NPRFC - 2nds vs Minehead III

14/03/09 - Tribute Somerset Three South: Minehead Barbarians III 7 v 25 North Petherton II

Despite North Petherton being able to field three full senior teams last weekend, this week they could only get 14 players together for their Second Team fixture against Minehead Thirds. The performance that they then produced on the sloping Minehead pitch, despite being a man down for the entire match, was simply outstanding.

Pethy made an excellent start playing into the wind, and were soon deep into Minehead territory after some good interplay between the forwards and backs. This set the tone for the rest of the match as Pethy kept the ball alive for many phases at a time and looked to have the edge out wide where the pace of centre Chris Powell and full-back Dave Hill was causing the home defence plenty of problems. The 7 man Pethy pack were dominating the forward battle, turning the ball over at the break down and in the scrum, making light of their 1 man disadvantage.

They were unlucky not to score in the first 10 minutes after good breaks by Powell and Nick Pocock took Pethy close to the try-line only for the final pass to go astray. After Minehead used the strong wind to clear into Pethy’s half, the visitors again ran the ball back with much more intent than their hosts, and typically strong runs by Wayne Pither and Pete Kingston got Pethy into the opposition 22, where the extra stud in Pocock’s boots allowed him to pivot nicely and cut through a big hole in the home defence to score. With the wind making kicking difficult, the conversion was missed.

After 20 minutes Pethy counter-attacked well from a wayward 22 drop-out, and good work by winger Matt Habberfield and Dave Hill took Pethy back into the home 22, where quick ball out to flanker Adie Harris saw him smash through a couple of tackles to score to right of the posts. The conversion was missed, along with a penalty shortly after as Dan Steward and Habberfield struggled with kicking into the wind.

This did not matter too much though, because just as Minehead began to get themselves into the game, Chris Powell stepped inside his man on the half way line, out paced the covering defence and rounded the full-back for an excellent individual score. Lloyd Steward took over the kicking and added the conversion for a healthy 17-nil lead.

The last 10 minutes of the half saw Minehead have their best spell of the match so far as they exerted continual pressure on the Pethy try-line, mostly through some good mauling play by their forwards. Although Pethy continued to disrupt their scrum, a good pick and drive exploited the lack of cover around the fringe of the ensuing maul, allowing their hooker to barrel over on the stroke of half-time. The conversion made it 17-7 to the visitors at the break.

As Minehead made several changes after half-time to try and get back into the game, Pethy were able to use the wind advantage several times to get themselves out of trouble and deep into Minehead territory. Although Minehead had clearly upped their intensity, the Pethy pack had the bit between their teeth and continued to turn the ball over at crucial times as well as dominate the scrum.

Lock Wayne Pither became more prominent throughout the half with some tremendous ball-carrying, and Pocock and Harris in the back row were more than making up for the missing forward. Mid-way through the half, more good play towards the middle of the Minehead posts saw some quick ball shipped to the left wing, where a last ditch tackle was just enough to dis-lodge the ball from Lloyd Steward's hands as he dived over the line.

This did not deter Pethy, and soon after that Steward converted a penalty in front of the posts after Minehead infringed at a ruck, extending his side’s lead to 20-7.

On 70 minutes a Minehead lineout on the 5 metre line was disrupted by Pither jumping at the front, allowing prop Matt Glanville to snatch the loose ball away from the Minehead scrum-half. Fellow prop Pete Kingston then picked up the ball from the resulting ruck, and with the 9 channel left un-guarded, he turned and powered his way over the line to put Petherton out of sight at 25-7.

A visibly tiring Pethy side then had to withstand a barrage of attacks by Minehead, and they defended with great heart and determination from a succession of 5 metre penalties and scrums to keep their hosts at bay. The final whistle came and Pethy celebrated a deserved win built upon a tremendous team effort. It would be difficult to single anyone out from this match for particular praise, but from the forwards Nick Pocock was outstanding in the back row, in both attack and defence. Out in the backs, Chris Powell was a constant threat in attack, making several good breaks up the slope and capping it off with a great try.

H/T: 7-17

Tries: Pocock, Harris, Powell, Kingston

Cons: Lloyd Steward

Pens: Lloyd Steward

Drop Goals:

Team: 15. Hill, 14. Habberfield, 13. Powell, 12. D.Steward, 11. Lloyd Steward, 10. Sutherland-Earl, 9. Kirk, 1. Glanville, 2. Kearle, 3. Kingston, 4. Rood, 5. Pither, 7. Pocock, 8. Harris.

