Seconds outclassed by league leaders

28/02/09 - Tribute Somerset Three South: Weston-Super-Mare III 45 v 12 North Petherton II

Report by Matt Glanville

A depleted North Petherton Seconds team travelled to Weston with just 15 players for what was always going to be a tough match against the Somerset Three South leaders. A hastily re-organised side featured 6 front-row players in the pack and second-row powerhouse Wayne Pither starting on the wing with only 6 backs available.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Pethy began the match very poorly indeed. They were not in the game for the first half an hour and a very good Weston side needed no encouragement to rip through some lacklustre defence and race into a 33-nil lead. Although Pethy were weakened, Weston played some great rugby, dominating the forward battle and showing good hands and movement out wide to score almost at will.

However, after the opening 30 minutes, Pethy managed to gain some good territory inside the home 22. Following a couple of successful lineouts and some good driving play by the forwards, Wayne Pither came steaming in from his wing to smash through the Weston defence and score near the opposite corner. This gave the Petherton players the lift they needed and they finally began to play with much more commitment and determination, and although they conceded another try just before the break, they were now making the hosts work much harder for their points.

This carried on into the second half which became a much more evenly contested match. With the game as good as won, Weston threw the ball around and often attacked from deep in their own half. However, this brought Pethy much more into the game as numerous handling errors slowed the game down and when the referee allowed a number of advantages to be played, the action became end-to-end with Pethy forcing errors and counter-attacking from the resulting turnovers.

With the game becoming stretched, Pethy tried to force the play from their own 22, and a long pass went astray with 15 minutes left to be gathered by Weston’s winger to score in the corner. With 5 minutes remaining a loose pass this time from Weston on the Pethy 22 bounced kindly for winger Lloyd Steward, who brushed off an attempted tackle and raced away from his opposite man to score a great try near the posts.

He converted his own try which gave the beleaguered visiting side something to take from the game as they had outscored Weston in the second half. However, the scoreboard doesn’t lie, and Pethy were simply outclassed by a better side that showed why they have been top of the table since the beginning of the season.

For Pethy, Nick Pocock put in a great effort playing out of position at No.8, whilst veteran flankers Kev Gray and Mark Stevens were as combative as ever in what was a tough game for the visiting pack. As a team, Petherton can take some encouragement from their second half efforts, but they will have to raise their game significantly next weekend if they are to get anything from their match against Wiveliscombe.

H/T: 40-5

Tries: Pither, Lloyd Steward

Cons: Lloyd Steward

Pens:

Drop Goals:

Team: 15. Hill, 14. Walford, 13. Powell, 12. D.Steward, 11. Pither, 10. Lloyd Steward, 9. O.Steward, 1. Glanville, 2. Long, 3. Kearle, 4. M.Burge, 5. Kingston, 6. Stevens, 7. Grey, 8. Pocock.