1st XV match reports |
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| February 18th 2006 |
London League Division One |
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Canterbury 29 London Scottish 16 Scottish placed their promotion hope back in others' hands after this defeat. The result was closer than the scoreline suggests - the visitors were only six points behind for the last 20 minutes before their own need to take risks led to giving away a fifth try well into stoppage time - but in truth while a vital win might have been snatched, defeat was deserved on the day. Canterbury proved conclusively they are the quality team in this division. Playing up the considerable slope in the first half, they denied the visitors a lead to defend when the home side came at them down the hill in the second. Indeed, the 17-9 half time lead meant Canterbury did not need to press after the interval and perhaps that enabled Scottish to apply the pressure they themselves needed. But from early on Scottish were up against it and entirely because, while they failed to convert the several half chances that came their way, the home side were clinical, pouncing on missed tackles to score three unanswered tries largely against the run of play, and on almost the only occasions they made it into the visitors 22. Had Wessel Wolmarans been anything like an adequate replacement goal kicker for the injured James Reilly, Scottish would have been too far behind to contemplate a comeback. That they were in the game till the final seconds owed everything to Wolmarans missing a penalty, a drop goal attempt and three conversions, while Tom Williams struck four out of four. As for Scottish, the early signs had been encouraging. Strong forward pressure in the tight especially, and good driving in the loose forced early errors and Williams duly despatched two penalties inside six minutes and a third midway through the half. But by then Canterbury had seized on the first error - Greenslade-Jones, Matt Vines and Max Evans getting their lines wrong between them as de Kock joined the line, sidestepped a flying tackle and sent Sykes through on the right. For their own part Scottish had already passed up two chances, and the penalties were poor reward for the approach work that preceded. Greenslade-Jones and Vines juggled the ball under pressure as the line beckoned, Vines was kept out at the corner by quick-thinking defence, when a better pass might have afforded him the chance to go in low for the line, and another opportunity was squandered by a knock on as the line beckoned. Williams answered that opening try with another penalty, but soon the home side was ahead and were to stay that way. This time numerical disadvantage was punished as it had been as soon as Scottish lost a man to the bin in the home fixture. It was Paul Byford who got the enforced rest, rightly called for pulling down a maul on the 22. Canterbury went for the lineout catch and drive; that was predictable, but Scottish kept the move out only to concede anyway after the ball had moved wide and then come back, this time Greenslade-Jones and Evans unable to prevent Sykes finding the gap. As half time beckoned, Scottish were now playing as if they knew they needed to turn around ahead, and be able to defend uphill, not forced to attack. They nearly did, but first Hensley was denied on the line as he tried to go short from the back of a maul when there was a four on two outside, and then when the ball did head out in that direction, Byford knocked on as he tried to rescue an ambitious pass, when not for the first time this season, the simple ball would surely have done the job. In any case, by then Scottish had gone further behind, the home side, on another rare excursion, again finding the midfield chink. Wolmarans himself galloped though leaving Williams in his wake and finally nailing a kick to give the home side an eight point lead. So, after the break, Scottish did have to go on the attack uphill. For good stretches, as in the first half, they controlled possession only to be turned over under pressure by quite outstanding defence. Greenslade-Jones, Evans, Josh Heke and Vines all carried well over distance, but each time, as the 22 beckoned, moves broke down. Carriers got isolated, support was slow to arrive and, consistently, the physicality of the tackling forced spilt ball in contact. And where Scottish had largely eschewed the boot in the first half, the home side were content when the occasion arose to fire the ball deep into the Scottish territory, forcing the visitors to run it back up the hill or clear to touch where they could. Even without the stiff wind that characterised this fixture a year ago, this was always a tough proposition. Wolmarans may have had a poor day aiming for goal, but from hand his kicking was superb, one heartbreaking clearance from no more than two metres inside the left hand touch-line booming high and straight off his left boot and gaining a good 50 metres of ground. A hard task got harder when Scottish contrived to hand over another score against the general run of play. Scrum half Eion Stewart for once kicked deep into the bottom corner, and Scottish chose this moment to mess up the lineout, gifting a score to Jamie Forsyth – both of whom sound as if they were playing on the wrong side! Undeterred though, Scottish came straight back and the best move of the day - deserving such an accolade by virtue of being a completed move - saw Stuart Peel make the decisive yards from inside the Scottish half and Matt Dowling finish off from still a long way out. Williams's kick brought the deficit back to six points, and for 20 minutes Scottish looked on the one hand the more likely to score but yet increasingly unable to keep control of the abundant ball they were winning. It was always going to be the case that as Scottish needed the win and Canterbury were pretty much certain for promotion even if they lost, that a battle of desire ought to go the visitors' way. But Heke got caught by Sykes at the end of a long breakout, when Greenslade-Jones on his shoulder would have had a good chance of making the line; then Heke got even closer and was harshly pinged for holding on, then Dowling knocked on a straightforward ball ... and others were equally profligate as Scottish perhaps tried too hard too soon. With hindsight it is easy to suggest a more measured approach to that last 20 would have brought the one score they needed. They had, after all, managed four tries in the final 20 to win this fixture last season - but they had done that going downhill and Canterbury, with O’Gorman again outstanding in the back row, are a different proposition now. As if to emphasise the difference between the clinical and the not so clinical, way into time added on, Pratt pounced on a spilled ball in the Scottish 22, and added a fifth try. The result means Scottish now need to win their last five games and also have to hope Richmond's current poor form costs then another defeat or even a draw before they "visit" the Scots for what would then be a promotion decider in April. Decider, that is, if the RFU Council, which postponed its decision till March, does, as anticipated, ratify the expansion of the National Leagues and consequently the promotion of the first two clubs out of London One, and no relegation from National 3. If the rest of the season goes to form, Scottish will trail in third behind Canterbury and of course Richmond. report on the Canterbury site click here Paul McFarland London Scottish 15. Max Evans 14. Matt Dowling, 13. Rory Greenslade-Jones, 12 Josh Heke, 11. Matt Vines (Stuart Peel 45 mins), 10. Tom Williams 9. Darryn Bruce , 1. Jim Kelly, 2. Paul Byford, 3. Magnus Macdonald ( Matt Johnston 58), 4. Clynton Jancke (Simon Devane 50), 5. Lee Soper, 6. Alex Alesbrook, 7. David Watt, 8. Karl Hensley (c)
Conditions: cloudy and mild, light breeze, serious slope, ground firm but a bit cloying |
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