Withycombe 37
Plymouth Barbarians 0
Withycombe headed into the Christmas break by despatching a poor Plymouth Barbarians side at Raleigh Park on Saturday.
It was far from plain sailing, though, as both teams struggled to overcome the extremely wet conditions early on. Jack Pugsley gave Withy an early 3-0 lead with a simple penalty goal, but the score would remin unchanged until the 21st minute when he struck another. Although Withycombe were not scoring, they faced little threat from Barbarians, and handling errors and indiscipline prevented them from posting more points. Neil Williams finally made a significant foray over the gain line on 29 minutes before offloading, some clumsy handling followed but John Parkin picked the ball from his shoelaces to skip under the posts, Pugsley adding the extras.
More scrappy play followed before a frenzied end to the half saw Withycombe inch closer to the bonus point. Pugsley turned villain as he threw an interception to give Plym their only real chance of scoring, before making a late tackle as the ball was chipped ahead. Withy, lucky not to have Pugsley in the sin bin, stole the ensuing lineout, Tom Steer clearing the lines with an intelligent kick. Mike Symons fielded the return kick and Withycombe's scrum halves this time shared a 50 metre run in as Symons fed John Parkin who sauntered over for his second try. Pugsley converted to the tune of the halftime whistle, and Withycombe were 20-0 up despite rarely entering second gear.
One more score would sink any dwindling Barbarians chances, and five minutes into the second half it came. Man of the match John Parkin cutting a fantastic line to bamboozle the Plym defence before sacrificing a sure hat trick try to feed his centre partner Ben Mardle with a deft inside switch, Mardle crashing over by the posts untouched. A Pugs conversion made it 27-0. Withycombe secured the bonus point on 57 minutes with arguably their best try of the day. Danny Sansom caught a low pass before feeding Neil Williams who left Paddy Shaw with two on one, timing his pass perfectly for Tom Steer to dive over in clubhouse corner. The remainder of the game was uneventful, atrocious conditions perhaps saving Barbarians from a more embarrassing score; the continued Withycombe onslaught at the set piece showed as two Plymouth players saw yellow. Barbarians would not give up though, as evidenced when Danny Sansom was chased down with a minute to go and only 40 metres of grass between him and the tryline; the effort was to prove ultimately fruitless as Jack Pugsley ended the game with a try of his own, taking his personal tally to 17. Withycombe break for Christmas now, the next league fixture at Raleigh Park is on the 12th of January when they host Saltash, although the traditional Boxing Day game should prove good value as usual; kick off is 11am and the bar is open all day! Merry Christmas.
Monday, 17 December 2012
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Withycombe v Pirates Amateurs (Dec 2012)
Withycombe 8
Pirates Amateurs 7
Withycombe emerged with the spoils in a tense affair againsta well-matched Pirates side on Saturday. The old saying goes that "defence wins championships", and although Withy are likely out of the running now, "D" was king in this encounter.
Withycombe spent the best part of the first 30 minutes camped in the Pirates 22, although no amount of banging on the door would yield them the opening score. Jack Pugsley's increasingly reliable boot failed him twice before finally breaking the deadlock on 32 minutes with his third penalty attempt. Pirates had a chance to level the game but hit the bar and the score remained 3-0 at the break.
The second half started with a jolt; the Pirates' Number 8 taking advantage of the game's only major defensive error by sniping at the fringe of a ruck to dash under the posts. Both sides had opportunities but failed to capitalise; Withycombe ignored several overlaps and man of the match Kevin Rodwell worked frantically off the ball to no avail until the Withycombe backline finally unleashed him in space. Rodwell darted over in the corner to make it 8-7. Pugsley would have another opportunity to add three points but missed, and Withycombe once again edged a close one after holding out in a nailbiting finish. Lowly Plymouth Barbarians visit Raleigh Park next week in Withycombe's last scheduled game before the festivities of the Boxing Day fixture.
Barnstaple 3rd XV 10
Withycombe 2nd XV 6
Withycombe's blossoming second team fell to their first defeat of the season after travelling to take on a similarly unbeaten Barnstaple 3rd XV. Despite missing many of their "wise old heads", Withycombe were not lacking in effort, and led 6-3 at the break courtesy of two Lee Tanton penalties. Barnstaple were probably the more streetwise of the outfits, and the arrival of a couple of lumpy big boys in the second half allowed them to score a try after rumbling the phases down the hill in atrocious conditions. Withycombe have plenty to take from the game: more new players were blooded and the boys can most likely look forward to a good run in the Merit Table next year as recruitment gathers momentum.
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Wessex v Withycombe (Dec 2012)
Wessex 3
Withycombe 28
(Match abandoned after 57 minutes)
Withycombe's rollercoaster season took another bizarre turn on Saturday as their league fixture against basement boys Wessex was abandoned after 57 minutes after several periods of fighting.
A game played at Flowerpot Fields is rarely a straightforward affair, and Withycombe's desire to grab the points and dash in a game described as a "potential banana skin" by assistant coach Richard Greenaway proved to be difficult to fulfil.
