England Saxons battle for victory

The Irish Wolfhounds won the try count (three to two) against the England Saxons but lost the match 23-17 at Sandy Park in Exeter on Sunday.

The Saxons have much to thank their forwards for in this match.

The forwards set up the first try. A penalty became a line-out and the line-out became a maul. Paul Doran-Jones burst away and then, with lock George Robson holding Isaac Boss back, new man Ben Spencer darted over for a try.

Burly Leicester No.8 Thomas Waldrom grabbed a ball bouncing off Nevin Spence and bustled over for a try, and afterwards replacement scrumhalf Tomas O’Leary scored for the Wolfhounds to keep the match alive.

However, Gloucester’s Freddie Burns kicked two penalties to keep his team’s noses in front before Simon Zebo scored a late try for the visitors to make it a six-point match.

The scorers:

For the England Saxons:
Tries: Spencer, Waldrom
Cons: Burns 2
Pens: Burns 3

For the Irish Wolfhounds:
Tries: Kearney, O’Leary, Zebo
Con: Madigan

The teams:

England Saxons: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Ugo Monye, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Andy Saull, 6 James Gaskell (captain), 5 George Robson, 4 Matt Garvey, 3 Paul Doran-Jones, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Chris Brooker, 17 Rupert Harden, 18 Kearnan Myall, 19 Tom Johnson, 20 Paul Hodgson, 21 Ryan Lamb, 22 Jonny May.

Ireland Wolfhounds: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 David Kearney, 13 Eoin O’Malley, 12 Nevin Spence, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Rhys Ruddock, 7 Chris Henry (captain), 6 John Muldoon, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Dan Tuohy, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Devin Toner, 19 Kevin McLaughlin, 20 Tomas O’Leary (Dolphin), 21 Ian Madigan, 22 Denis Hurley.

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)