NPRFC - 2nd XV vs Wells II

North Petherton welcomed Wells to Beggars Brook this Saturday in a match that promised to be lively and with the two teams occupying 4th and 3rd positions in the league table respectively. For the second weekend in a row Petherton had a strong squad of players but sought to put the disappointing defeat away at Minehead the previous week behind them. Wells won the toss and chose to receive the kick off, a decision that gave Petherton the choice of ends and resulted in them beginning the match playing in their favoured direction, up the hill.

In a rather unconventional manner, Pethy began the match strongly and for the first ten minutes Wells were under the cosh with some fluid rugby being played by the Pethy 15. A combination of swift hands through the Pethy backs, Tongan running lines and hard upfront rugby from the Pethy forewards saw the home team camped inside the Wells 22 for the first 15 minutes. Pethy dominated Wells in the scrums and it was only through the odd passage of ping pong rugby that Pethy lost the ball forward giving Wells the opportunity to clear their lines. Quarter of an hour into the match Pethy won a penalty inside the Wells 22 for some illegal work at the breakdown. Choosing to kick for goal, Pearce struck the ball sweetly between the posts to put Pethy 3-0 up – a rather flattering score line for the visitors given the amount of pressure and possession that Pethy had had.

From the resulting restart the Pethy forwards ran the ball back into Wells territory. After a somewhat scrappy passage of play, Pethy were awarded another penalty in front of the opposition posts. Pearce took the kick at goal in his stride to put Pethy 6-0 up after 25 minutes.

As they had done previously, from the restart, Pethy put together some good passages of play between the forwards to surge up the hill deep into the Wells territory. Pethy were awarded a scrum on the Wells 5 metre line following some slow play and the ball being stuck in a mass of bodies on the ground. From the scrum the ball went out to the backs with a try only thwarted by some resilient defence. However, not to be stopped, young Toby Harris gained possession of the ball 5 metres out from the back of a ruck and subsequently surged his way over the Wells line showing supreme power to score a well deserved try. Pearce added the 2 points with another well taken kick. The first half ended with Pethy 13-0 up having dominated the first 40 minutes, Wells were never in the match and barely looked like giving Pethy any problems.

After the restart, the match appeared to tighten, with Wells having been read the riot act for a first half performance that was more akin to mini’s rugby. Good hassling from the Pethy back row continued with the Wells 10 barely able to offload the ball before being met by some aggressive tackling from Harris, Taylor and Ardren. 10 minutes into the second half, the Wells 10 put a deep kick over the top of the Pethy back line. Winn subsequently gathered the ball but with Wells hot on his tail after a good chase, he was unable to off load accurately to the supporting Pethy fullback Steven Potter. The ball ended up on the ground for the Wells attack to run in an uncontested try much to the dismay of the home team. Wells missed the conversion to take the score to 13-5 after 50 minutes.

For the remainder of the match, Pethy continued to play aggressive but fair rugby and never allowed Wells any free time on the ball. The best they mustered up was a defensive kick, but allowing Pethy to regain possession only allowed more attacking to proceed and more misery to be heaped onto the Wells team. On the stroke of 60 minutes, Pethy were again camped deep inside the Wells 22. From another scrum and some tight phases of play by the forwards, it was Harris who again burst onto the ball, bounced off of a couple of attempted tackles to score his second try of the game. Pearce missed the subsequent 2 pt conversion leaving the game score line reading 18-5. Pearce went on to make one further penalty kick although missing one in the process to bring the game to the finishing score of 21-5. Some substitutions followed with Rybaruk replaced by Tozer at 9, Wolfe on for Ardren at 6, Prince replacing Winn at 14 and Tank on for Murdoch at 2.

Petherton were never in any danger of losing this match and were it not for some sound defence and poor ball handling, the score line could have resembled that of a cricket match given the superior territory and possession that Petherton had through the 80 minutes.

All in all it was a good day at the office for Pethy 2’s despite the lack of their regular captain Ben Williams, who chose to abandon his team in preference for a day out at the Exeter Chiefs match. Luckily, the commitment of the remaining 19 Pethy players was unquestionable and all played with the desire that can sometimes be missing. Colt Connor Potter stepped in at second row for a full 80 minutes and showed that there is some good talent coming up through the ranks with a sound display of rugby. All Pethy forwards performed well as did the Pethy back line. Petherton move up to a tie for 3rd position with Wells in the league table with sight now set on an unblemished record for the remainder of the season in hope of gaining promotion.

Team: Brown, Murdoch (Long 70), Kearle, Gingell, C Potter, Ardren (Wolfe 65), Taylor, Harris, Rybaruk (Tozer 65), Pearce, Steward, Pearn, R Williams, Winn (Prince 70), S Potter.

