Match report Southampton RFC 2XV 34-26 Ventnor RFC 2XV 2 March 2019
Ventnor’s Mighty Lions (Ventnor RFC 2XV) travelled away to Southampton RFC 2XV. Going from 11 to 8 players 3 hours before kick off, they knew it would be a tough day.
However, they managed to beg to borrow and steal a few players from other clubs to eventually arrive with 13 And get the game underway. Southampton started with the wind and used that to their advantage as they went 2 tries up in the first 10 minutes. The Lions hit back when debutant Grant Edwards managed to finish a great move.
Warren Riches managed to covert making the score 10-7 – game on! This spurred Southampton in to finding a gap and going over for their 3rd try this one converted. Now the lions realised how difficult the day was going to be. With this in their heads, they managed to work they way up the pitch and earned a penalty try. Unfortunately, Southampton managed to score again twice before the break making the half time score 27-14 to the home side.
Restarting the second half with the wind in their favour the Lions found their feet and after some great play Mark Tucker managed to roll off the back of a maul for his first of the day. The Lions kept up the pressure and after some great kicking from Matt Cripps and Warren Riches, Tucker managed to turn the ball over and head in for his second try making the score 27-26 with 12 minutes to go.
The Lions had all the play for the next 5 minutes and saw them come close a few times. Gareth Gough only narrowly missing out after a good run. Southampton managed to turn the ball over and on the break ran in for another converted try making the score 34-26. Despite spending the final 5 minutes camped on the Southampton try line, The Lions were unable to capitalise.
AJ Wells Man of the Match – Grant Edwards
Red Funnel Moment of the Match – Mark Tucker
Team – Riches, Cripps, Bridges, G Gough, S Gough, Edwards, Tucker
This match report will appear in the Spring 2019 edition of the Ventnor RFC Magazine