1st XV match reports |
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| October 1st 2005 |
Powergen National Trophy Round 3 |
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London Scottish 45 Hornets 23 London Scottish duly disposed of their lower league opposition on Saturday but not without the odd alarm, and despite some carelessness in defence that cost them their biggest points against figure of the season. It was their fifth competitive win in a row, the perfect start to the season. But three of these have come against Trophy opponents from a level below: Scottish will need to step up a gear both for league tussles to come and probably for the next round if the cup, in which they are more likely to meet one of the 31 National League clubs than they are one of the other four clubs from the regional leagues. A group of players comfortable playing at National League level will have to gel as a team capable of that level. Indeed Hornets led early on, were level until almost half an hour, and only shipped the last two scores in the dying minutes, to leave the home side with a margin that somewhat flattered. Not that Scottish looked anything other than the classier side; they just didn’t convince in long passages of play when copious possession was poorly used, and chances went a-begging. They opened well, with a good break that saw Rory Greenslade-Jones taken out as he was collecting a decent pass in a scoring position. Tom Williams kicked the penalty, but three minutes later Williams gifted a try to Underwood, offloading in the tackle without a proper look, only to see the Hornets’ winger grab and disappear the length of the field; Dave Litt converted for 3-7. Scottish were back ahead three minutes later when from a midfield scrum a lovely break by Josh Heke broke the defence, and Mark Tweedie took the ball on before sending Greenslade-Jones in near the posts. Williams converted and it seemed as if Scottish had settled. Hornets took possession however and when Heke strayed offside too close to the posts Litt levelled.. Williams punished a comparable offence on 27 minutes to put the Scots ahead again.. Then on the half hour Scottish drew further ahead when Max Evans, sniping well, pounced on a fumble in the Hornets defence, kicked ahead and won the race to the line; Williams' kick looked good but spun back off the post. Evans almost scored again a few minutes later and when Hornets prop Steele was sin-binned with a few minutes left in the half, it seemed the ideal opportunity for the Scots to build an unassailable lead. They did try; but Greenslade-Jones crossed the line only for the tackler to dislodge the ball as he was set to ground it; then the forwards showed they could do the same, mauling over the line and then losing the ball as they tried to complete the score. Finally Williams put boot to ball when Hornets were penalised for not rolling away right in front of the posts: 21-10 at half time. Hornets, despite playing in a league one level lower than Scottish, remained both up for it and well up to the task in hand; they duly nailed the first score after the interval, when a fine midfield break produced a score for winger John Ferguson, though the final pass was far enough forward that one of the three officials should have spotted it. Litt missed the kick but still the visitors were now only six points adrift. Not for long; the scoreboard seemed to rattle Scottish into action. Heke and Greenslade-Jones began at last to find gaps at will, and a score seemed inevitable. Greenslade-Jones duly got it and the reliable Williams converted. Litt cut the arrears by three with a penalty but with an hour gone Scottish extended the lead to 15 points, when from a lineout catch and drive the pack finally got a score – James Templeman being driven over. It was a move Hornets had successfully repelled four times in the first half. Now the scoreboard operators had to work to keep up. Hornets grabbed a third try through flanker Chris Disney, but the Scots forwards’ riposte was not long coming, Mike Goodbody getting the honour of being bottom of the pile, and then a fine individual try capped the day, David Box wresting the ball clear just inside his own half and having the satisfaction as a hooker of out-sprinting the opposing full-back over fully 55 metres; probably luckily for him the final whistle wasn’t long in coming. It also meant that Jerry Costeloe, just on as a replacement for Williams, got to kick the goal against the club of which his father was a founder member. That Hornets kept on till the end is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that the last three Scottish tries were scored by forwards from close range not by outside backs running amok in broken play; such a plucky display meant they could enjoy their evening in the bar – and they did! The Draw: Round 4 includes the 11 round 3 winners from South and South West (9 from National Three South plus Canterbury and London Scottish from London One) plus 11 winners from North and Midlands (8 from National Three North plus one from North One and two clubs from Midlands Div 2) who are joined by the 14 clubs in National Two. The 18 winners will go into the 5th Round, i.e. the last 32, along with the 14 National One clubs such as Harlequins and London Welsh. 15. Matt Vines (Chris Webb 55 min), 14. Mark Tweedie, 13. Rory Greenslade-Jones, 12. Josh Heke, 11. Geraint John, 10. Tom Williams (Jerry Costeloe 77 min), 9. Max Evans (Edd Bishop 75), 1. Adam Friel (Allan Stewart 70), 2. Paul Byford (David Box 70), 3. Magnus Macdonald, 4. Clynton Janke (Mike Goodbody 50), 5. Lee Soper, 6. James Templeman, 7. David Watt, 8. Karl Hensley © Scoring sequence: 3-0 (3 minutes), 3-7 (14), 10-7 (17), (10-10 (24), 13-10 (27), 18-10 (30), 21-10 (40+), 21-15 (46), 28-15 (53), 28-18 (57), 33-18 (59), 33-23 (74), 38-23 (78), 45-23 (79)
Scorers: Tries: Greenslade-Jones 2, Evans, Templeman, Goodbody Box; Cons Williams 2, Costeloe , Pens Williams 3 Paul McFarland |
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