0 at half time after 40 minutes' blissful rugby. The second half was much the same, except it was the visitors turn to be playing superbly.

A casual observer might have thought the teams had swapped shirts at the interval.

The game began at a breakneck pace and this was to be maintained to the final whistle.

Rosslyn full-back Andy Maddock made a clean break to set up the first scoring chance, which was not taken.

A similar effort from Sedgley's Mike Wilcock also went unrewarded.

After 15 minutes Sedgley did score, Wilcock making the opening again, and this time good ball retention through several phases created an overlap on the right, where Tim Fourie held up the defensive drift for Ross Bullough to score. Colin Stephens converted.

It was end to end stuff, though at this stage Rosslyn were kicking away possession, to the delight of the home side who looked very sharp and full of running.

A solid Sedgley scrum on the Rosslyn 22 set up the next try. With the back row tied in, and the outside backs looking for Wilcock's intrusion, scrum-half Dave McCormack raced unopposed to the posts. Once again Stephens converted.

Break

A break by centre Jon Scales was the prelude to another wonderful passage of play by Sedgley; Bullough beat two men but just failed to get in at the corner for what would have been a wonderful team try.

Even better was to follow. Rosslyn kicked away possession and the ball flowed through fourteen pairs of hands and seven rucks before Wilcock stepped out of a couple of tackles to score a superb try. Again, Stephens converted.

With a good forward platform, props Rod Latham and Huw Thomas going strongly in the scrums, Paul Rees and Paul Arnold doing well in the line-outs, Sedgley had plenty of possession to work with.

Rosslyn Park were having little joy, but now they mounted a good and sustained attack which resulted in a try.

Sadly for them the scorer was the pacy McCormack who had intercepted and sprinted 70 metres for what turned out to be Sedgley's final score.

The first half had been so one-sided that what followed was almost unbelievable. Rosslyn Park now had nearly all the possession and this time they kept the ball in hand, with eager runners in support of creative little stand-off Stuart Hibbert.

Sedgley began to miss tackles, looking particularly vulnerable down the middle.

The first try still came as a surprise, a simple scissors in midfield putting wing John Allen clean through from near half way.

The alarm bells were ringing for Sedgley when the Rosslyn pack mounted an immense drive which the home forwards did well to hold.

The ball was moved wide and Alun Peacock made the try-saving tackle, but relief was only temporary. With Rosslyn continuing to dominate possession and playing well, the pressure mounted until Allen scored his second try, converted by Hibbert.

Sedgley seemed unable to keep hold of the ball and unable to break out of their own half. Thankfully, they had the cushion of points from that brilliant first period, and they needed it as Allen scored his third try, once again converted by Hibbert.

In the few minutes that remained, a Stephens clearance kick was charged down and Sedgley's bacon was saved by lock Paul Arnold who fell on the loose ball under the posts.

Even so, Rosslyn Park were on the attack when the final whistle ended a breathless and exciting encounter.

SEDGLEY PARK: Wilcock; Bullough, Peacock, Scales, Morris (Jennings); Stephens, McCormack; Latham (Roberts), Treco (Keyes), Thomas; Arnold, Rees; Senior, Yates (Grainey), Fourie.

There is no league game this Saturday, but Sedgley Park travel to Rochdale on Sunday in the quarter-final of the Lancashire Cup.

Battle of the Parks is breathless encounter

Alun Peacock's try-saving tackle helped Sedgley Park top a thrilling victory over Rosslyn Park