Seconds given a lesson by the joint league leaders

21/03/09 - Tribute Somerset Three South: Castle Cary 47 v 5 North Petherton II

Report by Matt Glanville

North Petherton Seconds were again depleted for a tough away match against the only side in the league this season to have challenged long time leaders Weston Thirds, with only points difference currently keeping them in second place. Fortunately for Pethy this weekend there was no First Team match which freed up some players to plug the gaps in the side as well as provide a couple of subs. However, despite taking the pitch with what appeared to be a strong team, they were comfortably beaten by a good, well-disciplined side, who will likely climb the divisions if they can keep their current squad of players together.

The first 20 minutes of the match was evenly contested and a good battle was developing between the two sets of forwards. The first score went to the home side through a penalty converted by the Cary fly-half, who kicked well throughout the match. Pethy responded immediately with some good rucking by the forwards inside the Cary half, and following a typically bulldozing run by Ben Harvey to within 10 metres of the posts, the ball was spun wide to wing Matt Habberfield. He cut inside his man and dived for the line only to be stopped inches short and spill the ball backwards where Harley Brown was on hand to scoop up the loose ball and score. The conversion was missed, but playing up the slope Pethy had taken a useful lead.

That was as good as it got for Pethy, and by half-time Castle Cary had pulled away into a 23-5 lead. The home team scored two quick tries and two further penalties, exploiting a mixture of poor defence, some wrong options taken, and a lucky bounce of the ball following a booming kick down the slope. This highlighted the major difference between the two sides as Cary did the basics very well and played to a simple and effective game plan, whereas Pethy were all over the place, competing hard but often taking wrong options, giving away penalties, and playing with very little structure.

This carried on into the second half where both packs continued their keenly contested battle and Pethy even spent the majority of the last 40 minutes inside the Cary half. However, Cary's defence was rock solid and a swift counter-attack led to a try only a few minutes after the break, which set the platform for the rest of the match. Pethy huffed and puffed and threw everything at their hosts, who in turn tackled every ball-carrier, slowed the ball at the breakdown, and continually counter-attacked from turned over ball.

This led to three further tries for the hosts, all well-taken by their quick and hard running backs, including one memorable try (at least for the home side!) scored from their own 22. Although at times this was a closely fought match, the score did not flatter Castle Cary, and they deserved the win that keeps them level with Weston Thirds at the top of the table.

For Pethy, Miles McNeillie had a strong first 40 minutes at No.8 before injuries in the backs forced him out to the wing. Centre Rob Havill worked hard throughout, putting in a great number of tackles and running hard with the ball in hand. The pack competed well in the set-pieces but gave away too many penalties.

Reflecting back on the match, North Petherton's players knew that they had been beaten not by a better group of players, but by a better prepared group of players, who played well as a team. Even with up to 8 current first teamers on the pitch at the end, Petherton did not play with much cohesion, and that can only be sorted out at training, where attendence seems to be a problem for the whole club at the moment, and not just for the Second team.

H/T: 23-5

Tries: H.Brown

Cons:

Pens:

Drop Goals:

Team: 15. Hill (Rep. Gingell, 40), 14. Habberfield, 13. Havill, 12. D.Steward, 11. Lloyd Steward, 10. Sutherland-Earl, 9. Rybaruk (Rep. Lloyd Williams, 55), 1. Glanville (Rep. Prescott, 50 (Rep. Glanville, 55)), 2. Long, 3. H.Brown, 4. Harvey, 5. Rood, 6. Pocock, 7. Wolfe (Rep. Harris, 50), 8. McNeillie.