		20th November 2010 - Tribute Somerset 2 South: North Petherton II 21 v 5 Wells II Report by Russell Williams North Petherton welcomed Wells to Beggars Brook this Saturday in a match that promised to be lively and with the two teams occupying 4th and 3rd positions in the league table respectively. For the second weekend in a row Petherton had a strong squad of players but sought to put the disappointing defeat away at Minehead the previous week behind them. Wells won the toss and chose to receive the kick off, a decision that gave Petherton the choice of ends and resulted in them beginning the match playing in their favoured direction, up the hill. In a rather unconventional manner, Pethy began the match strongly and for the first ten minutes Wells were under the cosh with some fluid rugby being played by the Pethy 15. A combination of swift hands through the Pethy backs, Tongan running lines and hard upfront rugby from the Pethy forewards saw the home team camped inside the Wells 22 for the first 15 minutes. Pethy dominated Wells in the scrums and it was only through the odd passage of ping pong rugby that Pethy lost the ball forward giving Wells the opportunity to clear their lines. Quarter of an hour into the match Pethy won a penalty inside the Wells 22 for some illegal work at the breakdown. Choosing to kick for goal, Pearce struck the ball sweetly between the posts to put Pethy 3-0 up – a rather flattering score line for the visitors given the amount of pressure and possession that Pethy had had. From the resulting restart the Pethy forwards ran the ball back into Wells territory. After a somewhat scrappy passage of play, Pethy were awarded another penalty in front of the opposition posts. Pearce took the kick at goal in his stride to put Pethy 6-0 up after 25 minutes. As they had done previously, from the restart, Pethy put together some good passages of play between the forwards to surge up the hill deep into the Wells territory. Pethy were awarded a scrum on the Wells 5 metre line following some slow play and the ball being stuck in a mass of bodies on the ground. From the scrum the ball went out to the backs with a try only thwarted by some resilient defence. However, not to be stopped, young Toby Harris gained possession of the ball 5 metres out from the back of a ruck and subsequently surged his way over the Wells line showing supreme power to score a well deserved try. Pearce added the 2 points with another well taken kick. The first half ended with Pethy 13-0 up having dominated the first 40 minutes, Wells were never in the match and barely looked like giving Pethy any problems. After the restart, the match appeared to tighten, with Wells having been read the riot act for a first half performance that was more akin to mini’s rugby. Good hassling from the Pethy back row continued with the Wells 10 barely able to offload the ball before being met by some aggressive tackling from Harris, Taylor and Ardren. 10 minutes into the second half, the Wells 10 put a deep kick over the top of the Pethy back line. Winn subsequently gathered the ball but with Wells hot on his tail after a good chase, he was unable to off load accurately to the supporting Pethy fullback Steven Potter. The ball ended up on the ground for the Wells attack to run in an uncontested try much to the dismay of the home team. Wells missed the conversion to take the score to 13-5 after 50 minutes. For the remainder of the match, Pethy continued to play aggressive but fair rugby and never allowed Wells any free time on the ball. The best they mustered up was a defensive kick, but allowing Pethy to regain possession only allowed more attacking to proceed and more misery to be heaped onto the Wells team. On the stroke of 60 minutes, Pethy were again camped deep inside the Wells 22. From another scrum and some tight phases of play by the forwards, it was Harris who again burst onto the ball, bounced off of a couple of attempted tackles to score his second try of the game. Pearce missed the subsequent 2 pt conversion leaving the game score line reading 18-5. Pearce went on to make one further penalty kick although missing one in the process to bring the game to the finishing score of 21-5. Some substitutions followed with Rybaruk replaced by Tozer at 9, Wolfe on for Ardren at 6, Prince replacing Winn at 14 and Tank on for Murdoch at 2. Petherton were never in any danger of losing this match and were it not for some sound defence and poor ball handling, the score line could have resembled that of a cricket match given the superior territory and possession that Petherton had through the 80 minutes. All in all it was a good day at the office for Pethy 2’s despite the lack of their regular captain Ben Williams, who chose to abandon his team in preference for a day out at the Exeter Chiefs match. Luckily, the commitment of the remaining 19 Pethy players was unquestionable and all played with the desire that can sometimes be missing. Colt Connor Potter stepped in at second row for a full 80 minutes and showed that there is some good talent coming up through the ranks with a sound display of rugby. All Pethy forwards performed well as did the Pethy back line. Petherton move up to a tie for 3rd position with Wells in the league table with sight now set on an unblemished record for the remainder of the season in hope of gaining promotion. Team: Brown, Murdoch (Long 70), Kearle, Gingell, C Potter, Ardren (Wolfe 65), Taylor, Harris, Rybaruk (Tozer 65), Pearce, Steward, Pearn, R Williams, Winn (Prince 70), S Potter.

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