1st XV match reports

National League Three South

London Scottish 27 Bridgwater & Albion 17

Scottish got back to winning ways with a four-try win that netted them the maximum five points and hauled them back to second in the table.

Bridgwater were no mean opponents – they had won their last five including a massive victory at Cinderford. But if they are going to be serious title contenders, Scottish will have to win these sorts of games rather more convincingly; twice behind in the first half, even with a dominant pack the home side made heavy weather of it.

The visitors fielded three colts in their back line and a pack featuring a converted scrum half at prop. The Scots front row had a field day, and the front five had a terrific game. But elsewhere the home side stuttered, and much of their play looked out of sorts even before Stuart Peel departed clutching his shoulder to leave the back line unbalanced and vulnerable to counter attack.

Not that the youngsters in Bridgwater’s garish shirts were fazed by the venue or the opposition. Indeed it took debutant Mark Kohler barely three minutes to profit from sloppy tackling by the home side, and run in a try under the posts, which the provider Christian Wulff duly converted.

The home pack, though, grabbed the game by the scruff.

Indeed, such was their dominance that, not for the first time, Scottish had the greatest difficulty persuading a young referee that it might be in everyone’s interests if, since the Scots cleared the ball before the opposition went to ground, play should go on. Mr Friend at one stage set the scrum four times, despite it being clear that Scottish would win it every time; such insistence on the letter of the law in fact only served to sap the strength of the visitors pack who, over the whole game, probably faced more than twice as many Scots’ shoves as they needed to.

The pack’s frustration was clear, as on several occasions the Scots back row were literally stopped in their tracks as they embarked on moves that looked set to be profitable.

The first try though came from good work behind the scrum. Stuart Peel made a trademark dash through the heart of the visitors' defence and set up Gareth Swales, and the former London Welshman might have had a quick debut try of his own but was held up. It mattered not – Scottish drove the 5m scrum over the line, and Alex Alesbrook reached down to mark the try. Lee Cholewa’s conversion levelled matters.

This should have been the platform for a comfortable home win, but instead, the Scots went off the boil. Behind the scrum, the re-arranged back line was struggling for shape even before Peel departed on the half hour mark, to be replaced by Owain Walbyoff who went to the wing with Cam Avery moving inside to cover for Peel.

Albion were soon ahead again after sensibly testing the emergency wingman Walbyoff’s grasp of geometry; Anton Petzer anticipated the kick and chase and cleared, but his effort was returned it with interest, and the Scots forwards got their angles wrong as well, conceding a penalty at a ruck on their own 22. Wulff kicked the visitors ahead.

Eventually, as half time beckoned Scottish got some position and ball and managed to recycle the ball quickly. Cholewa’s pass missed Swales and flew into touch but offside had already been spotted; Cholewa however missed the goal kick and the Scots went into half time three points behind.

The expectation was that they would return with a proper focus and rack up the points, but instead, the ascent to supremacy proved tortuous, and less than easy to watch. Scottish almost went further behind but Britton’s mazy run was eventually halted, and then Scottish pressure forced another penalty and Cholewa kicked this one. Then Swales crossed and touched down, only to be denied again, this time by Petzer’s pass proving perfect in every respect except for being a tad forward. But from Albion's scrum, Scottish got the nudge, stole the ball and a blind side move put Swales over for a try at last.

Still, the floodgates remained firmly shut and the next score came from the ever-game visitors, Wulff punishing some words out of order but within Mr Friend’s earshot, by kicking his second penalty.

Stung, Scottish bounded into the restart and forced a penalty. Cholewa spurned the three points on offer and set his sights on seven; the result was five: the kick to the corner was as it should be, the catch and drive likewise, and from the second drive, Melvyn Lewis peeled away, ball in hand, to score from close in.

Again the visitors responded: inside three minutes they had it back to a two-point game and really should have levelled: Wulff did well to spot that Scottish had left Sam Osbourne in a huge amount of space on the left and the young full back caught the cross-kick unchallenged. Wulff though should have done better with the conversion attempt.

Then Cholewa set up a stunning final score for Scottish. His own attempt at a cross kick seemed to have skewed low and wide of its mark, but Petzer and Alesbrook conjured an opening on the far side for Swales to grab his second. Cholewa then sent easily the hardest kick of the day high and true.

The fireworks were saved for Sunday … 

Paul McFarland

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