Match Report
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| Date - 15th October 2005 |
Haverhill -v- Old Brentwoods 1st XV |
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| Haverhill 26 Old Brentwoods 24 |
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| After a couple of lacklustre performances in previous weeks OBRFC
travelled to Suffolk looking to rediscover the vim, vigour and verve
that had characterised the first few matches of their season.
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| OBRFC suffered an early setback, conceding a soft try when a promising
counter-attack fizzled out as an errant kick presented time and space to
the Haverhill three-quarters, who took advantage of some sloppy tackling
to open the scoring under the posts.
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| OBRFC responded positively and hit back immediately with a fine try from
fullback Dean Bourne who demonstrated his strength and pace in a mazy
run that took him half the length of the pitch from wide on the right to
the foot of the posts.
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| This was swiftly followed by a magnificent OBRFC score straight from the
training ground. Man of the match, Tim Croom, plucked and presented the
ball beautifully off the top of a shortened lineout. Scrum-half Alastair
Rigden fed outside-half Mike Cowley, who missed out inside centre
Jerry Shouksmith, to find Club Captain Neil Hannaway at outside centre.
Hannaway then sent a spectacular long pass to Tom Williams on the left
wing, who sprinted half the length of the pitch to score in the corner.
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| The end of the first half was disrupted by OBRFC injuries and
substitutions. Hooker John Mole was forced from the pitch, succumbing to
a troublesome achilles problem, leaving OBRFC embarrassed for front row
replacements. Fortunately Haverhill, whose excellent support was only
matched by their generosity as hosts, were well-resourced enough to be
able to lend OBRFC a front row forward and the scrums continued
contested.
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| At the same time OBRFC refreshed their back row taking off Matt O'Connor
and debutant Freddie Rylah and bringing on Chris Keogh and Matthew
Staines in the first wave of rolling substitutions.
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| Unfortunately the fresh legs did not stem the flow of OBRFC injuries:
both prop Gary Murphy and lock Scott Inglis suffered rib injuries
towards the end of the first half that prevented them taking any further
part in the match.
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| With the ever-durable Gary Fryett the only OBRFC front row player left
on the pitch, the second half was played with uncontested scrums.
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| The first half had been fast and open, as both gifted, pacey sets of
three-quarters were keen to run with the ball in hand. The second half,
without scrums to slow play down, became even faster and made for an
exciting spectacle and a seesawing score-line.
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| A slow start at the beginning of the second half again saw OBRFC concede
an early score. However, spirited attacking, with omnipresent
wing-forward James Holmes making several storming breaks, and plucky,
resolute defence, with right wing Adam Steadman again to the fore, soon
saw OBRFC back in Haverhill territory and poised to strike.
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| Another excellently-executed lineout (in the absence of hooker John
Mole, No. 8 Chris Keogh was throwing in to the lineout!) allowed the
ball to be spun quickly across the width of the pitch. Tom Williams was
hauled down on the wing but OBRFC were able to swiftly recycle the ball and
with this quick possession, fly-half Mike Cowley showed composure and
skill, beating two defenders before chipping over the full back and
collecting his own kick to score under the posts. A fantastic try to cap
another magnificent performance.
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| OBRFC's scoring didn't stop there. With ten minutes left to play they took the
lead with a simple but well-executed back row move that put scrum-half
Alastair Rigden away in the corner.
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| Haverhill came storming back, battering the OBRFC try line with wave
after wave of attack. Eventually the pressure told and the defensive
line cracked. Going into the last five minutes Haverhill had a two-point lead.
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| Determination and cool heads allowed OBRFC to work down the pitch from
the restart and earn a penalty outside the Haverhill 22 and towards the
right touch line. Under pressure to hit the match winning kick Alastair
Rigden manfully stepped up and struck the ball sweetly towards the posts.
As it hung in the air, crowd and players alike held their breath, the
silent anticipation only broken by the resounding thud of the ball into
the far upright and back into the field of play. Haverhill scrambled the
ball off the pitch and the final whistle blew.
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| Both sides contributed to an excellent match, played in good spirit with
plenty of entertainment and attacking intent balanced by an equal
measure of dogged defence and hard graft.
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