Isle of Wight 21-24 Romsey
IW endured a narrow defeat to visitors Romsey at sunny Wootton Rec. Though a close margin in the end, the Islanders never really looked like winners in this game, trailing for most of it by 10 points. Their frustration will stem from the likelihood that they would have won if delivering a lower error count, but much of this was down to a battling Romsey performance, and there was no question but that the better team won.
IW welcomed back Aaron Young and captain Luke Blackman from injury, though with a number of players still unavailable, they found it difficult to hit form from the off. There was a high quota of handling errors as passes did not stick or support over-ran the pass, while Romsey were especially good over the ball and won a series of penalties. The mainlanders opened the scoring after 10 minutes, but IW replied with a more accurate series of phase play, before the ball was moved away from the forwards for George Huish to touch down and convert.
Romsey carried a greater threat behind the scrum and stretched IW numerous times throughout, themselves sometimes only a dropped ball from a score. They regained the lead on 20 minutes with an interception try, though the impressive Cameron Browne blocked the conversion. This act of excellence did not have the desired effect, as Romsey scored again almost immediately and now led 17-7, which remained the scoreline at half-time.
The home side had their work cut out and despite being off form, they worked hard for one another to find a way back into the contest. They were on top in the scrums, though Romsey were solid enough to secure their own ball. With tireless carrying from Andy Brown and Sam McQueen making yards and Romsey not able to disrupt IW ball quite as much in the second half, IW were back in the 22 early in the second half. An attack seemed to have stalled, but a perfectly weighted grubber kick by Blackman was collected by Huish for a brilliant converted score.
What happened next was critical in the outcome of the game, as Romsey took away IW’s potential momentum shift by turning over possession and then finding soft shoulders to score almost immediately. A marvellous touchline conversion restored their ten point buffer.
With Romsey’s fly-half pinning IW back time and again with his raking kicks, it was difficult for the hosts to get the territory they needed. Strong games from James Webster and Island Healthcare man of the match Ian Puzey kept IW in the contest, but time ebbed away but it was not until the last play that IW were able to score again. Another dynamic multiphase attack ended with Biffa man of the match Huish scoring under the posts to complete his hat-trick. His conversion left him with a personal haul of 21 points, scoring all IW’s points for the second game in a row, but Romsey were left with the spoils and deserved them after a courageous performance.
IW drop to fourth place but will hope to return to winning ways at Christchurch on Saturday.
IW: Young, Rolfe, Jones-Evans, Blackman ©, C Browne, Huish, S Browne, Puzey, McQueen, Newnham, Blackburn, B Martin, Lynch, Webster, Brown. Replacements: Keyes, J Bishop, Wynyard-Wright.
