IW 38-8 Ventnor
Isle of Wight RFC concluded their Hampshire One campaign in style with a resounding win over Ventnor at Wootton Rec, avenging a defeat in the return fixture last September and finishing the season on a high note.
Before a large attendance following a vice-presidents’ lunch, the game kicked off in calm but chilly conditions, which allowed both sides to attempt to play with ball in hand. IW’s renowned scrum overpowered their opposition early on, and helped to establish territorial dominance for most of the first half. Strong driving play by the forwards brought them up to the Ventnor line, before no. 8 Luke Blackman bashed over for the opening try after 8 minutes, converted from the touchline by George Huish.
Ventnor looked threatening when they had good quality possession, but this was rare, and IW’s defence held even when the visitors moved the ball wide. It was all IW at this stage, with Martin Newnham and Keith Wallace prominent, while Tom Marriott was rock solid in defence. While the forwards provided the platform, the IW backs also looked lively, a Mark Waterer try surprisingly disallowed after a slick move. However, it was not long before IW got their second try, as co-captain Andrew Brown flopped over.
Ventnor incurred a yellow card for an offence while Brown was in the act of scoring, but numbers were soon evened up after replacement Ian Puzey was sin-binned for an illegal tackle. For the first time, Ventnor were able to build some pressure and seemed destined to score, but the home side’s defence held fast and limited the damage, a Crews penalty making the score 12-3 at the break.
IW might have been further ahead at half-time given their dominant start, but critically they got the next score soon after the break, Biffa man of the match Blackman again crashing over after fluid IW play. The game was now fast and furious, with Ventnor contesting well, and the otherwise excellent IW defence parted for Cardwell-Hill to score a good try. The conversion struck the post though, and IW soon resumed their effective and direct approach. A great interception by wing Chris Ormerod saw him run 50 metres but was stopped short of the line by an illegal tackle, with Ventnor receiving another yellow card for an infringement at the ensuing breakdown. In the next phase of play, the irrepressible Blackman touched down in the corner to complete his hat-trick. Huish again landed the touchline kick, and IW were set fair at 26-8.
The visitors tried hard but IW turned the screw, adept at both their rehearsed plays and more unstructured rugby, resulting in a fine score for player-coach Keith Wallace. Directed by superb half-backs Waterer and Augustus, IW had more opportunities, but waited until the last minute before their sixth try by Huish. The full-back converted his own score, his fourth successful kick of the day, which brought down the curtain on the season in style.
With this win, IW secured sixth place in Hampshire One and have now finished in this position three seasons in a row. Club secretary Kieran Leahy said, ‘The aim at the start of the season was to enable as many players as possible to play rugby and to enjoy ourselves on and off the pitch. By and large, this has been achieved. The club would like to thank all its sponsors, volunteers and supporters for making this possible!’ The second team have one more game at Basingstoke on Saturday next, before the club’s end of season awards dinner on 23 April.
IW: Huish, Jones-Evans, Marriott, White, Rolfe, Waterer, Augustus, Keyes, Bennett, Newnham, D Bishop, Blackburn, Wallace, Brown, Blackman. Replacements: Puzey, McQueen, Ormerod.
