On a pitch that was fairly ‘agricultural’, Fullerians met OAs in a match that was as notable for its errors and penalties as it was for its moments of good play.
The match started well enough, the forwards moved the ball up field from the kick-off building good momentum until Anderson spotted the opposition had over committed numbers. Quick ball saw him break OA’s line and deliver good ball to Brown in space who put an intelligent kick past his opposite winger to score in the corner. 5-0 with only a couple of minutes played.
Just two minutes later, the lead was gone. When the defensive lineout went wrong, Fullers were guilty of being lazy in defence and not working hard enough to get round in support. Missed tackles saw the ball moved to their strike runner who beat the fullback to score. 5-7.
Fullerians dug in, and started to gain dominance over their opposition, but in a manner that was to set the tone for the first half, squandered good scoring chances when individuals attempted to ‘go it alone’ at the tryline. Even so, the boys kept their heads and 11 minutes into the game the spectators were treated to a try of some quality. An attacking lineout was won handsomely (even if the ‘Ash’ call didn’t quite work perfectly). Showing patience and maturity, the forwards set the maul well and then drove hard at the opposition. When Marsh got the call to break and go, he had two players latched on in support to drive him through the defence. 10-7.
There followed a passage of play that saw both teams trying hard to break down their opposition. Some very good cover defence work by Harrison stopped OAs getting through on a couple of occasions, but again Fullers were guilty of squandering gilt-edged scoring chances by being too greedy. OAs eventually broke the deadlock with another break away try from their most dangerous player following some poor tackling. 10-12
But the lead was short lived. Fullers moved the ball up field, again showing good patience in building the phases and inviting the penalty. When it finally came, the subsequent ‘V’ call saw Rennoldson power over the line with a minute left in the half. Brown converted for the extras and the half finished 17-12.
The second half saw the best and worst of Fullers: moments of brilliance in attack were matched by some very poor defence.
It started well enough. The front 9 moved the ball well up the pitch, building momentum through ‘Monkies’ and ‘Lions’, and when Brown (now at FH) saw a gap open up at the side of the breakdown, he duly took his chance and went over, adding to the five with his own conversion. 24-12
Maybe the Fullers boys thought the game was ‘in the bag’ or perhaps there was some other reason, but after this score the team switched off. Poor defence and insipid line speed saw the opposition slowly grow in confidence. Penalty after penalty was conceded by the home team, and it looked for all the world as if Fullers would be down to fourteen men for a ten minute period as the referee grew more and more frustrated with them.
However, a moment of brilliance by Brown who delivered a beautifully weighted kick to Mellor saw the skipper get on the outside of his man before delivering an inside ball out of contact to Walsh who finished the move. Good try. 29-12
OAs answered back shortly after to make the score 29-17, but the last score of the day went to Samuel who was duly aided by his forwards in a latch-drive that powered past the opposition to finish the game 36-17.
Well done Fullers. Although the score suggests otherwise, the game was a close one, and there is some a definite need for work ahead of our next games (particularly in defence!).
Team: ANDERSON, MELLER, MARTIN, SCULLY, EDWARDS, PONZINI, BROWN, RENNOLDSON, HARRISON, HIGGINS, BEN-NATHAN, MARSH, WALSH, SAMUEL, FINNEGAN, ELLIS, FEASEY
Tries: Brown (2), Marsh, Rennoldson, Brown, Walsh, Samuel.
Convs: Brown (3)
MoTMs: Higgins (five turnovers) & Brown (good play in both positions)
[Penatlies conceded – 13! Most of which were in the second half]