Report by Matt Glanville
North Petherton Seconds grafted hard in sweltering conditions at local rivals Morganians to record their 4th league win from 4 matches. It was a typically hard fought game throughout, and although Pethy struggled to maintain the intensity for 80 minutes that they showed during the first 25, it was still a good victory that keeps them a point off top spot in Somerset Two.
Starting the match positively, Petherton were quickly into the Morganians half with their forwards and backs linking well as they attacked from right to left, making good inroads into the Morgs 22. Rucking and mauling with great intensity the Pethy pack were supplying quick ball to their backs and only some good last ditch defending by the home side prevented an early score.
Pethy did not have to wait long though to make the breakthrough, and after 14 minutes Wing Jamie Adams cut a great line off the shoulder of Outside Centre Russ Williams, who put Adams away to score to the left of the posts. Simon Freeman converted to make the score 7-0.
The visitors were soon back in the Morgs half with Adrian Tew, Mike Coles, and Phil Hambley all making good yards with some powerful ball carrying. Pethy enjoyed a sustained spell of pressure in the right corner of the home 22 before half-backs Oscar Treganna and Mark Sutherland-Earl combined swiftly with 26 minutes gone to put Inside Centre Ash Palmer into space, and he outpaced the covering defence to also score to the left of the posts. Freeman added the extras make it 14-0.
Morganians upped their game after that and began to gain territory inside the Petherton half. Pethy were guilty of playing with perhaps a bit too much confidence, and tried to run the ball out from inside their own 22, only to invite pressure back on themselves when they should have kicked the ball out instead. Morgs needed no invitation to capitalise on this and were very unlucky to be denied a try under the posts when their centre crashed through a gap inside the Pethy 22, only to inadvertently barge into the referee on his way to the try-line. The referee was forced to disallow the try and apologetically awarded a scrum to the home side.
Petherton eventually won the ball back and had a 22 drop-out with a minute to go to half-time. Unfortunately for them a poor chase and a big lapse in concentration allowed Morgs’ swift outside centre to collect the kick and run in under the posts for a converted try, making the half-time score 14-7 to Pethy.
At the break captain Simon Gingell underlined the need for his side to regain the initiative after a poor end to the first half, and Pethy did respond with a good period of pressure from the re-start. The lineout for both sides was becoming a mess as injuries and substitutions disrupted the set-piece, and Pethy struggled to make any clear cut scoring opportunities despite having the better of the territory. However, they did manage to force a penalty 35 metres out on 50 minutes, which was well converted by Freeman to nudge Petherton further ahead at 17-7.
The match became rather attritional after that with the heat beginning to sap the energy from all of players. Both teams struggled to make much ground into each other’s half, although Morgs did manage to break out a couple of times and release their quick backs, only to be thwarted by a combination of solid Petherton defence and a couple of handling errors.
Pethy continued to try and get the ball wide but were not able to find the precision they showed in the first half. With 5 minutes remaining they gained good field position on the home 22, and from another scrappy lineout, a good driving maul splintered the home pack allowing Simon Gingell to burst free and score under the posts. Sutherland-Earl converted to make the final score 24-7.
This was another decent win against difficult opponents for the Second Team, who at times played some good attacking rugby. Adrian Tew excelled in his first game of the season, leading the pack well with some strong ball carrying and tackling. Ash Palmer was also in good form in what was his first match back after being injured in pre-season, and Miles McNeillie turned in an industrious display in the back row, alongside Number 8 Phil Hambley, who continued his fine start to the season with another hard-working performance.
Tries: Jamie Adams (14), Ash Palmer (26), Simon Gingell (75)
Cons: Simon Freeman (15, 27), Sutherland-Earl (76)
Pens: Simon Freeman (50)
Team:
1. Matt Glanville (Rep. Rob Kearle, 60)
2. Andy Long (Rep. Glenn, 40)
3. Adrian Tew
4. Ben Stewart
5. Mike Coles
6. Dan Winn (Rep. Nathan Murdoch, 20)
7. Miles McNeillie
8. Phil Hambley (Rep. Simon Gingell, 60)
9. Oscar Treganna
10. Mark Sutherland-Earl
11. Jamie Adams
12. Ash Palmer
13. Russ Williams
14. Ben Williams (Rep. Brian Stenson, 70)
15. Simon Freeman (Rep. Kev Rybaruk, 55)
