1st XV match reports

London League Division One

When the Brumbies' no 11 Mark Gerrard, in the morning Super 14 match, chased a neat kick through, he brought the crowd to its feet as he collected the ball soccer style on his left foot, dribbled ahead, gathered and scored.

A few hours later, the London Scottish no 11, man-of-the-match Matt Dowling, produced a moment-of-the-match to equal Gerrard’s outrageous piece of skill. For when Tom Williams, pleasingly choosing to vary the play, kicked through, the former Waratah likewise dribbled the ball like a Socceroo round the Worthing cover, gathered and scored.

Such skill raised huge cheers among the home support, but more crucially brought the Scots a six point lead, and from there they cantered away with the game, inflicting on Worthing their worst defeat of the season.

It was indeed a superb second half, surely the best “40” of the season, in which Scottish scored 34 points to nil, against a side which has troubled them four matches running – three defeats last season and a single point win in September.

And Worthing more than troubled Scottish for the first half too, earning a 17-8 half time advantage with a committed display, working hard up front and especially on the ground in the loose. They intelligently probed the Scots defence, searching for holes in the middle and then finding plenty of space behind.

Scottish fielded a more or less full strength side. Kenny Logan’s back problems continue to keep him out, and Greenslade-Jones started from the bench. With fans’ favourite Max Evans now in Portugal pursuing a professional golf career, Stuart Peel started at full back and produced a convincing display.

The opening score could have come from a Tom Williams drop goal when he aimed for the posts perhaps prematurely at the end of a good period of pressure. It seemed not to matter as Scottish were soon ahead anyway A nicely worked try began with Alex Alesbrook cleaning up after a messy lineout. Peel, making the midfield break by hitting the line at the right angle, was held just short, and though Worthing turned the ball over and bundled it into touch, the Scottish lineout this time was smooth and Vuadreu came off his wing to collect Webb’s pass, draw the defence and canter over.

Williams missed the extras, and that gave Worthing the chance to level when pressure of their own was rewarded. Already Scottish had twice preserved their line with last ditch tackles, but the visitors were not to be denied for long. Winning a turnover inside their own half,  Worthing broke through the heart of the Scottish defence before firing the ball along the line for Taylor to touch down in the corner, though possibly not before he had slid a foot into touch in goal.

Now the game really opened up with both sides prepared to fling the ball about. One show and go from Vuadreu was outrageous and deserved a score but the ball was lost soon after. Scottish enterprise if nothing else earned the penalty which Williams sliced wide from 30m, but two minutes later Scottish were trailing: wingers Coulson and Richards escaping their markers to link in midfield and send Taylor away in the left hand corner from which he again failed to add the conversion.

Scottish pressed from the restart and another penalty came their way, this time Williams nailing it to reduce the arrears.

Now Worthing looked a proper threat, organised and controlled, where Scottish seemed more inclined to play harum scarum rugby, which was fun to watch but frustrating in its lack of end product. the turnover count was high, but fortunately Worthing messed up crucial opportunities, twice handing over attacking lineouts for Scottish to clear their lines.

Then Webb, who seemed to be struggling following a knock a few minutes earlier, floated a hopeful pass left, and Coulson nabbed it and raced 60m to the line, Taylor converting for a tidy half time lead.

Coach Rowly Williams afterwards refused to take credit for any miraculously effective half time team talk; he could in fact hardly get a word in, as the players took it on themselves to sort out what had gone wrong.

And sort it they most certainly did. The adventure and imagination of the first half play was not sacrificed, but was allied now to better decision-making and a proper sense of purpose. Worthing will have travelled back in some shock at suddenly being demolished by a glittering five-try performance.

If Dowling’s was the crowd-pleaser, Peel’s score, which took Scottish into the lead, was the reliever. Williams had already reduced the deficit with a second penalty when skipper Karl Hensley broke from the back of a scrum and inadvertently passed to a Worthing shirt – the two shades of blue were close enough this happened several times. But as Worthing aligned themselves for a counter-attack Peel anticipated and intercepted, and his dash to the posts left Williams no chance to err with the kick.

Now Scottish seemed comfortable and in control albeit only a point ahead, and Rory Greenslade-Jones, on for Webb, Vuadreu and Peel several times contrived good moves, until at last the three of them drew enough defenders for Williams to aim his kick Into the gap for Dowling over on the other side.

Five minutes later Darryn Bruce, having another tidy game, elected for once to use the not inconsiderable breeze and fired a kick into the Worthing 22. Taylor had no choice but to walk the ball into touch, presumably not anticipating that Scottish would not only collect their own lineout ball but then drive the maul fully 20m for David Watt to pop the ball down over the line.

Williams landed a difficult kick, but couldn’t repeat the feat when, four minutes later, Paul Byford scored from a second catch and drive, this time brought about by relentless Scottish pressure on a harassed Worthing defence, following Williams's own searching kick right into the corner.

Thus far Worthing had hardly troubled the Scottish defence all half, but now with the game dead the home side relaxed and let the visitors up to the line before digging in. Three penalties in succession frustrated the visitors and earned a team warning from referee Nigel Carrick, but Scottish tackled and covered and survived. Then Peel’s break regained the ground lost, Scottish forced a scrum 20m out, Bruce fed Williams and the fly half nipped through a gap to score and convert.

Paul McFarland

return to fixtures and results