IW II 24-36 Basingstoke II
An entertaining Hampshire Three tussle at Wootton Rec was deservingly won by visitors Basingstoke. The mainlanders had mixed results coming into the fixture, but travelled with their strongest selection of the season and had too much for a valiant home side who looked likely winners at different stages, but could not drive home their advantage.
After the traditional two minute silence at the time of year, battle commenced with Basingstoke carrying significant forward and back threats which would have given them an immediate lead but for handling errors. They looked dangerous moving the ball wide and did score after four minutes, but IW were soon in the lead. Another stray Basingstoke pass was seized upon by returning veteran Andy White, and after patient recycling by the arriving pack, fly-half Mark Waterer cut through to score. White converted to give IW a 7-5 lead after 12 minutes.
There followed a closely fought scoreless spell of 25 minutes, both sides cancelling each other out though with plenty of enterprise on show. Basingstoke’s scrum was well on top, making the handling of debutant Fountain Inn man of the match Sam Webster-Smith all the more praiseworthy at the back of a retreating set-piece. A brilliant cover tackle by Biffa man of the match Nathan Rolfe was another highlight, though IW’s defence was at times disorganised. Eventually, Basingstoke scored again shortly before half-time, but again IW replied sharply, a quick penalty seeing White crash over. Ricky Keyes converted and his side led 14-12 at the half.
IW did not take this momentum into the second half, and Basingstoke enjoyed a purple patch to stamp their mark on proceedings. A try within two minutes of the resumption put them in the lead by three points, and was soon followed by another great move and a converted score, though the final pass seemed several yards forward. The referee did have a good game and let play flow, which suited IW now as they had to chase down a ten-point deficit. They did this successfully, as a tap penalty was moved wide and Ryan Tulloch, returning for his first game in four years, evaded the cover to touch down. Shortly, the scrum delivered clean ball and a fine blindside move saw the powerful White bulldoze his way over, levelling the scores at 24-24 with 20 minutes still to play.
The visitors did not panic and were able to regain territory and the lead, charging down an IW exit for a converted try. IW fought back and were close to their fifth try but met with great scramble defence and were repelled, before Basingstoke sealed the win with another score just before the final whistle.
Though disappointed to be defeated, IW more than played their part in an enjoyable game. Debutants Webster-Smith and young Alex Wilson showed up well, and several players returned from absence. They have a two-week break and will target working on their support play and defensive consistency before their next match on 27 November at Tottonians IV. On the same date, the first team travel to Gosport & Fareham II.
IW: S Browne ©, Rolfe, White, Langdon, Wynyard-Wright, Waterer, Blyth, Mitchell, Tennant, Guy, J Bishop, D Bishop, A Groves, Tulloch, Webster-Smith. Replacements: Puzey, Keyes, Jones, Wilson, Newnham, Blackburn, Pudney, T Groves.
