Isle of Wight RFC

IW 17-22 Ventnor           

Isle of Wight finished their league season in disappointing fashion with defeat to Ventnor. In a game where they had no shortage of territory and opportunities, IW were unable to capitalise and had to yield to an opposition that defended extremely well and also were more clinical in attack.

Co-captain Andy Brown missed this re-arranged encounter due to his stag weekend, and despite a couple of other regulars being unavailable, IW did have a strong squad to select from. Stalemate early on was broken as their rampant scrum took a Ventnor put-in against the head, allowing Luke Blackman to plunge over. The lead was shortlived, a promising move being anticipated by a Ventnor player who intercepted and ran in a try from his own half.

The first half was fairly even in general play, and would finish that way on the scoreboard. Ventnor extended their lead with a penalty goal, and defences were on top in spite of good spells of possession for both sides. However, IW levelled the scores just before half-time. They moved the ball wide for George Huish to kick through and chase, profiting from the opposition cover’s failure to clear up the loose ball, and touching down for an opportunist score. It was 10-10 at the break.

The early part of the second half proved crucial to the final outcome, Ventnor scoring two good tries to recover the lead at 22-10. IW battled back and would spend most of the rest of the game on the attack, forcing a host of penalties and a yellow card. They did much right in this period of the game, at least until they got within sight of the line. There, they would be foiled either by their own errors or by tremendous Ventnor defence, with chop tackles and smart breakdown work effective time and again. IW were not lacking in endeavour or courage, but needed more subtlety and deception in attack to break down their opponents. It was not until well into stoppage time that they finally got over the line with another Huish score and conversion, and there was no time for the restart.

IW had little choice but to accept their defeat with decorum and good grace, and use their disappointment to fuel them next time. In the short term, they await the draw for their April cup campaign.

IW: Young, Jones-Evans, Ormerod, White, Rolfe, Huish, Hanson, Newnham, Bennett, Keyes, Pudney, Martin, Lynch, Bennett, Blackman, Blackburn, Wallace, Wynyard-Wright.

IW II 15-19 Ventnor II

IW also came out the wrong side of the curtain-raiser against their Ventnor counterparts. Pleased to be playing at all after a long period of inaction, especially at home, IW will be disappointed not to have won this one, as they appeared to have control coming up to half-time but lost their way.

After a closely contested opening quarter, IW played some great open rugby leading to the first try for youngster Alex Wilson. Debutants Richard Pitman and Joe Bussell were showing up particularly well in the back row, and further expansive rugby gave another youthful back in Jesse Butchers the chance to show his pace and give his team a 10-0 lead. Ventnor got one back before half-time and only trailed 10-7 at that point.

It was now that IW lost all momentum, some poor defence not helping to repel strong opposition carries. A good Ventnor score gave them the lead and they almost added another, but for Tom Turtle to force a knock-on over the line. With tempers fraying, a Ventnor player was red carded and IW almost scored but were held up. From the ensuing goal-line drop-out, silky skills from the aging Dave Metcalfe set up an opportunity, and Turtle broke the final tackle to regain the IW lead.

Another two notable debutants teamed up in the second half, Samuel Fox joining his father Spencer on the pitch. Yet the mistake-prone home side could not break free of the scrappy exchanges, and Ventnor were able to apply pressure and squeeze over for the decisive score with the last play.

IW: Leahy, Blease, Harley, Brading, Wilson, S Browne, Blyth, Metcalfe, Turtle, D Bishop, J Bishop, Sp Fox, Davey, Pitman, Bussell, Butchers, Willetts, C Browne, Sa Fox.