Stanley Rodillians 9 pts – OORUFC 7 pts
‘Ensians travelled to Rodillians knowing
that although their opponents languished
at the foot of the table, they had put in decent performances on occasions
over the
past couple of months. The visitors started off well enough with the slope
and a gale-
force wind at their backs, but the single converted try they scored in the
first half was
nowhere near enough to hold out a side hungry for their first win with the
elements in
their favour.
Playing downhill, ‘Ensians soon established themselves in their opponents’
half. Ball
from the scrums and lineouts was untidy, but half backs Rob Lofthouse and
Kristian
Keinhorst got their backs moving and centres Nathan Rogers and Ali
Campbell
made good ground down the middle. Young winger Luke Cowdell showed his
power
down the left flank and when play moved across field, he was there to link
up and cut
through in style for a try near the posts with Keinhorst converting for a
7 –0 lead on
17 minutes.
Rods’ sizeable pack developed an effective pick-and-drive response up the
slope
and ‘Ensians struggled to get clean ball from the scrums. Although the
visitors
launched some promising moves, either the home defence held or hurried
passes
went astray. Kickable penalties were turned down for line kicks to gain
position, but
scrappy possession and slow ball gave time for the home defence to
re-group.
At the break with a slender 7 point advantage, the visitors knew that they
had to
make full use of limited possession to maintain their advantage. Using the
wind and
the slope, Rodillians camped in the visitors half for long periods, but
strong tackling
from the ‘Ensians back row of Sam Featherstone, Rob Arbuckle and Tom Dyson
kept
the line clear.
The visitors mounted several promising attacks up the slope with Rogers
and
Cowdell testing the defence. Arbuckle made a good break up the right
flank, but
his pass to the support was knocked on and the opportunity was lost. The
hosts
converted a penalty on 55 minutes to move the score to 7 – 3 and Keinhorst
narrowly
failed with one against the wind.
The game was now becoming increasingly disorganised and the visitors
struggled
to try and make something of scrappy possession. Rods landed another
penalty on
70 minutes to narrow the score to 7 – 6. ‘Ensians forwards put in some
good drives
with locks Matt Taylor and Lee O’Donnell and flanker Tom Dyson to the
fore, but
turnovers saw the ball booted 60 yards back downfield.
Centres Cowdell and Rogers put together some promising moves, but fierce
home
defence saw they came to nothing. With the final whistle approaching, the
visitors
conceded a penalty 45 yards out towards the touchline and the Rodillians’
trusty
kicker stepped up to put his side in the lead at 9 – 7 on 75 minutes.
This remained the final score to the relief of the home supporters and the
extreme
disappointment of the visitors. ’Ensians had only themselves to blame in
not building
up a bigger margin when the elements were in their favour and then by
allowing
themselves to be drawn into a scrappy error-strewn second half where
teamwork and communication were sadly lacking.
OORUFC 2ndXV 19 pts –Huddersfield YMCA 3rdXV 14 pts
Click the Pic for more
photos!
‘Ensians 2nd XV retained their place at the
top of their Merit League with a 19 – 14
win over Huddersfield YMCA 3rds.
|