Withycombe dominated the early exchanges, Jack Pugsley passing up the opportunity of a tricky early penalty only to slot a much simpler one minutes later. Wessex hit back with their only points of the game shortly afterwards, before Pugsley struck again to restore the advantage. Wihtycombe were comfortably on top in the scrums, though the referee's interpretation of Wessex's jiggery-pokery at the set pieces led to an absurd amount of resets and only one penalty; bizarrely given against Withy. It was from a scrum though that Withycombe made their first big breakthrough, Mike Richards picking blind and putting John Parkin in space with only 50 metres of grass in front of him, and Withycombe's scrum-halves notching another long range try. Pugsley converted the extras from in front of the posts.
Wessex may have sensed the game was already getting away from them; niggles increased and although Withycombe profited greatly from returning the poor Wessex kick chases, midfield breakthroughs were hard to come by as the breakdown became a slow mess. One such kick return was fielded by Ben Mardle, almost finishing from forty metres after beating most of the Wessex defence. Mike Richards was to turn provider again as the "old Richards one-two" put brother Dave in acres of space to dash under the posts from 15 metres out, Pugsley again adding the extras. There was just time before the half for Wessex to knock on deliberately preventing a certain Withy try, the referee opting to whistle for half time rather than giving the more traditional penalty try, the score remaining 20-3.
After the half the game's less salubrious elements took over, with niggles and fighting a constant threat. Jack Pugsley converted an early penalty before all hell broke loose. First Mike Richards was taken out in the air from the re-start, though the winger who made the rather poor decision to run into "Big Mikey" had to be pracitcally carried to the sin bin, before skipper Dave Richards was sin binned along with one of Wessex's second rows for a disagreement that got out of hand. Wessex were not finished though, as another player was red carded for punching Ben Tuckett, with one of their bench players very lucky that his involvement was not spotted by the referee; officials take an extremely dim view of intereference by players not on the pitch.
With Wessex down to 12 men, another kick return put wide by Withycombe's backs gave Ben Mardle a relatively straightforward run-in to score, only to be kneed and punched after touching down. With players rushing to the scene, the referee abandoned the game with less than the 60 minutes normally required for the result of an abandoned match to stand. Both teams will now have to wait upon the results of a disicplinary hearing to learn their fate, though Withycombe will surely feel that they will have been robbed of a bonus point victory and a healthy points difference. Skipper Dave Richards said "We asked the boys for an 80 minute performance today after an inconsistent couple of weeks, and we got one, for 57 minutes at least. It's a shame." Withycombe host Pirates Amateurs next week at Raleigh Park and will be hoping for a similar score but very different circumstances.
Withycombe 28
(Match abandoned after 57 minutes)
Withycombe's rollercoaster season took another bizarre turn on Saturday as their league fixture against basement boys Wessex was abandoned after 57 minutes after several periods of fighting.
A game played at Flowerpot Fields is rarely a straightforward affair, and Withycombe's desire to grab the points and dash in a game described as a "potential banana skin" by assistant coach Richard Greenaway proved to be difficult to fulfil.
Withycombe dominated the early exchanges, Jack Pugsley passing up the opportunity of a tricky early penalty only to slot a much simpler one minutes later. Wessex hit back with their only points of the game shortly afterwards, before Pugsley struck again to restore the advantage. Wihtycombe were comfortably on top in the scrums, though the referee's interpretation of Wessex's jiggery-pokery at the set pieces led to an absurd amount of resets and only one penalty; bizarrely given against Withy. It was from a scrum though that Withycombe made their first big breakthrough, Mike Richards picking blind and putting John Parkin in space with only 50 metres of grass in front of him, and Withycombe's scrum-halves notching another long range try. Pugsley converted the extras from in front of the posts.
Wessex may have sensed the game was already getting away from them; niggles increased and although Withycombe profited greatly from returning the poor Wessex kick chases, midfield breakthroughs were hard to come by as the breakdown became a slow mess. One such kick return was fielded by Ben Mardle, almost finishing from forty metres after beating most of the Wessex defence. Mike Richards was to turn provider again as the "old Richards one-two" put brother Dave in acres of space to dash under the posts from 15 metres out, Pugsley again adding the extras. There was just time before the half for Wessex to knock on deliberately preventing a certain Withy try, the referee opting to whistle for half time rather than giving the more traditional penalty try, the score remaining 20-3.
After the half the game's less salubrious elements took over, with niggles and fighting a constant threat. Jack Pugsley converted an early penalty before all hell broke loose. First Mike Richards was taken out in the air from the re-start, though the winger who made the rather poor decision to run into "Big Mikey" had to be pracitcally carried to the sin bin, before skipper Dave Richards was sin binned along with one of Wessex's second rows for a disagreement that got out of hand. Wessex were not finished though, as another player was red carded for punching Ben Tuckett, with one of their bench players very lucky that his involvement was not spotted by the referee; officials take an extremely dim view of intereference by players not on the pitch.
With Wessex down to 12 men, another kick return put wide by Withycombe's backs gave Ben Mardle a relatively straightforward run-in to score, only to be kneed and punched after touching down. With players rushing to the scene, the referee abandoned the game with less than the 60 minutes normally required for the result of an abandoned match to stand. Both teams will now have to wait upon the results of a disicplinary hearing to learn their fate, though Withycombe will surely feel that they will have been robbed of a bonus point victory and a healthy points difference. Skipper Dave Richards said "We asked the boys for an 80 minute performance today after an inconsistent couple of weeks, and we got one, for 57 minutes at least. It's a shame." Withycombe host Pirates Amateurs next week at Raleigh Park and will be hoping for a similar score but very different circumstances.
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