Match report Ventnor Rugby Football Club 1XV 18-19 Eastleigh Rugby Football Club 2XV Saturday 8 March 2025

Counties 3 Hampshire league 2024-25

Another large crowd at Watcombe witnessed another terrific game of rugby which ended with a gut-wrenching loss for an unrelenting Ventnor 1st XV who deserved so much better. Eastleigh arrived early with a squad that belied their position in the league with talent scattered throughout their fifteen and it was they that started strongly against a home team with just two changes from the previous week.

Once again it looked like Ventnor were going to struggle in the set piece where the visitor’s huge pack held sway and the link between the no 8 and the scrum-half gave them a control which meant it took all of Ventnor’s defensive commitment and skill to repel. Lewy Morton led the tackling numbers but Ben Cooper, Alec Bulpitt and Jack Gilbey weren’t far behind and no-one shirked their responsibility so for some time Eastleigh’s dominance of possession and territory was blunted. However, the pressure eventually told and, from another dominant scrum, the visitors’ no 8 picked up and barrelled over for a converted try.

However it was becoming obvious that Ventnor’s unstinting effort was beginning to wear down Eastleigh’s power game and that some of their heavy pack were beginning to tire as Ben Souter and Harry Ottley at nine and ten were combining to peg back the territory advantage with probing kicks while Iain Reeves, Dan Lythgoe, Jewy Jones and skipper Ben Savill were taking the ball into contact with frightening determination.

In addition, Ventnor were remarkably gaining parity in the set piece where the scrummaging expertise of Lythgoe, Jones and George Collett were negating the weight of the visitors’ front row. Collett in particular was faced with an opponent who looked to outweigh him by a factor of two, who was later replaced by an even bigger substitute!

George just smiled and got back to work! Morton and Savill were benefitting from Jones’ Luke Littler-like accuracy in the line-out and Ottley was beginning to get his line moving where Cooper shone all day with his power and dynamic defence. So it was almost against the state of play when Eastleigh scored again to take the score out to 0 – 14.

Far from being demoralised by this set back, Ventnor came back even stronger and there followed a period of play where they sent in attacks from all angles. Jake Babington began to make his characteristic runs into the heart of the action, Bulpitt was everywhere in support and the fitness of Jason Coltham, Gilbey and Collett meant that no move was allowed to die.

Eastleigh began to give away penalties and Ottley pushed the play up field from where the Islanders pounded the opposition line with relentless aggression which sucked in defenders and allowed Souter to get the ball wide where super-quick hands from Ottley, Cooper and Bulpitt put Louis Wyatt for a fabulous try in the corner so that the half-time score was 5 – 14.

Match report Ventnor RFC 1XV 18-19 Eastleigh RFC 2XV 8 March 2025

Ventnor began the second half on the front foot. Will Broomfield was on for Reeves who had to leave the pitch with a shoulder injury after another performance that personified his progress in a Ventnor shirt.

With Broomfield’s power running, Ventnor were again taking the game to the opposition and a desperate clearance kick was fielded by Babington on the left. His cantering line took him into midfield where the ball was quickly recycled and Bulpitt but Tom Smith into the clear.

Up to this point, Smith had been only seen in defence where his lack of self-preservation in his tackling duties had been remarkable, so he was not going to miss this chance and he sprinted in for an exceptional try despite being taken out by a cynical elbow in the act of touching down. He came off to be replaced by Ewan Castle while Tom Crews – on for Cooper whose battered body had eventually cried enough – slotted the conversion from wide out. Ventnor were truly back in the game with the score at 12 – 14.

Eastleigh’s problems were exacerbated by a yellow card but they never gave up and it took a try-saving tackle from Bulpitt and Castle’s bravery in securing loose ball to stop the balance from tilting again.

However, Ventnor were still in the ascendancy with Jones providing the cutting edge with his power running and Souter had a perfectly good try chalked off by the referee who was unsighted. Ventnor kept up the pressure and Lythgoe’s charge forced a penalty which Crews slotted so that the Islanders took the lead for the first time.

Eastleigh then had a second player yellow-carded and Crews took another three points with the clock almost in the red. However, from the kick off, Ventnor allowed the ball to go loose and then compounded the error with a penalty. Eastleigh kicked for the corner and – despite a massive effort in defence – forced their way over for a try to take the win as the whistle blew for full-time.

Despite the heartbreak of the last-gasp loss, Ventnor should once again take huge encouragement from a team performance that speaks volumes about the grit, spirit and no-little skill of this developing squad which promises so much.

Ventnor 1XV Team: Collett, Jones, Lythgoe, Coltham, I. Reeves, Gilbey, L.Morton, Savill (capt), Souter, H. Ottley, Wyatt, B. Cooper, Bulpitt, Smith, Babington. Subs: Broomfield, Castle, Crews.

Ventnor RFC 1XV Match Awards 8th March 2025

The AJ Wells Man of the Match: Lewis ‘Jewy’ Jones
The Red Funnel Moment of the Match: Tom Smith
The Howden Insurance Supporter of the Day: Roly Toombs

oaches: Clive Cardwell-Hill, Dean Magnurson, Todd Riches
Physio: Sarah Watt
The Howdens Insurance supporter of the day: Roly Toombs

Ventnor RFC Match Sponsors Saturday 8 March 2024

As ever, we must thank our match sponsors for the day, namely:-

Cridmore Farm, Dorothy Muncaster, Inspiration Fabrication, Lake Laundry Services Ltd, Rog Evans, The Mill Bay, The Spyglass, The Two Cook, The White Horse in Whitwell, Ventnor Rotary Club and Whitwell Garage.

Become a Ventnor Rugby Club Sponsor here

Saturday 7th June 2025

Ventnor Rugby Club Summer Ball and Awards Evening 2024-25

Saturday 7th June 2025, 17:30 until late
Venue: The Lakes Rookley Holiday Park (formerly Rookley Country Park), Main Road, Rookley, Isle of Wight, PO38 3LU

Ticket Price £45 per person
Dress code: Black Tie

Find out more Buy your tickets