Ashfield hit back to see off Boston after poor opening

The game started with a few mistakes by both teams and Ashfield gave away some soft penalties which Boston converted giving them a 6-0 lead.

After losing fly half Manning to a yellow card Ashfield seemed to spark into life with strong carries through Houseman and good support play from Rees, linking both backs and forwards which released Ducker to crash over in the corner. However, the conversion was missed.

Ashfield had dragged themselves back into the game and started to dominate both with the ball and a good kicking field game.

The pressure told and the second try came just before half-time with Heald crashing over.

The second half started in cold,windy conditions which started to effect the game.

But Ashfield maintained sustained pressure with good control short balls and powerful runs from Brearley, Newbutt and Chapman.

With the conditions the ball became like a ball of soap which made the rucks and set piece vital with a man of the match performance from Houseman who sealed the win by crashing over the line for the final score.

Ashfield seconds produced a hugely encouraging performance for the future in a 12-0 defeat by Long Eaton's second team.

The result was a big achievement for Ashfield with two academy coaches and no less than seven academy lads making their debuts in senior rugby, underlining that the hard work Paul Hodson and his coaches are putting in is paying off.