Spartans 18, Pinley 0.

Old friends Pinley visited Coppice Lane for the latest episode of Men In Black as the wet and windy weather continued to influence proceedings, and with a traditional Pinley side expressing their cultural values early in the first half, Spartans were forced into trench warfare for eighty minutes. Early exchanges were pretty even as both sides tested each other out and a strange combination of Pinley dominating the loose play but the black forwards standing firm in the tight play meant a stalemate for the first quarter. On twenty minutes Spartans broke the deadlock with a try out wide on the right, and a tricky conversion added the extras. As the tussle of the muscle up front continued the game was stuck in the centre of the field and a tense atmosphere was regularly punctuated by the sound of the ref's whistle. With neither side prepared to yield the contest became fascinating as both searched for any advantage, but there was none coming until shortly before half time when Spartans surprised all and sundry by taking a Pinley scrum and racing down the blind side for a nice try and a twelve point half time lead.

Pinley began the second half in determined fashion and camped in Spartans 22 for the first fifteen minutes, and it was a case of everyone manning the barricades as Pinley powered forward time and time again. Strong and sometimes suicidal tackling from the Men In Black somehow kept Pinley out, and eventually frustration took over with a penalty allowing Spartans to clear their lines. A rare trip into the visitors half saw Tom Hardy split the sticks from yet another penalty to stretch the lead, but back came Pinley and again The Blackness were forced into defensive duties for lengthy periods. The home side stuck to their task with relish and gradually crept away from danger, with Tom Hardy delivering the Coup de Grace with a final penalty bisecting the uprights to put the game beyond doubt and secure a paradoxically ugly win but a beautiful result.

This week Spartans travel to Dunlop Coventry for their final game of 2015 hoping for an improvement in the weather to allow for some free flowing rugby.