1st XV match reports |
| September 23rd 2006 |
London League Division One |
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Old Albanians 11 London Scottish 45 Scottish duly cruised to their third comprehensive win in successive weeks, though it took a concerted second half effort with the wind largely at their backs to get the points on the board. The first half saw the visitors play the better rugby but still struggle to break out of their own half into the wind on a consistent basis, but the points flowed as the game wore on and refreshingly, all the scores went to the quick men with double digits on their backs The headline performer was again Charles Broughton with the first and third try to make it five in two games. But the returning Matt Vines always posed a threat, Rory Greenslade-Jones had another fine game in the centre and Stuart Peel capped an assured display with two late tries; Tom Williams found his kicking boots, and buried the previous week’s horrors with a flawless seven from seven. However the platform for all this hay-making by the backs was a solid show up front. Given the licence to get the shove on early on several occasions, the Scots’ pack duly shunted the home side off their own ball. Even so the OAs mastered their own line-out ball, so no pickings there; the home side also showed enough enterprise around the field, and impressed whenever they set off on a driving maul, to suggest they will surely acquire some points and start to move up the table. But this day belonged to the league leaders. Gregg had opened early with a penalty but on seven minutes Broughton more than wiped out the advantage. The score originated from a home scrum which the Scots pack sent backwards, releasing quick ball to the right. Paul Boulard juggled as he adjusted to take the pass and give it on to Broughton; perhaps his fumble wrong-footed the cover – at any rate it wasn’t where it should have been, and the young winger crossed the line and ran round to give Williams the easiest of kicks. But that was the visitors only score of the half. Gregg got OAs back to within a point, Vines capped a superb break down the right by being held up over the line, when he might have looked to release the ball to support runners, and Broughton took looked likely to score when the cover reported for duty and bundled him into touch in the nick of time. Josh Heke made a brief appearance at Scrum half while Ray Williams – in for the injured Darryn Bruce and unavailable Jamie Whelan – came off for a bandage-wrap round a cut eyebrow, and Gregg missed chances either side of the interval to kick the home side into the lead. For the second half the visitors had the better of the wind as it continued from the south east. Whereas in the first half the home side had sought relief by kicking long and playing in the Scots half, for their part the Scots had only occasional need of this recourse in the second. For with a pack on the front foot and a back line now showing the paying public the sort of quick handling skills that so often get left on the training pitch, territory and possession were comfortably secured. The points flowed eventually, but not without the odd stumble. The first score was a Williams penalty slotted from the 22. But the catalyst for the next try was the departure for ten minutes of hooker and skipper Botterman, who was adjudged to have blocked a run by David Box, who had replaced Jim Kelly. Peel kicked the penalty to touch and the pack set themselves for a catch and drive move; repulsed, they moved the ball out, and Peel found Greenslade-Jones coming in at an angle. As had Boulard previously, the centre took two stabs at the ball, but secured it and crossed to leave Williams another unmissable kick. Now it was the Scots turn to offend the referee, and David Ramsey joined Botterman on the sidelines after pulling down a driving maul. It was the Scots’ own fault, conceding possession way upfield and being taken by surprise as the OAs broke quickly and deep. Ramsey prevented a certain score as the home pack for once got to show their driving skills in the danger zone. Respite was temporary and Ramsey’s sacrifice was pointless: without him, the Scots pack went backwards in the face of the home side’s catch and drive from the resulting lineout, and one of the OAs pack got the touch down. For a while, then, it was the Scots who had the numerical disadvantage as Botterman returned well before Ramsey. Better sides would have punished the Scots further, but they were quickly back on the attack, and Peel made a decisive break, first trying to go alone and being caught by the last man, but from the breakdown, getting away again to feed Broughton out wide. Williams made it four from four with the boot. With ten minutes to go, the home side were just about in touch but not for much longer. Kelly returned to replace Melvyn Lewis, and the pack stepped up the pace. Good ball set Peel off on another run, and this time Boulard was the beneficiary as the midfield defence disappeared, and in overtime, Peel was twice the beneficiary of similar gaps, crossing twice for due reward for a fine attacking game, and giving Williams the angles for a perfect 100% kicking display. Paul McFarland
London Scottish 15. Tom Williams, 14. Charles Broughton, 13. Rory Greenslade-Jones, 12. Paul Boulard (Josh Heke 78), 11. Matt Vines, 10. Stuart Peel, 9. Ray Williams, (Heke, blood replacement 1st half), 1. Matt Johnson , 2. Jim Kelly (David Box ,40), 3. Melvyn Lewis (Kelly 71), 4. Ben Butler, 5. Dave Ramsey, 6. Simon Devane, 7. Rowan Brown, 8. Alex Alesbrook (c); replacement not used Clynton Jancke
Scorers: Yellow card: Ramsey
Scoring sequence:
Conditions: sunny spells, warm, diagonal breeze, firm underfoot |
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| previous week's report - Portsmouth click here | |
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