		14 man Pethy gain a great win at Minehead 14/03/09 - Tribute Somerset Three South: Minehead Barbarians III 7 v 25 North Petherton II Report by Matt Glanville Despite North Petherton being able to field three full senior teams last weekend, this week they could only get 14 players together for their Second Team fixture against Minehead Thirds. The performance that they then produced on the sloping Minehead pitch, despite being a man down for the entire match, was simply outstanding. Pethy made an excellent start playing into the wind, and were soon deep into Minehead territory after some good interplay between the forwards and backs. This set the tone for the rest of the match as Pethy kept the ball alive for many phases at a time and looked to have the edge out wide where the pace of centre Chris Powell and full-back Dave Hill was causing the home defence plenty of problems. The 7 man Pethy pack were dominating the forward battle, turning the ball over at the break down and in the scrum, making light of their 1 man disadvantage. They were unlucky not to score in the first 10 minutes after good breaks by Powell and Nick Pocock took Pethy close to the try-line only for the final pass to go astray. After Minehead used the strong wind to clear into Pethy’s half, the visitors again ran the ball back with much more intent than their hosts, and typically strong runs by Wayne Pither and Pete Kingston got Pethy into the opposition 22, where the extra stud in Pocock’s boots allowed him to pivot nicely and cut through a big hole in the home defence to score. With the wind making kicking difficult, the conversion was missed. After 20 minutes Pethy counter-attacked well from a wayward 22 drop-out, and good work by winger Matt Habberfield and Dave Hill took Pethy back into the home 22, where quick ball out to flanker Adie Harris saw him smash through a couple of tackles to score to right of the posts. The conversion was missed, along with a penalty shortly after as Dan Steward and Habberfield struggled with kicking into the wind. This did not matter too much though, because just as Minehead began to get themselves into the game, Chris Powell stepped inside his man on the half way line, out paced the covering defence and rounded the full-back for an excellent individual score. Lloyd Steward took over the kicking and added the conversion for a healthy 17-nil lead. The last 10 minutes of the half saw Minehead have their best spell of the match so far as they exerted continual pressure on the Pethy try-line, mostly through some good mauling play by their forwards. Although Pethy continued to disrupt their scrum, a good pick and drive exploited the lack of cover around the fringe of the ensuing maul, allowing their hooker to barrel over on the stroke of half-time. The conversion made it 17-7 to the visitors at the break. As Minehead made several changes after half-time to try and get back into the game, Pethy were able to use the wind advantage several times to get themselves out of trouble and deep into Minehead territory. Although Minehead had clearly upped their intensity, the Pethy pack had the bit between their teeth and continued to turn the ball over at crucial times as well as dominate the scrum. Lock Wayne Pither became more prominent throughout the half with some tremendous ball-carrying, and Pocock and Harris in the back row were more than making up for the missing forward. Mid-way through the half, more good play towards the middle of the Minehead posts saw some quick ball shipped to the left wing, where a last ditch tackle was just enough to dis-lodge the ball from Lloyd Steward's hands as he dived over the line. This did not deter Pethy, and soon after that Steward converted a penalty in front of the posts after Minehead infringed at a ruck, extending his side’s lead to 20-7. On 70 minutes a Minehead lineout on the 5 metre line was disrupted by Pither jumping at the front, allowing prop Matt Glanville to snatch the loose ball away from the Minehead scrum-half. Fellow prop Pete Kingston then picked up the ball from the resulting ruck, and with the 9 channel left un-guarded, he turned and powered his way over the line to put Petherton out of sight at 25-7. A visibly tiring Pethy side then had to withstand a barrage of attacks by Minehead, and they defended with great heart and determination from a succession of 5 metre penalties and scrums to keep their hosts at bay. The final whistle came and Pethy celebrated a deserved win built upon a tremendous team effort. It would be difficult to single anyone out from this match for particular praise, but from the forwards Nick Pocock was outstanding in the back row, in both attack and defence. Out in the backs, Chris Powell was a constant threat in attack, making several good breaks up the slope and capping it off with a great try. H/T: 7-17 Tries: Pocock, Harris, Powell, Kingston Cons: Lloyd Steward Pens: Lloyd Steward Drop Goals: Team: 15. Hill, 14. Habberfield, 13. Powell, 12. D.Steward, 11. Lloyd Steward, 10. Sutherland-Earl, 9. Kirk, 1. Glanville, 2. Kearle, 3. Kingston, 4. Rood, 5. Pither, 7. Pocock, 8. Harris.

		©2009 North Petherton RFC

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