Sandown & Shanklin II 12-27 IW II
Friday Night Lights rugby action at the Fairway allowed almost 50 players to take part in a well-contested derby friendly. The home side had a squad of 28 to choose from, including some Vectis Academy colts getting a taste of senior rugby. For their part, IW were missing captain Rory Nobes, but were able to welcome back some players who had not worn the shirt for some time, plus debutant Geoff Scandrett who operated at fly-half and went on to be named Biffa man of the match. Though the club’s first team were frustrated at the cancellation of their scheduled fixture the following day, this game allowed four of that squad to bolster the bench and provide cover.
IW started strongly with dominant scrummaging and plenty of possession yielding a succession of penalties. From one of these, a rolling maul was set up and captain for the night Tom Turtle crashed over to open the scoring. James Fitton was off target with the conversion in his first outing for years, but would contribute handsomely as the evening went on. This was soon followed by further IW attack, with Turtle again threatening the line before a penalty try was awarded. Nathan Proud replied for S & S, but midfield powerhouse Andy Rann was on the mark with a penalty kick to keep IW in the driving seat at half-time.
The home side made use of their sizeable squad in the second half, and IW responded by introducing fresh legs of their own. Another S & S try, this time converted, narrowed the gap early in the second half. However, IW gave their opponents very little look-in, save for a couple of penalties which were not capitalised on. The solid centre partnership of Rann and Dan Stirrup, himself back in action after a long absence, was not found wanting, while excellent hands by Scandrett set his backs moving. This led to second half tries for Michael Joyce and George Huish, one converted to seal the win. In the final analysis, it was an enjoyable game played in good spirits, and to adapt a well-worn cliché, ‘Friday night rugby was the winner.’
Due to a quirk of the fixture list, IW seconds are not in action again until Sat. 3 December, when they host Locks Heath Pumas.
IW: Fitton, Blease, Rann, Stirrup, Wynyard-Wright, Scandrett, Blyth, Newnham, Turtle ©, Puzey, Pudney, J Bishop, Raunigger, Stretch, Cameron. Replacements: Keyes, Blackburn, Blackman, Ormerod, Huish, M Joyce.
