Petherton mistakes prove costly

06/01/07 - Somerset One: Winscombe 22 v 12 North Petherton

Report by Lloyd Williams

Pethy went into this match looking for a good performance, selecting a large pack that would hopefully be suited to the wet conditions. There were yet more changes in the backs which meant that it was going to be a tough day to get things going out wide.

Kicking to the home team and going down the slope Pethy spent the first 10 minutes chasing the ball, after Winscombe took the attack to Petherton out wide. After an opposition scrum on the half way, Winscombe passed the ball quickly through the hands of their backs, and a mix up in the Pethy midfield meant that wing Carl Jarvis was left facing 2 attackers at full tilt, and the covering Rob Havill slipped at the vital point, leaving the Winscombe winger to run in close to the posts. They converted for a 7-0 lead.

This early score really got the home spectators going, and due to it being a sponsored game, there was a large crowd. The next 20 minutes of the game saw Pethy have the best of the positional play, before penalties cost them some good attacking positions, but generally things were very equal. The home team kicked their way out of any trouble and kept possession well. Pethy tried a bit of everything, with no real luck. Both centres Russ Williams and Stuart Pearn were running straight and breaking tackles but the resulting ball was often too slow and committed too many players to the breakdown.

The Petherton forwards were gradually beginning to get their driving mauls going and were looking dangerous. With 10 minutes to go until half-time Pethy were on their own 10 metre line and from a good scrum they tried to spread the ball wide before a fumble allowed a Winscombe player pick up and pass to give their centre an easy run in. The conversion was missed.

After yet another mistake had resulted in a try, a fired up Pethy quickly gained possession in the Winscombe half, continually attacking through both forwards and backs, and making good ground in the process. After a few penalties which resulted in kicks to the corner, Pethy forced their way towards the try-line with a driving maul before it was stopped short. The ball was then shifted to Lloyd Williams and in a planned move which saw both centres come from deep to take a dummy, Williams found space in midfield and side-stepped through the gap to run in from the 22. Williams then converted his try for a half-time score of 12-7.

Now playing up the slope Pethy had their work cut out. The first 10 minutes were similar to the first half as both sides kicked often, either for position or when clearing their own lines. The key element for Pethy was that their forwards were beginning to dominate. However, again they conceded a silly penalty deep in their half and in front of the posts which was kicked, meaning the score was now 15 – 7 to the home side.

A frustrated Petherton team again responded well and dominated the next 10 minutes, with the forwards beginning to make the difference. After a few penalties were conceded by Winscombe, who were bringing down the driving mauls and going offside to prevent a likely score, they had their flanker sin-binned. Pethy had another 3 penalties on the host’s 5 metre line that they elected to kick to the corner, and eventually crossed the line using their driving maul, with replacement second row Ben Walford scoring the try in his first game of the season after a long absence from the side.

Within minutes of the restart Pethy had moved up into the opposition half. The Winscombe fly-half put a poor kick down the middle of the pitch which full-back Rob Havill was unable to catch cleanly. The loose ball was kicked on again and in a race to get there first Miles McNeillie dived on the ball only to see it spill loose for the Winscombe fly-half to pick up and pass to their the scrum-half to score under the posts.

The try was then converted, and with only about 5 minutes to go, it proved to be one defensive mistake too many. Petherton did get into the home team half a few more times but struggled to keep possession. They were awarded numerous free-kicks for Winscombe infringements, which they had no option but to run. This often resulted in lost possession as they tried to force the play.

Petherton took some positives away from the game. Their general defence was solid except for their costly mistakes and their lineout was in great form, with Captain James Lees dominating at the front. However, Winscombe won the battle in the middle of the park too easily. The driving mauls gained huge ground but took too long to get going, and the scrum went to both extremes, pushing Winscombe back to being pushed back. The backs never really got going with the wide rugby that has made them look dangerous at times this season, and although they defended well after the first 5 minutes, there were generally too many errors made when the home team kicked deep into the Petherton half. When Pethy did attack, putting a number of phases together, they eventually ran out of players and had to kick as the only option. This is a problem that Pethy have had for too many games this season and something that the players and coaches are continually trying to solve.

This was yet another game after which Petherton felt they had the chances to get a result but due to injuries and players out of position, combined with the odd mistake at crucial times, they were unable to do so.

Tries: L.Williams, B.Walford

Cons: L.Williams

Pens:

Drop Goals:

Team: 15. Havill, 14. B.Williams, 13. S.Pearn, 12. R.Williams, 11. Jarvis, 10. L.Williams, 9. Ryburuk (Rep. L.Steward 75), 1. Glanville (Rep. M.Burge 60), 2. McNeillie, 3. Webber, 4. Gingell, 5. Coles, 6. Varcoe (Rep. B.Walford 65), 7. Finlayson, 8. Lees.