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11th March 2010
RUGBY ROUND UP with Keith JenkinANOTHER round of league games took place on Saturday last and my choice of venue was considerable. I decided to go to Honiton; feeling that there was little chance of being chewed by an irascible nag at the Allhallows ground. On my arrival I met up with several of the Honiton second team players and discovered that their fixture had fallen by the wayside. WEYMOUTH, having comfortably defeated these opponents on the road a few weeks ago, possibly took this game a little lightly. Whether they did so or not, they almost paid the penalty as their opponents took the lead after some 15 minutes’ play with a converted try and were marginally the better side for the remainder of the first-half. The home side were always in the contest however, with skipper Sample going well in the back row and Hughes, fresh back from an injury, providing solidity from full-back. They reduced the deficit via the boot of Peplow, who kicked a penalty goal late in the half, but still trailed 7-3 at the halfway stage. Westbury do generally produce a useful pack but, additionally their half backs had made use of their possession won for them and had used it to gain territory, but the home side began to match them in the second period through a series of drives and, after they had kicked a penalty award to the corner, they won the ensuing lineout and skipper Mark Sample drove over for a try that, although it remained unconverted, took them into a narrow lead at 8-7. Although far from being as cohesive as they would have liked, Weymouth now began to exert pressure, with number eight, Julian Quick being at the heart of most things good about their rugby. Their reward came a few minutes before the final whistle when outside centre Lewendon touched down an unconverted try that took them out of penalty goal range at 13-7. The visitors were far from out of the contest however but, at the last, Peplow, whose kicking from tee had not been up to its usual standard, slotted a penalty goal to complete the scoring and to take them clear. This win, hard earned though it was, takes Weymouth into the runners up spot of the Dorset & Wilts League Division One (South) with four games left to be played. Seemingly, of the challenging sides, they were the only ones to win but, even so, they face an almost impossible task in trying to catch Bridport, the side above them. THE Weymouth second side would have ended the day a little frustrated to have allowed this one to get away. They were the better side for an hour and led 23-19 with fifteen minutes to go, having scored tries through Nathan Allen, Andy Thorne, Ricky Randall and Adam Darcy, who also kicked a penalty goal. They fell away a little in the final quarter however and a couple of home tries, both converted, took their opponents to the win. DORCHESTER'S contribution to this game against the league leaders had something of the NAAFI sandwich about it, in as much that, while starting positively and rallying well at the end, they contributed little in the middle and lost comfortably. They started brightly enough, putting pressure on Frome’s set piece and, in fact, took the lead via an Adam Jones penalty goal. A lapse in their defence at the restart however allowed their opponents to run in an unconverted try and the score remained unaltered at 3-5 until well into the second quarter. At this juncture Frome took control, scoring three tries in quick succession and, although Dorchester replied with a likewise unconverted effort by Matt Read, they still trailed by 20-8 at the halfway stage. Frome began the second period as they had ended the first, scoring three more tries and converting two of them to put the result beyond doubt. At this stage it looked as if the floodgates might open in a big way but credit to Dorchester for they stemmed the tide and did some attacking of their own in the final quarter. They got a try back too. Flanker Miller scored it and Jones added the extras, but it was all to no avail and they ended the day well beaten. HAD Bridport won this one, they would have been crowned champions of the Dorset & Wilts League Division One (South) and would have been assured of a Southern Counties League (South) place next season. They were however, beaten by a useful home side, and displayed a certain naivety along the way. It was a hard, unremitting contest, especially in the first half, with the sides cancelling themselves out for long periods. It was Bridport who took an early lead when full-back Wes Lewis landed a penalty goal, but the home side replied almost immediately with an unconverted try and led 5-3 before the game was ten minutes old. Thereafter stalemate ensued for a space until, just before the interval, Idris Croft the Bridport centre took the ball from set piece possession on the home twenty two, ran into a gap and had the legs to get over under the posts. Lewis added the extras to give his side a 10-5 lead at the halfway stage. At this juncture all seemed set fair for the visitors. The home side showed signs of tiring, They themselves were beginning to play well and they did, of course, hold a narrow lead. All did no go to plan in the second-half however. Bridport began to concede penalties and Swanage & Wareham kicked one to reduce the arrears after just a couple of minutes. ewis did kick a penalty on the hour, but this was cancelled out immediately by a similar home effort. Their penalty count was rising too and both Stewart and Phillips saw yellow, the former for persistent offending and the latter for a trip, before the end. Some ten minutes from no side, and with the score standing at 13-11 in their opponents’ favour, the Swanage & Wareham eight won a lineout in the Bridport twenty two and set up a rolling maul. They rolled it over the line for the try that, although it remained unconverted, was enough to take them to the win, thus deferring Bridport’s celebrations for another week at least. Note:- With three games left to play, Bridport lead the division by eight points from Weymouth who have a game in hand. Bridport do have a massively superior points differential and therefore, even if they lose all three games and Weymouth win all theirs, the Brewery Field side are extremely unlikely to be caught. THE home side included half a dozen colts in their lineup and their inexperience showed, certainly in the first-half, with the visitors scoring three tries, one of which they converted, during the opening half-hour of play. Bridport did get a score back just before the break, a penalty goal kicked by Swatridge, but still trailed 3-17 at the half way stage. The home side rang the changes at the interval and played better thereafter. Frampton got over for a try to cut the lead and Swatridge converted it for good measure. He kicked a penalty goal with ten minutes left, and this effort brought his side to within a score. They could do no more and the visitors held on for the win to which, in all probability, their first-half performance had entitled them. Bridport however, will have been satisfied with the way they played in the second-half after their long layoff. .ff | |||||||||||||||
