Gosport and Fareham II 20-25 Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight travelled to Gosport after a three week break and were victorious after a dramatic comeback. Significant availability issues meant IW took a much changed side with back rowers Luke Blackman and James Webster moved to the centres. The weather played a huge part in the fixture, the 40 mph winds making the kicking game all but redundant for the team facing the elements. G & F won the toss and took the advantage in the first half, the islanders having to weather the first half storm.
The game started ferociously with Gosport kicking into the Island 22, forcing pressure on the visitors with strong driving runs overloading the defence and leading to a try out wide. From the restart, a turnover from Fountain Inn man of the match Callum Pudney allowed the Isle of Wight to get some ball in the opposition 22. Strong sustained pressure on the line followed by some neat hands from Co-Captain Andrew Brown and prop Ricky Keyes created space to allow James Webster to glide over in the corner.
IW then started to feel the conditions; with great attacking out wide and using the wind to their advantage Gosport and Fareham scored three very quick tries. Solid defence from full back Dave Blackman with two try saving tackles stopped the home side making any further progress on the scoreboard. Just before half time, pressure from a kick off allowed Brown to force a penalty on the Gosport try line, before Biffa man of match Luke Blackman sniped over from 5 yards out. On the brink of half time, IW got a penalty which fly half Tom Marriott superbly kicked to the corner, giving the island an attacking platform 5 metres out. A well rehearsed lineout move from the pack had player-coach Keith Wallace crashing over.
The half time whistle proved to be a relief for the home side, IW now only having a 20-15 deficit at the halfway stage with the horrendous conditions. With the wind in their favour, the Islanders set to work, the half-back pairing of Co-Captain Alex Augustus and Marriott kicking well for territory putting the strong Island pack in position. Significant territory and possession proved expedient for the island. A strong scrum in the opposition 22 made space for Wallace to bulldoze over from the back of the scrum to tie the scores.
A high tackle reduced Gosport to 14 men, removing their hugely influential second row from the field for 10 minutes. With the game even, IW put increasing pressure on the mainland team, using mauls and crash balls effectively to establish territory. In the last 10 minutes, they took advantage as the prolific Luke Blackman was able to squeeze over in the corner from 5 yards out. For the last 5 minutes of the game, the victors held onto the ball with some strong rucking and driving play, causing the opposition to concede a penalty and handing the Islanders a hard fought victory. IW hope to build on this with a trip to bottom of the table Romsey next. The second team travel to Millbrook.
IW: D. Blackman, C Browne, Webster, L Blackman, Rolfe, Marriott, Augustus, Wallace, Brown, T Groves, Pudney, Blackburn, Keyes, Bennett, Newnham. Replacements: D Bishop, J Bishop, Wynyard-Wright.
