Report by Matt Glanville
North Petherton Seconds escaped from Glastonbury with a bonus point victory after a thorough examination of their promotion aspirations by an inspired Tor Seconds, who belied their low position in the table with a gritty defensive performance that frustrated the visiting side for most of the match. Whilst Tor played above themselves, Pethy gave comfortably their worst performance of the season, and did not look like the unbeaten leaders of the division. However, they recovered well after a poor first half and finally found some of their better form towards the end to finish off a resilient Tor side.
Pethy started the match reasonably well, camping themselves inside the Tor half for the first 20 minutes and gaining the upper hand in the scrum. With their lineout also in good form, Pethy exerted a lot of effort for little reward as they failed to play with any of the fluency they are usually capable of. To their credit, Tor attacked the breakdown with vigour and made it very difficult for Pethy to get any phases going, consistently forcing the visitors into conceding penalties. On 19 minutes Pethy lost flanker Phil Hambley to the sin bin when he was yellow carded for illegally rucking a Tor forward out of the way, and the home side visibly gained confidence from this.
After conceding a frankly baffling penalty at a scrum for alleged boring in, Pethy were then forced back into their own half from the resulting kick to touch, and the home side enjoyed a good spell of pressure on the Pethy 22. As it has been all season though, the Petherton defence held firm with 14 men on the park, but soon after Hambley returned they conceded yet another penalty for holding on, this time inside their own 10 metre line, where Tor’s Fly-Half converted an excellent kick to make it 3-0 to the hosts.
Pethy immediately responded by kicking a penalty of their own into touch inside the Tor 22, and they pounded away at the Tor try line for the last few minutes of the half, only to be repelled by more aggressive Tor defence, and they went into half-time behind for the first time this season. After a frank exchanging of views between the players during the break Pethy started the second half like a different team.
A great kick over the top by Scrum-Half Dave Hallaran put the home side on the back foot, and a good chase by Winger Jamie Adams forced a poor defensive kick out on the Tor 22. From here Pethy attacked from right to left with much more precision and cleared out more rucks in 2 minutes than they had managed in the first 40, finally putting together some phases and giving their backs some space to attack. Pethy were held up 5 metres out in the left corner, but great rucking by Flanker Mike Taylor and Winger Ben Williams kept the ball alive, and it soon went through the hands to the right of the posts where Adams jinked past the last man to score. The conversion was missed but Pethy led 5-3.
With Pethy now raising the standard of their play, indiscipline cost them again when Taylor was yellow carded on 49 minutes for more illegal rucking. Reduced to 14 men for the second time Pethy were forced back into their own half by a succession of Tor up and under’s, which became difficult to defend in the fading light and with the un-predictable bounce off the pitch. Pethy again lapsed into conceding needless penalties in their own half and were fortunate to see 2 attempts at the posts go wide as they hung on grimly to their 2 point lead.
This turned out to be the last chance for the home side to re-gain the lead as Petherton finally broke out of their own half and scored 3 tries in 8 minutes, playing the sort of rugby that has carried them to the top of the table this year. From a disrupted Tor lineout inside their half on 66 minutes, replacement Prop Pete Kingston won a tremendous 50/50 ball on the floor, and Petherton’s forwards smashed some big holes in the tiring Tor defensive line to establish quick possession. Good ball carrying by Lock Ty Harris took Pethy close and the ball went wide to centre Ash Palmer, who forced his way over to the right of the posts. The conversion by Fly-Half Dan Pearce hit the post but Pethy now held a 10-3 lead.
Pethy had now found a higher gear and were soon back inside the Tor half 4 minutes later with Winger Adams carrying the ball into the Tor 22. A couple of quick pick and go’s by the Petherton forwards ended with lock Ben Stewart powering over from close range. The conversion was missed again but Pethy had finally established a hold on the game at 15-3.
The much needed try bonus point was then secured on 73 minutes when centre Russ Potter burst through the Tor line following a set move from a lineout, and he drew in the last man on the 22 before passing to Adams to score, much to the relief of the North Petherton team. The conversion was again missed but Pethy had secured the win and bonus point from a match that they could have lost.
After the match the Petherton players were relieved to have ground out the result, and it was a testament to the high standards they have set themselves this season that it almost felt like a defeat after a poor performance. The biggest problem for them in this match was their failure to listen to the referee, who rightly or wrongly, communicated his decisions well and Pethy were not smart enough to listen and adjust their play accordingly. However, this performance will act as a big wakeup call ahead of next weekend’s top of the table clash with Cheddar Valley, and there were still a number of positives to be taken from the match. Pethy again stopped the opposition from scoring a try and they did grind out a victory despite not playing well as a team. Lock Ty Harris had an excellent game around the park and dominated at the front of the lineout, whilst winger Jamie Adams scored 2 good tries and looked dangerous whenever he was given the ball.
Tries: Jamie Adams (42, 73), Ash Palmer (66), Ben Stewart (70)
Team:
1. Sheldon Jones
2. Nathan Murdoch
3. Matt Glanville (Rep. Pete Kingston, 60)
4. Ty Harris
5. Ben Stewart
6. Phil Hambley
7. Mike Taylor
8. Simon Gingell (C)
9. Dave Hallaran
10. Dan Pearce
11. Jamie Adams
12. Ash Palmer
13. Russ Potter
14. Ben Williams (Rep. Lloyd Steward, 65)
15. Rob Havill
