3TM are starting to purr

Billingham 3TM took the short trip to Acklam to play a club we have done many times in the past however it was not the hustlers we were to be facing off against as in previous league campaigns but the bigger challenge of the Talbots.
After the previous weeks convincing 10 Try win over Last years social league champs Middlesbrough confidence was high and everyone wanted a piece of the 3TM pie meaning another big squad of 22 - Jonny Durnion was a late withdrawal with bruised ribs however he took the mantle of coach on the day to effectively manage the subs and keep the legs fresh.

The 1st few mates was a bit of a stalemate with both squads sizing each other up however it was the 3TM who were 1st to strike. Some extended pressure in the Acklam 22 lead to a number of phases and great Ball retention. eventually it came to Luke Bain with a pick and go to dot down. with the conversion missed 5 - 0 Billingham.

This seemed to build the confidence and further pressure lead to an Acklam clearing kick shortly after the restart, the kick however found it's way to Bain again playing as full back. From the side-line we wondered what he was doing as he walked towards the upcoming defenders but with a quick step he was of and around the cover wide right to race in from half way, conversion again missed 10 - 0.

At this point I'm not sure if Acklam were determined to fight back or if we were sitting back but 3 quick Acklam tries, all from their wide left position and all converted meant they took a 21 - 10 lead.

This is where the replacements started to take effect- freshening things up and giving us back the go forward. A period of sustained drives from the forwards saw Phil Surtees go over only to be ruled out for being held up over the line. From the resulting 5 metre scrum, No.8 Thumber Shaun Daniels showed his power fending off 4 defenders to go over under the posts with Josh Armstrong slotting the extras 21 - 17.

With the half coming to a close the forwards again gained good ground in the Acklam 22, from a ruck our Livewire 9 Nic Winstanley saw the gap between 2 defenders to go over, again under the posts. With Josh again kicking the 2 it took us to half time with a slender 21 - 24 lead.

Into the 2nd half and now with the sun and wind at our backs it wasn't long before we started again - This time it was Josh Armstrong scoring with his hands as he stepped inside 2 defenders to dot down missing his conversion 21 - 29 and a little bit of daylight back.

Next up it was back to the lively 9 Nic Winstanley to weave through and under the posts for his brace with Josh again converting, 21 - 36.

the next 15 minutes of the game went to Acklam, with some great ball retention, helped by the only spell of Billingham Indiscipline meant we were facing some extended pressure which eventually told with the home team scoring an unconverted try 26 - 36.

Any thought of an Acklam come back was quickly snuffed out by probably with the best try of the game, a series of rucks had drawn in the Acklam defence until the backs were then released to the right, with the ball flying through the hands it found it's way to Joe Halliday on the wing and it was a footrace with the defence to the line, A dive from the fleet footed Joe saw him dot down in the corner before being tackled into touch conversion missed 26 - 43.

Into the last 10 minutes and we could have been forgiven for taking our foot off the gas - not today, there was more to be had - the final score again came from great work with the forwards setting the platform, the ball moved quickly found Ben Elgie hitting a great line at pace with a flat pass to go in under the posts. with Josh having the final say with the extra 2 for a final score 26 - 48.

The report sounds like a great attacking display however it was much more than that, it was a victory based on heart, every player gave 110% both in defence and attack - the talk was great and we played smart. The scrum and line out were dominant and turnovers were plentiful. Credit goes to Acklam, they played their full part in a fantastic entertaining game and both sets of lads will be feeling it in the morning but it is days like this why we made the decision the move up - even had we lost the game we would have come away enjoying it more than putting an easy 100 points on other teams - so, where do we go, with the 1st game of the season fading, as a squad we are truly starting to believe that we can beat anyone in the league, that includes the return fixture against Stockton - people would say top 6 for a successful season - I feel based on the last 2 weeks, if we keep going top 3 has to be a goal - let's just see what we can do - watch this space.

3,3,3TM