Isle of Wight 38-33 Alton
In their final game of the season, IW took the spoils after an exciting and hard fought tussle. In so doing, they regained the Lockdown Cup won by Alton back in October at their ground.
IW faced the strong breeze in the first half, but were supported by a large crowd in the spring sunshine. Despite a number of injuries affecting selection, they began encouragingly, forging their way into Alton territory, but turned the ball over on the 22 and then watched as the visitors raced the loose ball in to open the scoring.
The hosts were not overly upset by this setback and settled into the game, which was evenly contested in the first quarter and a pattern was established. IW played some effective structured rugby with direct carries and good support play giving them superiority, though Alton looked quick and dangerous in their back division when given the opportunity.
On 20 minutes, IW got their first score, as a strong carry by centre Ben Sanderson was supported by the ubiquitous James Webster. When the ball was recycled, full-back George Huish was set free to score out wide. This was soon followed by the try of the match, from inside the IW 22. Aaron Young fielded an Alton kick and passed inside to Huish, who made ground and offloaded to captain Luke Blackman who broke into the heart of the defence. With good support and recycling, Sanderson was able to crash over in the corner. Huish’s conversion put his team 12-7 ahead.
The match was vigorously contested and emotions ran high on a couple of occasions, notably when Blackman and an Alton player were yellow carded after an off-the-ball tussle. Alton revelled in the open spaces of 14 v 14 and regained the lead with a converted try. As the half concluded, IW were again on the attack, but an ill-advised miss pass was intercepted for Alton to score in similar fashion to their first try, from long range. They led 21-12 at the break.
With wind advantage and some tweaks to the game plan, IW could be optimistic about the second half. This was only helped by a strong start to the second 40, as the forwards won a penalty in the 22. Stay Ready Strength man of the match Blackman took a quick tap and Huish crossed the whitewash to narrow the gap.
IW were playing well now and got a great bounce from their bench of Ben Hart, George Butler and Ryan Tulloch. They were soon back on the attack and built multi-phase pressure, before the hard-running Sanderson battled his way over for his second try. Huish landed the difficult conversion and IW now led 24-21.
The hosts continued to control this phase of the game, as Alton struggled to come to terms with IW’s big ball-carriers and quick recycling, with Biffa IW man of the match Ben Savill standing out at no. 8. The scrum was also taking over after a difficult start. A series of forward drives ended with the electric Huish touching down for his hat-trick to extend his team’s lead to 10, though this was shortly cancelled out by Alton with a converted try of their own.
With the outcome still in the balance, IW had more territory and replacement Hart was deemed to have been held up over the line. It mattered little though, as his team soon scored again. Good build-up play involving Blackman, Tulloch and Hart brought IW within inches of the line, and Huish picked his moment to run hard at the line and crash over for his fourth try. His conversion brought his personal tally to 28 points in a stellar performance.
There were still almost 10 minutes to play, and another Alton try brought the gap down to five points. The mainlanders smelled the chance of victory and IW were forced to defend in the closing stages, with key tackles from Huish and Fin Vickers helping to keep Alton at arms’ length before the welcome final whistle for the hosts.
This win ensured that IW finished above Alton, and when all fixtures in the league are completed, a fourth place finish seems the likely outcome. The Islanders will know that this could have been even better given a number of narrow defeats, especially earlier in the season, but the team has developed well during the campaign and integrated some new talent.
The club would like to thank its sponsors: Biffa IW, Red Funnel, Arid Design, Island Healthcare, Joedan, SD Tanner Electrical, Dragonfly, Ravenprint and Stay Ready Strength. Your continued support is truly appreciated.
Isle of Wight RFC hosts the Wight Wolves ladies touch tournament on Saturday 25 April, with a 1 pm start. The club will hold its AGM and awards event at the clubhouse on Saturday 9 May.
IW: Huish, Southgate, Marsh, Sanderson, Young, L Blackman, Vickers, Newnham, McQueen, Thorne, Blackburn, D Bishop, Webster, Wynyard-Wright, Savill. Replacements: Butler, Hart, Tulloch.
