Match Report – Ventnor 1st XV v Alresford

In front of a good crowd at Watcombe Bottom, Ventnor kick started their Hampshire Division 2 campaign with a hard-fought win over Alresford in a match sponsored by The Met Wine Bar. Ventnor took some time to settle and gave away far too many penalties, one of which was converted to give the visitors a 3 point lead. However, from the resultant kick off Ventnor stormed straight up the field and Mark Turner touched down. Damien Marriott converted. A period of attritional rugby then followed with Ventnor slowly gaining dominance in the scrums through Adam Pratt, Scott Jesney and Tristan Price. Pratt went off injured towards the end of the first half and the returning Mike Walker moved up from the second row. If the Alresford front row thought that their life was about to get easier, they were sadly mistaken! Already struggling in the tight, Alresford’s line out began to unravel while Jim Pemberton and his colleagues softened up the visitor’s back line with some thunderous tackles. As a result of this barrage, Marriott slotted a penalty so that the teams turned around with Ventnor leading 10 – 3. After the break, Ventnor continued to make ground with Michael Cooper directing play at fly-half. This constant pressure led to a side-stepping burst from Ben Lush which allowed Ventnor’s captain Todd Riches to release Ben Cooper for a try under the posts. Marriott again converted. The visitors’ desperation meant that the match became a touch ill-disciplined but Ventnor kept their game together to score a third try after a scorching break from Ben Cooper close to the scrum. His pass found Riches who broke through several would-be tacklers to feed Mark Turner for an easy run in for his second try. Marriott kept up his perfect kicking record with the conversion to finish the scoring.

Rob Jackson won the Wightlink Man of the Match medal for his defence and constant support running. Damien Marriott won the A J Wells Black Dog Award for his flawless kicking and all-round play.

Ventnor’s next game is the local derby against the Isle of Wight at Ventnor in the league. Both 1^st and 2^nd XV’s kick off at 3pm. The club is holding a Vice Presidents’ Day for the occasion. All are welcome.

Team T Price, S Jesney, A Pratt, J Morley, M Walker, R Jackson, M Turner, T Riches (capt), D Marriott, M Cooper, O Fulljames, B Lush, J Pemberton, S Williams, B Cooper.

Subs G Ball, A Entwistle, T Engelgardt