IW 42-12 Gosport & Fareham II
Isle of Wight belatedly recorded their first victory of 2022 with a good win over Gosport & Fareham (GF) seconds. GF unfortunately only had 13 players to travel, but after consulting with the league organisers, agreed to play the match as a friendly with loan players from IW evening up the teams. This resulted in the five league points going to IW before kick-off, but most importantly a competitive game of rugby was salvaged for all involved, with the spirit of rugby in evidence throughout.
IW started like a whirlwind, the frustration of recent results being blown away. Seasoned veteran Andy White made an early break on his return to action, James Webster on hand to take the pass and score the opener inside two minutes. A second was added by Martin Newnham after eight minutes, peeling off a lineout maul. GF settled after that and both sides had good spells, but IW held the edge when in possession. Fountain Inn man of the match White scored the third try, and Dan Bishop crashed over for a fourth shortly before half-time, giving his side a 20-0 lead at the break.
IW rotated their loan players at half-time and throughout, allowing some experimentation. Scrum dominance was a feature of their performance again, setting up either penalty advantage or prime attacking ball regularly. Player-coach Keith Wallace also had an impact off the bench, opening the second half scoring, before another experienced campaigner in Stu Browne added the next. The busy Ed Lynch was rewarded for his support play by finishing off an exciting long-range move, before GF were rewarded for their contribution and determination. They scored two tries in quick succession, the second of these registered by IW loanee Cam Browne, making the score 35-12.
It was for IW to have the final say, captain Andy Brown barging over after a series of phases. In a tricky cross-wind, goalkicking had been a challenge, but Ricky Keyes was on the mark with the final conversion to conclude the scoring. IW enjoyed the taste of victory after recent results, and paid tribute to Gosport & Fareham for their willingness to travel in spite of their depletion.
IW travel to Overton on Saturday, with the seconds hosting Chichester III at Wootton Rec.
IW: White, C Browne, Jones-Evans, Brown, Rolfe, Scandrett, S Browne, Newnham, Bennett, Keyes, D Bishop, Blackburn, Pudney, Webster, Lynch, J Bishop, Wynyard-Wright, Harley, Wallace, Blease.
