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1st XV match reports |
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| January 21st 2006 |
London League Division One |
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London Scottish 83 Bishop’s Stortford 22 Promotion may have all but disappeared as a realistic possibility, and narrow late wins for Canterbury and Richmond did nothing to dispel the feeling the Scots’ chances have been wrecked not only by a couple of poor performances in the autumn but also by persistent ill fortune. But the team put all that behind them with a heartening display of running rugby against a game but limited Stortford side, and thoroughly entertained the home support, who had heard tales of such deeds from those who attended at Tabard and Ealing but had not yet seen for themselves. The pace and handling was outstanding, the back line set free by the consistent quality of ball delivered by a dominant pack. Stortford brought a healthy crop of home-grown youngsters, who played throughout with commitment to open rugby and enthusiasm for the fray, and they accepted defeat with good grace; they are a perfectly adequate mid-table side at this level, but for the first time this season they were cruelly exposed in all aspects of the game. Driven backwards even on their own scrums and out-gunned at the lineout, they had to concentrate on winning their own ball, all thoughts of stealing unless by accident were dismissed, and in the loose they could not cope with the relentless continuity of the Scottish driving. The home side’s selection got the balance of power and mobility just right, with a fourth loose forward Reggie Perkins at lock to replace the more statuesque Goodbody, and David Box coming in for Byford to add yet another natural runner to the mix. Darryn Bruce thus enjoyed the proverbial armchair ride, and fired quick ball out left and right to set off a back line lacking Kenny Logan but otherwise at full strength. Man of the Match Matt Dowling capped a super display with two tries and several assists, despite also dropping a scoring pass on the line to pass up a hat-trick, though by that stage his team-mates' response was laughter not complaint. On the other flank Kim Vuadreu was no easier to control, but the pack helped themselves to half a dozen tries mainly by virtue of popping up to complete moves begun by their swift-running comrades. First, though No 8 Alex Alesbrook had helped himself to two proper forwards' tries in the opening five minutes, first when David Watt and Box broke from an attacking scrum and Alesbrook took the ball on in the drive over, and then when the visitors conceded a penalty for not rolling away and the home side predictably went for the lineout and catch and drive, Williams converting the first of these for 12-0. Soon after, though, the lead was cut when Dowling went for an interception in his own 22, missed it, and looked back in horror to see no cover had closed over the gap he left, and Harris had strolled over. Coleman missed the conversion but soon after nailed a penalty. At this stage Scottish were guilty of passing up decent chances: another penalty and an attacking lineout would surely have produced a score had Scottish not contrived for once to lose the lineout, and Vuadreu made a lethal break before being pinged for not releasing. But the side persisted and eventually pressure told. Max Evans was held up short, the ball was moved swiftly along the line to the left, and with the deftest of offloads Dowling made the score for skipper Karl Hensley. Williams converted that one and the next a few minutes later when Josh Heke and Evans linked in midfield for the full back to release Vuadreu who crossed on the left but cantered round under the posts. Now Scottish displayed their best skills to no reward. One lovely slick move was halted when Dowling ran into a hefty block and tackle on the line, and another saw Matt Vines attack the try line and do the hard part as he retrieved a poor pass it from behind his head only to drop it as he transferred the ball to ground it. It would have been easy for Scottish to take their foot off once they had established such a firm lead, and indeed a half time lead of 26-8 did not really reflect the degree of control. But whatever coach Rowly Williams said at half time, the players emerged energised and promptly scored four tries in half a dozen minutes. Immediately on the resumption, Evans sauntered clear on the blind side and gave Williams an angle to kick the conversion, then from the restart Evans fed Dowling who sprinted home from fully 60 metres. Again, Scottish attacked down the left, and swift interpassing between Evans and Dowling sent Heke in for a score, and then David Watt joined the next break down that flank, and was in place to collect the final pass and post the half century of points. The visitors were far from disheartened though, and to their credit kept plugging away. They deservedly collected a second try when their winger Darryn Bruce (no relation!) got clear of Vuadreu only to be hauled down by his collar, but gained recompense when he got to his feet to find a penalty try being awarded. This breathtaking pace of scoring only slowed when Scottish sent on all three replacements , Evans going to scrum half as the backs were reorganised and Simon Devane replacing the excellent Perkins with no loss of mobility in the pack. But normal service was soon resumed. Vuadreu got his second when Rory Greenslade-Jones lead a break-out from the Scottish 22, and then Dowling initiated another move from deep in his own half, before generously spurning a likely score in order to give Vines a certain one. The visitors capitalised from the looseness of the game, when Hughes kicked ahead neatly and collected to score, but soon Box was taking the home score into the 70s, thanks to yet another offload from Dowling. More chances went begging but there were no complaints from crowd or players. In any case Box and Devane set up a second try for Hensley, and Dowling at last got a deserved second when fed by Vuadreu. Williams added his ninth kick, but missed the last and so the team missed by one their highest score of the season. Weaker sides, though, will not relish meeting Scottish in this form. Paul McFarland |
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Kim Vuadreu sets the pace, David Watt more or
less keeps up
London Scottish 15. Max Evans Scorers:
Whyte and Mackay
Man of the Match Matt Dowling |
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