Leicestershire are through to the final of the County Championship Shield at Twickenham after defeating Cumbria 23-18.
They will face old rivals Surrey, who beat County in the final two years ago, in Sunday’s showdown at rugby HQ.
It is the third time in five years that Leicestershire have reached the final, finishing runners-up on both previous occasions, while Surrey are aiming for their third straight victory.
In Saturday’s semi-final against Cumbria, at Aspatria RUFC, three tries gave Leicestershire a solid foundation.
However, they were forced to hold off a late fightback from the Cumbrians before clinching the win.
Playing on a dry, firm pitch in heavy winds in the north-east, Leicestershire set the tone early on.
The forwards made a statement in the scrum and driving maul, establishing the platform to retain possession and tire out the Cumbrian tacklers.
An early catch-and-drive resulted in a try for Matt Fearn, but Ricky Aley’s conversion attempt was caught in the strong wind.
Leicestershire repeated the feat later in the half, with Josh McLaurin the beneficiary.
From a similar position, the conversion was again missed.
Cumbria struck back with a try out wide after capitalising on an overlap, and they would have scored a second but for an outstanding cover tackle from No.8 Chris Bale, who dislodged the ball in the act of scoring to force a turnover.
Aley kicked a 40-metre penalty on the stroke of half-time to give County an eight-point cushion at the interval.
In the second period, a Cumbrian penalty was cancelled out by prop Dave Peck, who capped off a dominant scrum with a try from close range.
Aley nailed the conversion to take County 12 points clear.
Leicestershire showed outstanding patience and discipline to retain the ball for 25 phases as they attempted to kill off the game, but substitutions for Cumbria initiated a rise in the tempo of the match.
Following another penalty for Aley, which created a 15-point buffer, Cumbria hit back from the kick-off. A try close to the fringes and a penalty in front of the posts brought Cumbria to within a converted try of taking the lead.
Although the momentum was with Cumbria in the final minutes, Leicestershire managed to hold on and close the game out 23-18.
The ball-carrying ability of the forwards, coupled with their dominance at the set-piece, provided the platform for Leicestershire’s victory, and the pack will need to be on top form again this weekend.
Kick-off on Saturday is at 5.0, after England v Barbarians.
Article source: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/11159781.RUGBY_LEAGUE_Oxford_storm_to_easy_victory_after_second_half_spree/
Rugby union: Leicestershire will chase Shield glory in Twickenham final
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