The Hurricanes Recover from Horror Start
Sandown & Shanklin RFC defeat Alresford on the road, 20 – 22, after going 17 – 0 behind.
In a strange twist of fate this fixture was again reversed, with the same reason to last years fixture, to allow a function at the Sandown & Shanklin Clubhouse. Fortunately, Alresford were kind enough to allow this to happen, and this sort of action highlights how important it is to generate revenue for the Club. In fact, Alresford relished the opportunity for hosting the Hurricanes, which would all become clear following the first 20 minutes of the game…
A tentative and slow start caught Sandown & Shanklin napping, and with no.8 Darren Carew attempting to clear the ball from the back of the scrum, the kick spiralled upwards and when it came down, was claimed by an Alresford player for the first score, 5 – 0. This only seemed to unsettle the Hurricanes, as the home side built up territorial pressure. The only praise for the away side at this time was that their scrum held and even drove back a very strong Alresford pack. However, despite this ascendancy the hosts came back at Sandown & Shanklin and following a few missed tackles, they were in again for their second score, within the first quarter. The try converted, the afternoon was becoming quite long the for the visitors, 12 – 0.
Then things went from bad to worse, when a miss-called line out was picked off by one of the Alresford forwards, and the worst start imaginable was complete, with the home side in a 17 – 0 lead, with about 10 minutes of the first remaining. Damian Seder was substituted for a knock, putting Sam Flux into the fray.
Following the
The restart was expertly claimed Martin Richomme, and with new life in the Hurricanes, the ball was passed down the line to the Wedderkop brothers, who broke the first few tackles to keep the momentum rolling. This was followed up by strong carrying by stand-in captain Sam Rees, and Darren Carew, which dragged play into the Alresford 22 again. Following a few more phases by the forwards and a break by fly-half Sam Tyson, the ball again found its way into Ben Shannon’s hand for his and the Hurricanes second score. Borrer converted, which cut the Alresford winning margin to 17 – 12 at the half time break.
The second half began with the Hurricanes re-energised and starting much better than they had in the first half. Nevertheless, the hosts were determined to increase the winning margin and put the game out of reach, hammering the Hurricanes try line for the first ten minutes of the second half. Despite this pressure the away side held firm, and limited Alresford to a penalty kick, 20 – 12. Once Sandown & Shanklin had obtained possession and were back on the ball, they were able to play the territory game, and with the benefit of the wind behind them, this allowed the visitors to get into the Alresford half. Another meaningful line out maul was then driven deep into the Alresford 22, and following some strong carrying phases from the forwards, the ball was eventually spun down the line to winger and Man of the Match, Owen Williams, who sprinted into the corner for the third try of the game for Sandown & Shanklin. The tricky conversion was missed by Borrer, yet it was now a
With around 15 minutes remaining, the knocks and injuries were starting to mount up, and as the away side rotated Henry Bagnall for a knock and Ben Shannon likewise, the home side
The final moments of the fixture were then played out just on the halfway line, as both sides looked to find something to secure the result in their favour. Yet, in the
Relieved Director of Rugby, Damien Marriott, reflected on the game from the Hurricanes:
“We could not
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Sandown and Shanklin RFC